Fr. Louis Birabaluge, sx
PALM SUNDAY
The account of the Gospel we listen to (Mt 21: 1-11), before the procession with palms in our hands, has many political categories: Jerusalem, the dwelling city of the King (v1.10), the Lord (v3), the King (v5), son of David (v9). All these words are repeated in the passion of the Lord with reference to Pilate, the governor and Jesus, with the mention of “king of Jews”.
Two kingships are put side to side here in the account of the Passion: Pilate, a king with power to condemn to death and Jesus a powerless king who reveals his power through the cross.
King Pilate, instead of following his conscience and doing justice to a man found innocent, follows the crowd in condemning Jesus, an innocent man. Referring to Pilate’s position when he handed Jesus over to the will of the crowd, Hans Kelsen, an Australian who immigrated to USA, calls Pilate, a good example of “modern democrat ruler” a man for whom what is right and just emerges from the will of the “people”[1]. Should we not call him today a ‘populist king’, a king for whom, what matters is his position? And on behalf of this position, honour and interests, human life can be sacrificed!
Because we are all aware of the scandals and disasters around the world caused by many Kings behaving like Pilate, unfortunately with the support of the “crowd”, as in the issue of immigration, famine, corruption...we discover the urgent need to turn back to another kind of kingship, if our world has to survive. That’s why the figure of Jesus, the king of Palm Sunday and Good Friday is not only opposite to the figure of an unjust king like Pilate but he is a redeeming king.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is called “king of Jews”. The ruling class, those in power and those in the crowd who are shouting because everyone is shouting do not recognise him a King. If they call him a king, it’s just by mockery. Meanwhile, we have some people who have found in him the image of the true King, the humble king (Mt 21: 55), the prophet from a remote place: Nazareth of Galilee (v11). In the Gospel of Mark, it’s during his death on the Cross that a centurion confessed: “truly this man was the son of God” (Mk 15: 39).
Like the centurion, the apostles, the crowd during the entrance to Jerusalem and the women following Jesus during his passion have found the true King in the Crucified Lord. He is a King who does not reign through violence and selfishness, but through a love which suffers for us unto death on the Cross. He is a king who judges with justice (Ps 45:7). A king who washes the feet of his disciples and sets for them a new code of conduct that is love and forgiveness among themselves (Mt 18: 22- 35; Jn 13: 1-17).
As we are called to do whatever Jesus did “in memory of him” (Lk 22: 19), are we not invited to follow him in our ‘Politics’: “ how we live together and make decisions, the way we structure our common life, for our happiness-together on earth and final with God in heaven?” If we have to sing truly “Hosanna to the son of David, the blessed who comes in the name of the Lord”, we have also to allow him to be our King who goes before us and points out to us the way which leads to true life, a life where authority and power are transformed in servanthood, forgiveness and non-violence.
These evangelical values: “servant hood, forgiveness and non-violence” appear in all the celebrations of the Holy week as principles of Christian politics. As we are approaching the crucial time of political elections here in Sierra Leone, may these guidelines drown from the life of Jesus become our code of conduct in our Christian communities, families and public offices. May the crucified Lord train us in his Kingship as he gives us his body and blood trough the Holy Eucharist!
[1] J. RATZINGER, CIELO E TERRA. Riflessioni su politica e fede, Piemme, 1997, p. 56.
PALM SUNDAY
The account of the Gospel we listen to (Mt 21: 1-11), before the procession with palms in our hands, has many political categories: Jerusalem, the dwelling city of the King (v1.10), the Lord (v3), the King (v5), son of David (v9). All these words are repeated in the passion of the Lord with reference to Pilate, the governor and Jesus, with the mention of “king of Jews”.
Two kingships are put side to side here in the account of the Passion: Pilate, a king with power to condemn to death and Jesus a powerless king who reveals his power through the cross.
King Pilate, instead of following his conscience and doing justice to a man found innocent, follows the crowd in condemning Jesus, an innocent man. Referring to Pilate’s position when he handed Jesus over to the will of the crowd, Hans Kelsen, an Australian who immigrated to USA, calls Pilate, a good example of “modern democrat ruler” a man for whom what is right and just emerges from the will of the “people”[1]. Should we not call him today a ‘populist king’, a king for whom, what matters is his position? And on behalf of this position, honour and interests, human life can be sacrificed!
Because we are all aware of the scandals and disasters around the world caused by many Kings behaving like Pilate, unfortunately with the support of the “crowd”, as in the issue of immigration, famine, corruption...we discover the urgent need to turn back to another kind of kingship, if our world has to survive. That’s why the figure of Jesus, the king of Palm Sunday and Good Friday is not only opposite to the figure of an unjust king like Pilate but he is a redeeming king.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is called “king of Jews”. The ruling class, those in power and those in the crowd who are shouting because everyone is shouting do not recognise him a King. If they call him a king, it’s just by mockery. Meanwhile, we have some people who have found in him the image of the true King, the humble king (Mt 21: 55), the prophet from a remote place: Nazareth of Galilee (v11). In the Gospel of Mark, it’s during his death on the Cross that a centurion confessed: “truly this man was the son of God” (Mk 15: 39).
Like the centurion, the apostles, the crowd during the entrance to Jerusalem and the women following Jesus during his passion have found the true King in the Crucified Lord. He is a King who does not reign through violence and selfishness, but through a love which suffers for us unto death on the Cross. He is a king who judges with justice (Ps 45:7). A king who washes the feet of his disciples and sets for them a new code of conduct that is love and forgiveness among themselves (Mt 18: 22- 35; Jn 13: 1-17).
As we are called to do whatever Jesus did “in memory of him” (Lk 22: 19), are we not invited to follow him in our ‘Politics’: “ how we live together and make decisions, the way we structure our common life, for our happiness-together on earth and final with God in heaven?” If we have to sing truly “Hosanna to the son of David, the blessed who comes in the name of the Lord”, we have also to allow him to be our King who goes before us and points out to us the way which leads to true life, a life where authority and power are transformed in servanthood, forgiveness and non-violence.
These evangelical values: “servant hood, forgiveness and non-violence” appear in all the celebrations of the Holy week as principles of Christian politics. As we are approaching the crucial time of political elections here in Sierra Leone, may these guidelines drown from the life of Jesus become our code of conduct in our Christian communities, families and public offices. May the crucified Lord train us in his Kingship as he gives us his body and blood trough the Holy Eucharist!
[1] J. RATZINGER, CIELO E TERRA. Riflessioni su politica e fede, Piemme, 1997, p. 56.