Reflection for Palm Sunday (April 09, 2017)
We are at the threshold of the Holy Week. We now witness the vulnerability of Jesus. If He wanted, He could have opted out or chosen a different path. But by making Himself vulnerable, He touches our hearts. We often feel strong and secure when our weaknesses are not known to others. We feel powerful when our secrets are safe. However, very few have the courage to expose their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It is certainly a risky affair. You never know what others would do with such an intimate knowledge of ourselves. In the gospel narration of today we come across several people who are conscious to keep their secrets safe. The apostles anxiety in the Upper room: “Is it I Lord?” Caiaphas and Pilate had their own demons to be hid. The chief priests and scribes felt powerful to see Jesus on the cross; their inadequacies will no more be challenged.
However in the crowd there is also Mary Magdalene. She had nothing to hide. She was well aware that the Lord knew her whole story. She was touched by Him because she did not hesitate to hide from Him her frailties. To be truly touched implies the courage to reveal our vulnerabilities. In His passion, Jesus reveals to us his weakness: love for humanity. This Palm Sunday as we walk with Jesus, in His penultimate journey, let us acknowledge and work on our vulnerabilities rather than devise plans and ways to cover and safeguard them. Let us risk 'being touched'. Let grace flow.
We are at the threshold of the Holy Week. We now witness the vulnerability of Jesus. If He wanted, He could have opted out or chosen a different path. But by making Himself vulnerable, He touches our hearts. We often feel strong and secure when our weaknesses are not known to others. We feel powerful when our secrets are safe. However, very few have the courage to expose their weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It is certainly a risky affair. You never know what others would do with such an intimate knowledge of ourselves. In the gospel narration of today we come across several people who are conscious to keep their secrets safe. The apostles anxiety in the Upper room: “Is it I Lord?” Caiaphas and Pilate had their own demons to be hid. The chief priests and scribes felt powerful to see Jesus on the cross; their inadequacies will no more be challenged.
However in the crowd there is also Mary Magdalene. She had nothing to hide. She was well aware that the Lord knew her whole story. She was touched by Him because she did not hesitate to hide from Him her frailties. To be truly touched implies the courage to reveal our vulnerabilities. In His passion, Jesus reveals to us his weakness: love for humanity. This Palm Sunday as we walk with Jesus, in His penultimate journey, let us acknowledge and work on our vulnerabilities rather than devise plans and ways to cover and safeguard them. Let us risk 'being touched'. Let grace flow.
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