Palm Sunday,April 5,2020

This Palm Sunday , everything looks different. The whole world is under the vicious impact of the corona virus.So many thousands have lost their lives.All the advances of medicine and of technology are of no help.All of a sudden all the accomplishments of man look silly and insignificant before this virus whose fast dissemination knows no boundaries.What has taken place in a small village in China has now engulfed the world.Someone can ask where  the power of modern military warfare or  of modern technology did go.In this dark hour, we remember the darkest days in the life of Jesus beginning with the Palm Sunday.But Jesus rose over the death and proved that He is the Lord of the Universe through his Resurrection.He is calling us to be part of His life and never to be afraid of death or sickness.What is important is our resolve to remain close to Him.
Lord, save us and save the universe. May we be privileged to sing Hosanna for your triumphal entry into the world of mankind.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Palm Sunday,March28,10

Palm Sunday,Mar.28,10

(Mt.21:1-17)

Today we celebrate the Palm the Sunday, the gateway to the Holy Week, to the week of celebration of the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This day calls us to a deeper reflection on the significance of the great events of the history of our Salvation.

In 1980, Archbishop Romero of El Salvador spoke of his mission to his people by saying that the harvest comes because of the grain that dies. Immediately after the sermon with those words, as he was celebrating the mass, holding the Body of Jesus in his hands, he was shot dead and his blood got mixed with the Body of Jesus. His life was sacrificed for the people entrusted to him. Sacrifice brings life and hope.

Today Jesus reminds us of the great sacrifice He has made and of the outpouring of the abundance of life –eternal life—for all through the sacrifice of His life.

Fulfilling of the prophecy made by the Prophet Zechariah, Jesus rode on a donkey, indicating that he was no earthly king, but a person of peace. He rode into Jerusalem and the people acclaimed him with shouts of joy .Garments and branches of trees were spread on the street and people shouted “ Hosanna to the Son of David.”(Psalm,118,25) .

Jesus entered the temple, and as today’s Gospel describes, he cleansed the temple and cured the many who were sick and suffering.

This was a decisive moment in his life. He made the crucial decision to walk the path of suffering. He knew these shouts of acclamation would disappear and they would clamor for his blood. What is important is the obedience to the Will of His heavenly Father.

Palm Sunday is in fact the celebration of his obedience to the Will of the Father.

The suffering and death of Jesus turn everything upside down. The power of death is shattered forever. The cross, instead of becoming a sign of derision, has become a symbol of hope and joy.

The outstretched hands of Jesus on the Cross are the hands that offer us comfort and healing.

The cross is our symbol of hope and peace. It reminds us of the life after death and makes our life here on earth meaningful. Our tragedies and our pains don’t go unanswered. They will be transformed by the power of the cross into sources of grace for us.

The cross is a constant reassurance of God’s continuing love for us. In spite of our sins and failures, God’s love reaches out to us and reminds us that it is for us that He died to give us hope. It is a reminder that we will never be abandoned.

Let this Holy Week be an occasion for us to feel that once we carry the cross of our life with him on our side, our steps will not falter and He will be there to hold us in His arms.

Henry Nouwen gives his thoughts on the the Palm Sunday by reflecting on a painting "Christ on a Donkey" kept in the Augustiner museum in Freiburg. There in the painting, Nouwen sees the face of Jesus ruminating on "the agonizing journey of betrayal, torture, crucifixion and death."  "Above all there is love, an endless,deep and far reaching love born from an unbreakable intimacy with God and reaching out to all people ,wherever they are,were, or will be .There is nothing that He does not fully know.There is nobody whom he does not fully love." "Every time I look at this Christ on the donkey, I am reminded again that I am seen by him with all my sins, guilt, and shame and loved with all his forgiveness, mercy and compassion."