PALMS
In the scriptures, the people waved palm branches to show their warm welcome to Jesus. The people in Jerusalem were so interested in Jesus, whom they called the great prophet from Galiliee. They also sang, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
The palm was an expression of their decision to follow Jesus and to suffer, to die and to rise again with Jesus.
Unfortunately, some of us interpreted it in different ways. May be some of us will keep this palm because of our belief that it has a magical power, that it has a lucky charm. In fact, we can see in many houses palms that were placed permanently in their doors and windows because of their belief that it will protect them from any danger or calamity and forbid the entrance of any evil spirit. The power of this palm is not found actually in the leaves but in your own hearts, in the hearts of the people who hold this symbol of our faith.
Is there any other way to interpret this? As we enter the Holy Week, I would like to invite you to contemplate on these PALMS. PALMS that are not leaves but P A L M S that stands for P-OWER, A-UTONOMY, L-OVE, M-EEKNESS, and S-ERVICE.
All of us have P – POWER. Power that we exercise in our family over our children, power that we use in the church or workplace, power that has been given by God. This power helps us to put things in order but at the same time, this power can also caused division once it is abused. Our government leaders have tried to build up a unified government by breaking the walls between those in the administration and opposition but unfortunately, it did not happen because of many abuses of power done by both parties. Jesus has also a power: the power to cast out demons, heal the sick, convert people, and bring people back to life. But in spite of this divine power, “Jesus remained humble and opted to empty himself and took the form of slave being born in the likeness of men.” (Phil 2:7).
We are also given A – AUTONOMY. God loves us over other creatures. He allowed us to discern what is best for us. Then, our God’s gift of autonomy sometimes lead us to sin because it is being misused. We make decision not in accordance with God’s will but for our own advantage. [As an example, the church is constantly reminding us that abortion is a grave sin, but then there are still people who commit abortion because of the abuse of their autonomy.] When Jesus embraced His humanity, He also was given autonomy to decide for Himself. But in all His decisions and actions, he had always sought the will of His Father. “If You are willing to take this cup away from me; still not my own will but yours be done.” [Lk 22:42].
The L – LOVE of God to us is not dubious. As evidence, He sent Jesus, His son and allowed him to be crucified. That is how our loving God loved us. He allowed us to know his splendor. But in spite of His love, we too sometimes failed to show our love for Him through loving our marginalized brothers and sisters. Several times we become insensitive to their needs. In our family we were so ungrateful to our parents. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He already knew that He was to fulfill God’s promise to His people. He did not resist although He knew that He would suffer heavily. He will be despised and abandoned.
The M – MEEKNESS of Jesus was so very evident in His life. Starting from His birth where He was born in a cave, when He entered into Jerusalem riding a donkey and His burial where He borrowed a tomb from others, these are manifestations of His meekness. This meekness sometimes is out of our vocabulary. We have a hard time to submit and humble ourselves to our parents, to our elders and to our superiors. During Jesus’ ministry, He exemplified great humility. Though He is a God, He never exulted himself before the people. He worked silently.
The S – SERVICE of Jesus to the people is immeasurable. He forgave the sinners, He uplifted the poor, the cured sick, He attended the little children, and He served all humanity. We, too, have the capacity to serve. But, then, sometimes we opt to stay with our friends, having a picnic, watching movies despite our awareness that our church needs our services especially during the seasons of Lent.
Being followers of Christ, we also wave all these palms, shouting Hossana, but there are challenges to us. God challenges us to offer ourselves completely, to die to our self-centered-ness. Lastly, to make this Holy Week more significant, He invites us to reflect more deeply on our PALMS: Power, Autonomy, Love, Meekness and Service.
