Entering Jerusalem

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion April 5, 2009

Gospel of the Lord's Entrance into Jerusalem (Mk 11:1-10)

When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, 'Why are you doing this?' reply, 'The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.'"

So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they permitted them to do it.

So they brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!"

Gospel (Mk 15:1-39)

As soon as morning came, the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, that is, the whole Sanhedrin, held a council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

Pilate questioned him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

He said to him in reply, "You say so."

The chief priests accused him of many things. Again Pilate questioned him, "Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you of."

Jesus gave him no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast he used to release to them one prisoner whom they requested. A man called Barabbas was then in prison along with the rebels who had committed murder in a rebellion. The crowd came forward and began to ask him to do for them as he was accustomed.

Pilate answered, "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.

Pilate again said to them in reply, "Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the king of the Jews?"

They shouted again, "Crucify him."

Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" They only shouted the louder, "Crucify him."

So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and kept striking his head with a reed and spitting upon him. They knelt before him in homage. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him out to crucify him.

They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. They brought him to the place of Golgotha which is translated Place of the Skull. They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his garments by casting lots for them to see what each should take.

It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." With him they crucified two revolutionaries, one on his right and one on his left. Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross."

Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also kept abusing him.

At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "Look, he is calling Elijah."

One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."

Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"

The two Gospel readings we hear today present contrasting scenes. In the first, we hear of how Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem amidst shouts of "Hosanna!" But in the second, we hear of how He was presented to Pilate amidst shouts of "Crucify him!"

Jesus boldly entered Jerusalem, knowing that He will face His final hours there. Despite the praise He was receiving as He entered, He knew what was to come. The people themselves shouted about the "kingdom of David" that is to come. But only Jesus knew what will be happening. He was there for His hour had come. He bravely faced Jerusalem - the place where He is to suffer and die for the salvation of man. He faced all this because of His love for us.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, we too enter into Holy Week. As we commemorate the suffering and death of the Lord during these holy days, we are reminded of His great love for us and we feel sorrow for our sins because we realize how much it cost Jesus to save us. As Jesus bravely entered the place where He would die, we are all called to enter into a life of self-giving love, a life free from sin and worldly passions. This call is not only for Holy Week, but for our entire lives.

In the Gospel narrative of Jesus' Passion, we hardly hear any words from Jesus. He did not defend Himself nor complained that it was too much. He graciously accepted His suffering and death though He was innocent. Pilate himself knew that Jesus did nothing wrong. Jesus was blameless and was thus the perfect Victim - the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Like Jesus, we too are called to stand for the truth, to be blameless even amidst difficult situation. He Himself said that those who are persecuted because of Him are truly blessed.

As the world hated Jesus, so the world will hate us (Jn 15:18). But we must not be afraid. We must remain faithful to our Christian calling and not succumb to the ways of the world to save our lives. Like Jesus, we must be courageous. If we have to face suffering just to stand up for what is true, then we must. We should never compromise to save our lives, for whoever loves His life loses it (Jn 12:25).

As we commemorate today Jesus' entry into the Jerusalem of His Passion, we too, enter into where God wills us to be. May we not be afraid to be obedient to God's will despite the difficulties. And may our faithfulness to our God become stronger and last not just until this week ends, but our whole life through.

An Image of a Mature Faith

Feast of the Sto. Niño Jan. 16, 2011 (Mt 18:1-5, 10)

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

Jesus' childhood is forever immortalized in the popular image we call the Sto. Niño. This image, a common sight in homes and even in business areas, is often dressed up to portray different personalities. While it is merely a popular tradition to dress up the Sto. Niño as a farmer, as a fireman or as a construction worker, it serves as a reminder of Jesus' Incarnation, of the fact that He lived among us. Jesus indeed became a true human child as an act of humility and out of love for humanity. He lived a full human life, from childhood until death, precisely to demonstrate to us how to live as true children of the Father. The different portrayals of the Sto. Niño serve to remind us that regardless of who we are and what we do in life, we are children of God.

Jesus reminds us to remain humble, like little children. No matter how old we get and how mature and experienced we think we may be, we are still God's little children. We would never have achieved anything without His grace and we definitely cannot, by our own maturity and wisdom, save ourselves. Salvation requires a recognition of one's sinfulness and a humble, dependence on and surrender to God's fatherly love.

As we go on facing many responsibilities and accomplishing new achievements in life, we must never forget to remain humble before God. We must not forget that, as children of God, we should always remain obedient to His will and dependent on Him.

Our devotion to the Sto. Niño must not be a mere taking care of a statue as if it were an actual child that needs to be cleaned and dressed up all the time. The very point of immortalizing Jesus' childhood through this image is precisely to awaken the child in our hearts that has grown up and has rebelled against his Father, the child that has been fooled into thinking that he can survive without God. Maturity in faith is different from the maturity that the world values. While maturity and independence mean relying on one's ability to accomplish one's responsibility, maturity in faith means doing one's best while recognizing that one cannot succeed without God's help.

Jesus showed us His humility in becoming an innocent and dependent human child. And as He grew up, He remained obedient to the will of His heavenly Father. We must follow His example by being obedient children of God even as we grow up. As Jesus grew in wisdom and in age, He remained to be the Sto. Niño, the holy and obedient child of the Father, even until His death. We too, must be holy and obedient children of God no matter how old we may grow up to be. In growing up, may we not grow apart from God and apart from His heavenly kingdom, which is open only for children.

Wanted: Worthy Servant?

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Feb. 7, 2010 (Lk 5:1-11)

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.

Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."

For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

There are times when we feel we are worth nothing, when we feel that everything we do are in vain because we're not getting any results nor pleasing anyone. Even when we pray, go to Mass or serve God, we feel unworthy to worship or to serve God. We feel we are lacking something, that we are imperfect.

Our readings for today present us with three servants of God whom we look up to as holy men - Isaiah, the prophet, Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, and Peter, the Prince of the Apostles. But even they felt unworthy before they were called by God. They all felt they were sinners unworthy to be in the presence of God. But these men were called to serve God and they did not refuse to do so. We look up to them now because they went from unworthy sinners to holy men.

In our Gospel today, Peter got visited by a stranger in his boat. This stranger borrowed his boat and, from it, preached to the people. Peter heard Jesus' words and was probably amazed by Jesus' teachings. He must have recognized that Jesus was a holy man. Nonetheless, it was peculiar that Jesus, though a holy man, should give fishermen directions on how to catch fish. But Peter, trusting Jesus, obeyed and was surprised by their catch. This miracle must have been the moment when Jesus captured Peter.

Peter, realizing that Jesus was truly a holy man, felt unworthy of Jesus' presence. But Jesus called him and his friends, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

Jesus is saying the same thing to us. If we feel unworthy to serve Him, who will be worthy? We are all sinners and all those who are chosen by God to serve Him are also sinners. We must not refuse God's call for it is He who chose us. It is He who guides us as we obey His mandate. It is He who makes us worthy to serve Him.

God chooses us, despite our weaknesses, to be His followers. Our weaknesses bear witness to the truth that it is God who works in us and that it is God's work that we do. Our weaknesses tell the world that it is God who is truly powerful. As St. Paul says, "God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God (1 Cor 1:27-29)."

So let us heed Jesus' call to be not afraid. It is God who chooses us and who makes us worthy. He gives us the power to build His Kingdom here on earth and to be fishers of men. Let us do our mission in whatever state of life we have. Let us trust in God who made us His worthy servants.