HOSANNA: SAVE US, WE PRAY

PALM SUNDAY - Mark 11:1-10

When we mention Palm Sunday, what comes to mind is the procession with the crowds carrying the palms in their hands, singing and shouting Hosanna and acclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.

The word hosanna is understood as a cry of praise. In Mark, the crowds shout: “Hosanna in the highest heavens!” (Mk 11:10), while in Luke they say: “Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven” (Lk 19:38), as if the crowds were repeating the song of the angels at the birth of Jesus: 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” 

(Lk 2:14)

However, the original Hebrew word is a cry for deliverance. Convinced that Jesus was the Messiah, the crowds shouted:  Hosanna, which means: Save, we pray.  Or, please, save us.

Understood in this way, the entrance in Jerusalem was like a political rally, with the crowds welcoming Jesus, convinced that he was going to take action and bring about the liberation of the nation.

It is not surprising that the leaders of the people became very upset. They knew that the Romans would act swiftly and with full force at the slightest sign of a revolt, and they were not ready to defy the Roman rule and the Roman armies.

However, Jesus was not looking for political power and he was not going to overthrow the Romans to establish a Jewish kingdom. He entered the city on a donkey, the companion of the poor in the daily tasks of transport. Jesus was not a threat to anybody and he would say it very clearly to Pilate, when he told him that his kingdom is not of this world (Jn 18:36).

Re-enacting the solemn entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem, we start carrying palms in our hands, full of joy, acclaiming Christ as the King and the Saviour, and then we join the crowds once more to demand the crucifixion of Jesus.

Palm Sunday put us before the crowds and helps us to realise how fickle they are. One day, you are their idol and they make you a hero; the next day, they pull you down and reduce you to dust to be trampled upon. That is the glory of the world, and those who look for it and put all their hope in it, are in for a big disappointment.

Jesus knew the hearts of the people and was well aware of how little they could be trusted. Jesus put all his trust in the Father. This Sunday’s first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, speaks of the Messiah as being given the heart of disciple, who is woken up every morning to hear and to listen like a disciple (Is 5:4). In times of difficulty and danger, he did not run away and he did not cover his face against insult and spittle (Is 5:6):

“I know that I shall not be put to shame” (Is 5:7).

THE NEW COVENANT IN JESUS CHRIST

V SUNDAY OF LENT - Jeremiah 31:31-34

In the Old Testament, we can find reference to several covenants. There is the covenant made with Noah (Gn 9:8-17) after the flood, a universal covenant in which God commits himself to take care of the whole universe. There is a covenant with Abraham (Gn 15:18-21), by which God seals his promise to Abraham and his descendents. And there is the covenant of Sinai, by which God sets the people of Israel aside and commits himself to be their God. However, time and again, the people broke the covenant, turning against God and giving their allegiance to other gods. All prophets denounced this unfaithfulness and called on people to repent and turn back to God. Jeremiah was fearless in his dennounciation, spelling out the consequences of breaking the covenant: The people would loose their freedom, being carried away into slavery. Sounding like a prophet of doom, he complained to God about this role given to him. In spite of that, Jeremiah became a prophet of hope. God does not go back on his word and his promise will be fulfilled. God’s love for his people is a faithful love. Looking at the people’s unfaithfulness, we may think that God made a mistake in choosing them and putting his trust in them. They turned out to be hopeless and incorrigible. However, God always finds a way where there is no way. And so God promised a New Covenant, in which God will transform people from within:

“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer 31:33) 

The New Covenant is established in Jesus Christ, and his death on the cross is the sacrifice that seals that Covenant. Jesus himself interpreted his death in that way:

“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:20).

That is why the gospel of John presents Jesus’ death on the cross, sheding his blood, as the Hour, the saving hour, that is the hour of glorification, when the Son is glorified by glorifying the Father.

For Christians, united with Jesus Christ, the cross is no more a shameful and ignominious symbol, but a sign of victory and glory, by which God’s love overcomes the power of evil. Dying on the cross, Jesus left us his Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, who guides us and transforms us from within.

GOD HAS A PASSION FOR HUMANITY

IV SUNDAY OF LENT - John 3:14-21

If we read the Bible, we will discover that it was written about God’s passion for human beings, portraying also the human reaction to God’s offer of passionate love, which many times is one of rejection.

To know God as the Creator, we do not need the Scriptures, and that’s why all peoples have some notion of a Creator - Shakapanga, as he is called in Kaonde, meaning that he is the father of all those that make things. He is the Supreme Maker (Creator). This notion is so deep that most of the songs of thanksgiving sung in the Sunday liturgy sing the praises of God the Creator. The Bible recognises God as the Creator of heaven and earth and everything else that exists, and dedicates the first two chapters of Genesis to the profession of this faith. However, besides those two first chapters, there is very little else written specifically about God as the Creator. The Bible is written about a God who cares for human beings, having decided to establish a relationship with them and binding himself to that relationship thwough a covenant. And slowly He revealed through his presence and his actions among people (mainly the people of Israel) that he has a plan of salvation for humanity, for the world. The Bible is written about God the Redeemer, the Saviour.

This Sunday’s first reading from 2 Chronicles 36 makes a summary of the response of the People of Israel to God’s proposal of eternal love. 

They “added infidelity to infidelity, copying all the shameful practices of the nations and defiling the Temple that the Lord had consecrated for himself in Jerusalem. The Lord, the God of their ancestors, tirelessly sent them messenger after messenger, since he wished to spare his people and his house. But they ridiculed the messengers of God, they despised his words, they laughed at his prophets”. (2 Chron 36:14-16)

Surely, we reap what we sow, and suffer the consequences of our actions. And the people of Israel has suffered in many ways throughout history, but God has kept them alive as the people of the Promise, because God keeps his promises. He leaves us to ourselves for a while, so that we realise the emptiness of our dreans, the shallownes of our reasoning, the shortcomings of our efforts and the weakness and vanity of our power. When God steps away from us, even for a while, we fall into despair and take refuge in all kinds of false values that are no more than abominations. But God never stays away for too long. In fact, he is always near by, and he cannot forget us forever. When we less expect, we receive a helping hand. God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts.

God’s passion of love for us is so great that he sent his beloved Son to save the world. Sometimes, we paint an image of God as someone who is full of anger, always on the look out for the slightest faulty step so that he exacts punishment and revenge. Instead, God reveals himself as the one who is always ready to forgive and to welcome us with joy. Jesus is the greatest prove of this. And what is asked of us? That we recognise and accept this love, that is that we believe in Jesus Christ.

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost

but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world

not to condemn the world,

but so that through him the world might be saved.

No one who believes in him will be condemned;”

“The Son of Man must be lifted up

as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (Jn 3:14-18)

JESUS AND THE TEMPLE

III SUNDAY OF LENT - Jn 2:13-25

The importance of the Temple

The gospels of Matthew and Luke present Jesus  being tempted while in the desert. One of the temptations had to do with the Temple, when the devil took him to the top of the temple and proposed that he throws himself down to show that God protects him. 

The Temple - and there was only one in Jerusalem -played a very important role in the religious life of every Jew. Whenever in Jerusalem, Jesus spent time in the Temple, where he had the opportunity to meet people coming from everywhere. There, he preached to all willing to listen to him and held discussions with Scribes and Pharisees, who opposed him.

The Temple, which Jesus knew and frequented, was the third temple. The first one, built by Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians. The second was built by the  exiles who returned from Babylon. And the third was built by King Herod, in an effort to please the Jews. It was a huge and magnificent temple, completed only in 65 AD, and then totally destroyed in 70 AD by the Roman army.

The exploitation done in the Temple

The Temple was administered and controlled by the priestly families, mainly the High Priest’s family. During Jesus’ life, Annas and Caiaphas held the highest religious position as high priests. And we can say that Annas maintained the control of the Temple for a long time, since five of his sons held the position of High Priest, and Caiaphas was his son-in-law. 

The money exchangers and the animal sellers were doing a great to the worshipers, mainly the ones coming from afar. By expelling them from the Temple, Jesus was inconveniencing many people by disrupting the normal functioning of the Temple and the offering of sacrifices.  However, this service had become a big business, controlled by the priestly families, who exploited it for their own profit. Moved by zeal for God’s house, Jesus, like the prophets of old, decided to take action - a prophetic action, cleansing the Temple and making it clear that it must be a house of prayer for all peoples.

According to the gospel of John, Jesus accused the people involved in this trade of transforming the Temple into a “market place”, robbing it of the dignity and the holiness of the “Father’s house” (Jn 2:16). In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus used even harsher words, speaking of the way they transformed “the house of prayer” into a “den of robbers” (Mt 21:13).

To use the name of God in vain

There is no doubt that Jesus denounced the exploitation taking place in the Temple and the great abuse of using God’s name and God’s service to justify that exploitation. Throughout the centuries, in all cultures, and in all religions, time and again the sacred and the divine has been used to justify oppression and exploitation. We can find everywhere evil actions and evil customs hiding under the name of God and being proposed as good. To use the name of God, his word, his house and the service due to him in order to gain power, prestige, influence and wealth is a grave sin. Jesus suffered this temptation, when the devil proposed that he should throw himself down from the top of the Temple and force God to save him for the amazement of the crowds. We cannot force God and put him at our service, and we cannot do evil things and justify them by hiding under the name of God. Jesus refused the devil’s proposal, considering that we cannot put God to the test (Mt 4:7). And when we do, we are the losers.

Nowadays, many Christian churches are like a “market place” or a “supper market”, with churches for all likes, offering all kinds of promises. The Father’s house cannot be transformed into a “market place”.

Jesus is the new Temple

The religious authorities demanded from Jesus a justification of his action. His answer was puzzling: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (Jn 2:19). This would be used against him in the religious trial before the High Priest (Mt 26:61). But Jesus was referring to a different temple, the Temple of his body. Jesus is the Temple, the new temple, not build by human hands, which is really the Father’s house, where we can feel at home.