The Gospel Narrative shows us that one never knows who one’s true friends are until one has no power. Last Sunday, if we were to follow the older liturgy, on account of the Jewish persecution, Jesus went into hiding. The purple coverings of the Cross and the statues demonstrate that from then on, the divinity of Jesus has taken a backseat as His humanity goes on trial.
As Jesus hides His majesty and power, we enter from today on into the silence of Holy Week as we contemplate the mystery of the Man. There are parallels to be observed in both the triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the tragic end there. The Jesus acclaimed will be the Jesus accused. It is He who receives both acclamation and accusation until we realise that it is we, spectators or otherwise, who are the same actors in both these scenes.
Praise is easy. Flattery is even easier. Sin on the other hand is not so easy to discern since we would like to think that “Err, I may be bad but I doubt that I am that bad”. Is this not echoed in the role of the Congregation at the Passion narrative which says, “Not I, Lord, surely?”. When you think about it, “Crucify Him” is not merely an external imperative to be applied unto Jesus. It is not an outside act hurled upon Him. Rather, “Crucify Him” is achieved each time we or more personally “I”, sinned. My sins crucified the Lord.
How we perceive ourselves is not really the point here. How we take responsibility for our actions is. Amidst the shrills of electronic noises, it is not easy to recognise us or rather the “me” as the personal actor. We are constantly distracted that we lose sight of Christ in the centre there. He is there by “my” condemnation.
Yet, He does not run away. Jesus enters into the Passion knowing well what He wants to accomplish, that is, the salvation of sinners. The Suffering Servant embraced His fate willingly. Whereas we may be the fickle crowd which shouted “Hosanna” one minute and “crucify Him” the next. Yet Jesus remained steadfast.
He did not only climb Calvary physically. Rather His faithfulness turned the treacherous ascent into our redemption. The palms in our hands symbolise our desire to worship God and to honour Him. Yet here we are as sinners for we are also the reason that He would die on the Cross for us.
Reflection on ourselves as sinners is not popular these days. Pope John Paul II referred to this as the loss of the sense of sin. Calling ourselves sinners sounds rather negative. Instead what we have promoted is positive theology or thinking. Coupled with the present notion of a moralistic therapeutic deity, God has a function, which is, to make us feel good about ourselves. A therapeutic god’s role is to support our personal aspirations and all a human being is supposed to be, is simply to be good. But what does being good really mean?
For example, does anyone think of pornography as bad? It is prevalent so much so that it is accepted as a part of life. Not a few are addicted and sinning because of pornography and yet hardly anyone discusses it let alone confesses it. Instead, our focus today is always on the hot topics of the day. Social justice or environmental crisis. Not that these are bad concerns in themselves.
The intention is to be good but the lack of a deeper sense of personal culpability can reduce the Palm Sunday liturgy and Holy Week into a religious motion that we go through. Just like the flow from the triumphant wave of the palm to the condemnation of the crucifixion. It comes and goes. But Palm Sunday is not merely Christ suffering. It is Christ suffering because there are sinners to save—you and me. Not the impersonal “we” but the personal “I”.
Christ endured all this to save “me”. In order to appreciate His sacrifice, we must regain the language of sin, the vocabulary of personal responsibility. Otherwise, trapped by the insecure vortex of needing affirmation, we may forget the need to examine our conscience.
Do you know the reason when a person comes for Confession, he starts by telling the priest when the last Confession was? Why is that important? First, it is for the priest to make an assessment. We have people who have not gone for Confession for years and when they confess their sins, they will say one or two sins. Admittedly, some struggle with the fear of going for Confession. I want to affirm the courage for coming. However, stating that a person who has not gone for Confession for a long time confessing one or two sins is not an indication that I want to hear a whole shopping list of sins. Rather a person who has not gone for Confession for 5 years confessing a single sin may be emblematic of an unreflective soul.
Where is the examination of conscience? Never mind that Socrates once said, “A life unexamined is not worth living”. Without a sense of sin, one can become entitled and rather fail to appreciate that Christ suffered on our behalf, yours and mine. Religious practice, if it does not know sin, runs the danger of becoming therapy. A Church without sin is nothing more than a spa. We come to Church so that God can massage our egos.
Today, as Christ enters into His Passion, He invites us to join Him. As we face our beloved Lord, it might be good to feel deep in our hearts the betrayals that we have heaped upon Him. And so as not to hide behind the impersonal “we”, feel the regret and the remorse that it is “my” sins that put Him on the path to Calvary.
