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March 25, 2018

Palm Sunday - all of a sudden, Jesus was a star. The cheering crowd, the Hosanna, the exultation and the expectations – Jesus was expected to be a political leader. A leader against the Romans. Vorschusslorbeeren – praise in advance, premature praise that was, because Jesus deceived them all. Or rather: they were mistaken in Jesus. And their deception changed into anger and despair – Jesus was not up to their expectations. The “Hosanna” becomes “crucify him”. Is this only an event 2000 years ago? I think we also expect a lot from others, we put our hope in others, we praise their merits – and then comes deception. This is how we react towards others. But others also react towards us: they expect a lot from us, they praise us in advance, and then this praise becomes derision, ultimately, this leads to abusive remarks if something goes wrong, if something goes a different way than expected by the others. Praise and acclamation are near to dispraise, frustration, deception and anger. These are experiences we make, just like Jesus made them during the week we call the Holy Week. The Stations of the Cross are images of our life, they reflect our experiences. The way to Golgotha is our way. But one thing is certain: after all the suffering and defeat and deception, after death itself, we are sure to celebrate the resurrection, we are sure to celebrate life.

Fr Wolfgang Felber, SJ