PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION

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HOPE BECKONS

 


 

 

Today, we enter spiritually into one of the greatest puzzles of all time – the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. We enter this week in a somber mood because just listening to or reading the narration of the passion brings chills to our spines. It is a sad event, a difficult reality to accept.

It may sound blasphemous to a puritan’s ears, but today we recall the “failure” of Jesus.

 

Jesus had a mission to fulfill in history. It was his task to gather God’s people and to turn their hearts from  formalistic religion to a “cardiac” religion, one that is a heart-to-heart encounter with God. But he failed! Not all listened. Not all followed him. Many ignored him and tried to silence him. Indeed, they killed the voice that called them to conversion.

 

Jesus is our model in accepting failures. All people fail. All systems fail. This earth is full of stories of failures, more than of successes. The Lord Jesus recognized that he would not accomplish his task as planned. He foretold how the people of Israel did not recognize God’s visitation and would not want to be gathered like chicks under the mother hen’s wings (Lk 13: 34). He also told his apostles how he would be rejected and killed (cf Mk 8-10).

 

For Jesus, however, human failure was not the end. While he accepted it as part of life, he did not resign himself to it as the ultimate experience in life. Instead, failure gave way to hope. If the Jews would not listen, the Gentiles would open their hearts. If Israel would not return to God, the world will run towards the Father. Even his cross would be temporary for the Resurrection is greater than death! Jesus lost his own life so that he can regain it in victory and final vindication.

 

Let us bring to the Lord this Holy Week our personal, family, business, academic and other failures. Let us ask for the gift to accept them and move on from them. Above all, let us ask Jesus for the gift of the same hope that made him foresee that glory is near for those who believe.

 

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