The picture of the Palm Sunday celebrations on the O Heraldo of 3rd April 2023- ‘MARKING CHRIST’S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY’ came as a wakeup call of the morning. How short-lived is the memory of the people when it comes to remembering the good things they receive in their life time ? Or is just a case of ingratitude? A few days before they Crucified Jesus, his people glorified him welcoming him as they would welcome a king.
A few days later, Jesus was produced before Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod by the people asking him to be crucified. Jesus was like a lamb before the crowd and in front of the authorities even though Herod and Pilate found Jesus to be innocent and did not want to be involved in His death. Imagine the pain in the heart of Jesus as a man-seeing the multitude before Him. People who had followed him during his ministry. People who had sat for hours listening to him and his advice. People whom he had fed on several occasions. People whose faces he could recognize. People or relatives of people whom he had healed- the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, the lepers cured and even the dead to come back to life. People who on Palm Sunday were shouting “Hosanna” to the king were now shouting- “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”.
The unfortunate part is that it was not the people who rose against Jesus on their own. It was the leaders of the Sanhedrin – a Jewish Judicial body under the leadership of the High Priest Caiaphas who wanted Jesus to be eliminated as they were afraid of his hold on the people and were worried that they may lose their power over them. It was this body which sowed the seed of vengeance into the ordinary people’s minds with false and unwarranted accusations and made them ask for the blood of Jesus.
Yes this happened about two thousand years ago. But has anything changed today? We have leaders at our political, bureaucratic and professional levels who have been educated in some of the best Christian schools, colleges and institutes in our country. We have people irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or colour who have been cared for, fed and healed in the many centers all over the country. We have children and the old or the lonely who are being taken care of in children’s homes or homes for the aged. All this because Jesus said “Love one another as I have Loved you” followed by his confirmation that “Whenever you did a good deed to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me”.
Two thousand years have gone by but not much has Changed. The persecution continues. Places of prayer and worship are being attacked and desecrated. Priests and nuns and even the ordinary faithful are not spared. Many are arrested, jailed – many a time only to be released for lack of evidence. Speeches of hatred causing communal dis-harmony and sowing seeds of suspicion among the poor and illiterate have become an order of the day. Special “Anti conversion Laws” are being passed in many states based only on fear and with the idea of polarization. Leaders at all levels and politicians should remember that use or misuse of religion to stay in power is not necessary. Crucifying those who help our citizens to be better persons smacks of ungratefulness and is certainly not a part of our culture.
