Finally, we are in the holiest week of the year. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday is called Holy Week. During these days we commemorate the foundational events in the history of salvation that transformed the world and human destiny. We witness the institution of Priesthood, Eucharist, Ministry, as well as the Passion, Death and the Resurrection of Jesus. Each of these needs to be reflected and meditated upon. In this brief presentation, however, I would like to invite your attention to the contrast between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
These two Sundays symbolize two kinds of glory- the man given glory and God given glory. On Palm Sunday, people crowned Jesus with Kingship. They sang hosanna to him. They spread their cloaks along the road (Lk19:28ff). This excitement and human praise, however, did not last long. Four days later the same throngs that hailed him failed him. They shouted: “Crucify him!”(Lk 23:210). The praise and glory of human hearts often emerges from a calculated mind and a selfish goal. Human behavior is unpredictable as it changes according to the mood of the mob. Anything founded on the shaky foundation of human emotions and conveniences cannot stand the test of truth. The human mind fluctuates and is most often influenced by selfish motives. Convenience dictates conscience. The glory that the world offers is like a house built on sand. The Palm Sunday reflects this reality. In the long run, this kind of glory becomes a meaningless victory.
On the other hand, Easter Sunday talks about a different kind of glory, God given glory. On Easter Sunday, God exalted Jesus and bestowed on him the Name that is above every name (Phil 2: 6-11). This eternal and everlasting glory resulted from Jesus’ unfailing commitment to the will of God. As Paul described, because Jesus sought the Kingdom of God even to the point of sacrificing his life, God greatly exalted him”.
Our life is a journey from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Being an embodied spirit, the human person constantly struggles between the life (spirit) principle and the death (body) principle (Freud). The tendency to seek the things of the earth often overpowers the human’s basic orientation to the things of above. As worldly glory is more attractive to the senses and less demanding, many people traveling along this road.. As Thomas Grey rightly put it, “The path of glory but leads to the grave”.
Jesus reached the mountain of resurrection by traveling up through the hill of Calvary (Good Friday). There is no bypass to resurrection. The rocks of Calvary must hit and break our ego before we reach the height of Resurrection. His life was a constant Yes to God and No to Satan. Resurrection is an ongoing process. It is the result of a series of dying process. It begins with our Baptism. The new orientation that we inherit through the sacrament of Baptism needs to grow through our vocation. There are fascinations and attractions on the way to distract us. Very often it is difficult to say no to them. The call to commit to our vocation is our Calvary as it demands sacrifice. Whether it is in our family, workplace, school or personal life, to experience Easter, we need to take up the cross with Jesus. Let us not stop on the way. Let us continue our journey towards Easter Sunday. Let us work for the treasures that last even after our passing from the world.
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