The irony...

The opposite realities come together, and yet, find a meaningful encounter, which makes joyful "the irony".The Sunday has two names: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. This sounds bit strange; it sounds like saying that it is a Sunday to rejoice and a Sunday to mourn. Well, it is precisely that,which completes the meaning of the day's celebration.

The days which followed this event unfolded the sad side of the irony. The people who are shouting "Hosanna to the Lord" and spreading their garments on the wayside, will cry out even louder. "Crucify Him!" Human nature becomes crystal clear. Human beings always want to tread on the popular road. We, so easily let go of our values and discipline. Jesus, on the other hand, endures passion and death; he takes the difficult path for our sake.

When the earthly kings come to town, he comes with power and might. The Heavenly King, who is King of all kings comes as a servant. "Say to the daughter of Zion; look your King comes to you, he is humble, he rides on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." What an irony!

"Cursed be the man who hangs on the tree." The death of Jesus on the cross transforms everything, and from now on, the cross becomes a life-giving tree. As St. Paul would say: "for Jews, the cross of Christ became a stumbling block, and for Greeks a folly, but for us believers the wisdom and power of God." What an irony!

We face ironies every day of our lives. Let us face them with courage and faith. Even though we might have to walk a difficult road, let us not falter, but be always on the side of God, rather than, to walk the popular road, which leads to doom.
-Fr. Peter Fernandes, sfx