Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. Today we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. We remember that day when the crowd, the people of Israel welcome Him to Jerusalem with great joy and fanfare, palms and olive branches waving high, great joy and happiness. They were singing, crying out Hosanna, Hosanna, Son of David…….. But the mood changed so quickly, just a few days later, the same crowd, the same people denied Jesus…..the same people rejected Jesus. The same crowd betrayed Jesus, crying out crucify Him, crucify Him. The same crowd that cheered Jesus also condemned Him. Remember that the voices that praising Jesus also called for his death. Remember that those who loved Him also abandoned Him, and betrayed Him. What happened ? That crowd’s mood changed so quick and turned against Jesus because their faith was superficial, their praise was not true. Their welcome and shouts were superficial. Their support for Him was only skin deep. When something is superficial, it disappears so quick. That crowd did not know who Jesus was. They expected that Jesus was a political leader who free them from Romans. They did not understand Jesus’ mission. That is why when they realized that Jesus did not fill their expectations , they turned against Him. vThey rejected Him. Now , after 2000 years, we do the same thing we know that story happened 2000 years. We continue to betray Jesus, we continue to deny Jesus and reject Him in many ways. It is an opportunity to remember that Jesus continues to suffer through the needy people we meet every day. We have to ask ourselves, how many times do we deny Jesus? How many times do we betray Jesus in our lives? How many times do we abandon Jesus? But the Good News is Jesus is praying: Father , forgive them because they do not know what they do. This what Palm Sunday is about: To remember what Jesus has done for us.
