Praise And Ridicule

There are few contrasts as great as the ones we experience in today’s readings.

We opened the Mass proclaiming the glorious entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The crowd shouts “Hosanna!” as he rides triumphantly into the city. The people throw down their cloaks before Him and wave palm branches. The mood is festive and jubilant as Christ receives the praise He is due as the Eternal Son of God and Messiah. Through it all, Jesus remains silent, accepting the adulation of the crowd without getting carried away by their excitement.

The whole scene changed dramatically, however, when we proclaimed the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark. We see Jesus in anguish as He asks His Father to take the cup of suffering away from Him. We hear the dismay in His voice when Peter, James and John fail to stay awake even one hour with Him. Then, He remains silent as he faces arrest, an unjust trial and crucifixion. The words of the prophet Isaiah which we heard in today’s first reading come to mind: “I have set my face like flint knowing I will not be put to shame.”

Jesus’ attitude remains the same whether He is being praised or ridiculed, whether people are waving palm branches at Him or beating Him with whips. At all times, He displays a peaceful, silent demeanor. Because His desire is to please God rather than men, it does not matter to Him whether others are following Him or turning away from Him. He is focused resolutely on nothing else except His Heavenly Father’s will. And if it is His Father’s will that He should “give His life as a ransom for the many” through death on a cross, He will do it trusting fully in God’s love.

If we are going  to be followers of Jesus, then we must adopt the same attitude. Our focus must always be on God’s will and not on what others expect of us. To be truly Christian, our desire to please God must be greater than our fear of ridicule from men. Like Jesus, we must be equally comfortable being made fun of as being praised. If we are worried about how others will judge us, we will never pick up our cross and follow Jesus as Simon the Cyrene does and as we are invited to do. We will always be looking over our shoulder taking our cue from what others are doing rather than from what God wills for us. People and their expectations are always changing but God remains the same yesterday, today and forever.

And so we begin this Holy Week remembering how Christ triumphantly entered the city of Jerusalem to suffer and die for us so that we may be saved. Can we accept what little suffering comes our way out of love for Him? Since He has done so much for us, should we not be more concerned about what His will for us is than what others - who have done little if nothing by comparison - expect of us?