Jesus Humbles Himself Out of Love He Has for Us

04-02-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Anthony Okolo, C.S.Sp, V.F.

The passion narrative gives us an insight of what Jesus suffered for us, especially the love He has for us that made Him endure all the insults and humiliation for our sake. Today’s liturgy does not require a long homily but allows the events of the passion story to speak directly to us in the silence of our heart. Our meditation is on Jesus’ suffering and death for our sake. He gave Himself completely to us by His preaching, miracles and healing and sacrificing Himself humbly on the cross.

Today begins the most sacred week called the Holy Week in our Christian liturgy. One of the ways we can participate actively in this week’s events and enjoy the beauty of the celebration is to maintain some levels of interior silence and quietness. The Church invites us to open ourselves since we have all gathered with faith to commemorate that triumphal entry into Jerusalem. If we participate in this journey with our Lord, we are sure to rise with Him on Easter Sunday. Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on an ass because to ride on a horse, for the Jews, would indicate a war lord but on an ass signifies that the person is for peace and wants peace. That is why He reprimands Peter when Peter cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant to shield his sword because He came for peace.

The focus of Jesus is His triumph over evil, death, sin, and suffering. Jesus has foreseen all the sufferings and death He was about to undergo and how He will be ill-treated by those He has cared for, by those He fed when they were hungry, and by those He healed their sickness and cured their infirmities. These are the same people who would insult Him and make all kinds of mockery of Him. One would have expected Him to withdraw back in the midst of all these evils but since He had come to defeat the power of evil over humanity, He remained firm. He was obedient unto death that even when the passersby mocked by telling Him “if you are the son of God save yourself by coming down from the cross”, He chose to remain there because He knew that is the only way to save the world. The devil does not like the cross and wants to take Him away from the cross. In our own lives too, we encounter situations whereby we wish to avoid the cross and choose the easy way out. Jesus’ example on choosing to remain on the cross instead of coming down is a clear indication that we should not listen to voices that would want to distract us from carrying our own cross in life when the situation calls for it.

Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem should also be an opportunity to reflect on how often we triumph over sin, negative forces and evil that come our way in our daily lives. It would be good if we use the Palm Sunday of this particular year to put things straight in our lives.

Wishing you all a Blessed Holy Week Celebration.

Fr. Tony Okolo C.S.Sp., V.F.