Dear Parish Family,
Today we begin Holy Week, a day of fleeting triumph when Jesus enters the great city of Jerusalem. Next Sunday is another day of triumph, of lasting triumph. During this year our celebrations are muted due to the restriction in movement and social distancing due to the world-wide situation of Corona virus. The poignant memories that are integral of the Holy Week becomes a reality in our lives too. We sometimes wish life was a bowl of cherries, but we know only too well that reality is often, for many, the exact opposite. All of us lead a small version of this mixture of pain and joy in our lives.
At this very moment, you are confined to home and may be you become aware of the depth of pain that the members of your family endure. Every family is like a book that has its own pages of pain and probably on the outside others see only the colorful bindings that we out of pride project. We find it hard to accept life on its terms because we bring to life high expectations without the willingness to pay the price.
Jerusalem was packed with Jews from all over the country, who had come to celebrate Passover, and many had heard of Jesus and his miracles. Jesus arrived on a donkey as a sign that he was the Messiah for, as John makes clear, this fulfilled Old Testament scripture about the coming savior (Zechariah 9:9). Despite this rapturous reception, many who shouted “Hosanna” would soon be calling for Jesus to be crucified. Why this change? Because they came to realize that Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they had been expecting. They were looking for a warrior king who would lead them into battle against their Roman oppressors. They had missed the clue in Jesus’ entry – his arrival on a donkey rather than a war horse. He was coming in peace to save them from their sins, not to fight against the Romans.
We may have little sympathy for this crowd of the Gospel narrative, but we all have times when we think we know better than God and are frustrated when things do not go how we expect, especially when we have been praying for something that does not happen. Our tensed up feeling right now point to our disappointment too. Surely it would be better if we had got that job, or had more money, or did not have to go through troubles, our marriages were a bliss, children more responsible and the list goes on. Suffering is necessary if we are to become the persons God meant us to be. Suffering enables us to know ourselves and to get outside of ourselves. It matures us into the fullness of being human. The type of suffering - the cross of our lives - is not what matters, but how we react to it.
Jesus did not shy away from his suffering. His was a literal cross, rough heavy and brutal yet he showed us how to deal with it; take hold of it with both hands, grab it and wrestle with it. Jesus did not accept his cross. That is a passive attitude. Jesus took his cross, embraced it because it was his Father's will for our salvation. We do not have to go looking for crosses or create one for others. But we have to accept our human condition and turn to the God who continues to love us all the time. Holy Week begins as it ends, in triumph, to remind us that suffering is a journey with a goal, not a winding road that leads nowhere. The end of the journey is resurrection, a new kind of existence. The way to that new life is through the cross and tomb. It is the road that Jesus traveled. And he accompanies us along the way today - and every day of our lives.
Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.