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ALLEGIANCE TO CHRIST OUR KING ENTAILS SHARING IN HIS PASSION - stephenkhoo - 04-14-2014 05:26 PM
ALLEGIANCE TO CHRIST OUR KING ENTAILS SHARING IN HIS PASSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISA 50:4-7; PHIL 2:6-11; MT 26:14-27
http://www.universalis.com/20140413/mass.htm
Today the Church enters into the most holy of weeks in the liturgical calendar with the celebration of Palm Sunday. On this Sunday, the Church welcomes Christ as our King. His triumphant entry into Jerusalem anticipates His final victory over the kingdom of Satan at His passion, death and resurrection. For this reason, the joyous mood of today’s celebration is immediately clouded by the shadow of the cross. Hence, today is also called Passion Sunday.
In the first part of the service, we join Jesus in His triumphant entry into Jerusalem to restore the kingdom of His Father. By riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and/or a colt, Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. He is the messianic king. His authority is enhanced by the way He instructed the disciples to bring the donkey to Him when He said, “Go to the village facing you, and you will immediately find a tethered donkey and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Master needs them and will send them back directly.’” He showed His royal messianic authority again later when He instructed His disciples to make preparations for the Passover Meal. It is significant that the word “master” is used, signifying His authority over them, since technically speaking everything in the land belongs to the king. And indeed, He was welcomed as the King and also the Messiah as the people sang, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heavens!”
This restoration of the kingdom and taking possession of Jerusalem was then symbolically again acted out in the cleansing of the Temple which was the first dramatic act He did upon His entry into Jerusalem. By so doing, Jesus was fulfilling His mission of restoring the true worship of God and establishing the reign of God which He preached and demonstrated by His works of healing and exorcism. Such actions of course heightened the anxiety and jealousy of the religious leaders and the fear of the Roman authorities of a possible uprising.
Yet, the fact that He came into Jerusalem on a colt was a clear indication that the nature of His kingship and authority is different from that of the world. Jesus’ kingship was one of service in humility. He did not come to dominate and control peoples’ lives or subject them to submission. Rather, He came to set them free. And He did it, not through might and military or human power, but by the power of love and service. Indeed, He stripped Himself of His glory by coming down from His throne of divinity and assuming our humanity. Indeed, the kingship that Christ exercised was not one of power over humanity but to enable every man to be truly free for God.
As a consequence, this humble king is identified with every human suffering and sin. Most of all, unlike many of us, He suffered innocently because of the injustices and selfishness of man. Instead of resisting or taking up arms to defend Himself, He showed Himself to be above suffering and sin by embracing all these pains in His body and soul. But why?
He suffered for our sake and for our salvation. His suffering was born out of His passion, that is, His love for humanity and for His Father. And so at the Last Supper, He dramatized and realized His passion in the Eucharist when He commanded the apostles, “’Take it and eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them saying, ‘Drink all of you from this, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”
Rightly so, even when celebrating Palm Sunday, we also celebrate Passion Sunday in the fullest sense of the word. His passion, seen in His suffering love for us, is what balanced the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem and the passion narrated in the scripture readings of the mass.
So what can we learn from today’s celebration? In the first place, what truly liberates us is not merely suffering, since one can suffer for many reasons, especially for the price of our mistakes and follies. But true freedom is when we suffer for the sake of unconditional love. It is innocent suffering that will inspire lives, as in the case of Jesus, for humanity. It is when we stand up for justice, for the poor and the marginalized and not for ourselves or our vested interests, that suffering becomes truly redemptive. True love for God and for our fellowmen entails suffering. A love without suffering is but a love of self. God suffers grievously, like parents for their wayward children because they love. A suffering love has a power that no power can have. This is what it means to be king and what it means when God reigns in us.
But can the world accept this understanding of Christ’s kingship? In truth, we cannot. We are no better than the crowd who welcomed Jesus, but under political pressure, bowed down to worldly authorities. Their shouts of acclamation turned quickly into shouts of condemnation; their promise of fidelity to Jesus unto death, replaced by abandonment and denial of having known Him, much less associated with Him. Their assurance of solidarity with Jesus was overcome by self-love, leaving Him to struggle alone in the Garden of Gethsemane. Their declaration of love was transformed into betrayal. Their profession of faith in Jesus as the Son of David who came in the Name of the Lord was promptly rejected in favour of a brigand.
What about us? How strong is our allegiance to the Lord? Do we also love Him only in good times and whenever He does our bidding? Not His will but mine! Yes, Jesus has come to purify the Temple of God and this Temple must begin with each one of us. Today, we must give up our last idols if we are to enter into the Promised Land with Jesus. We must be ready to give up our desire to do our will, our pursuit of glory, power and wealth. Rather, we must seek to be like the Suffering Servant who poured out His life for many, for the forgiveness of sins. To the Lord and His people, we too must join Jesus in saying, “This is my body and this is my blood given up and poured out for you.” If we truly say we love Jesus, we must be ready to take up our own cross and follow after Him.
What is the daily cross we are called to carry? We must not allow this cross to be an abstract cross but a concrete one, namely, the suffering of ill-health, the inconvenience of loving, the burden of office, the misunderstanding over our good intentions, the ridicules we suffer, especially from our so-called loved ones and colleagues and most of all, for all the unjust, harsh, cruel and insensitive remarks and wrong judgments that people pass on us. When we suffer all these and more, then remember, we are sharing in the Passion of Christ because we too suffer innocently and vicariously for others. Like the Suffering Servant, let us serve humbly and never exercise our authority in our interest but for the good of others, even to the extent of penalizing ourselves.
To find the strength to endure the Cross, we must continue to listen to the Lord every day. We must not ask whether what we do is pleasing to man but whether it is pleasing to God. Will God be glorified in what we undertake? Is that what He wants us to do? Is that His will, desire and plan? More often than not, like the crowd, we will do what those in power desire, so that we can be in their good books. Truly, we must follow the path of the Suffering Servant who found strength knowing that God was with Him.
Once we are clear that whatever we do is truly in accordance with the Father’s will, then we can be assured of final victory. Yes, as the Suffering Servant said, “The Lord Yahweh comes to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults. So, too, I set my face like flint. I know I shall not be shamed.” And this is true for Jesus as well. The passion did not end in tragedy but in glory. For in surrendering ourselves to His Will and His divine power and grace, God will raise us up on high as in the case of Jesus. Whilst we carry the cross, we must look forward to the resurrection. The cross without the resurrection is a tragedy. On the other hand, a resurrection without the cross is an illusion. So let us respond with Jesus who said, “the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go hence!” (Jn 14:30-31)
Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore