Dear sisters and brothers,
we have begun this holy liturgy following Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. He knows well that his hour, when he will pass from this world to the Father, has arrived, and it is a dramatic hour. As dramatic as the hour our world is living, perhaps the most worrying since the Second World War. And today the senseless race to war seems ready to resume, when the only force that counts is that of weapons. Yet this only counts for the many ego-centred ‘I's, certainly not for peace.
And so here is the great gift of this holy liturgy for our time: it gathers us around Jesus to enter with him into Jerusalem, into the many Jerusalems of this world. He is the prophet the world needs; he alone can save our cities from barbarism. And today too, in the many cities of the world, we need Jesus, just as the people of Jerusalem did.
And he does not enter alone, but with a people, with a festive crowd that accompanies him. We have heard this from the Gospel of Luke. The evangelist Mark emphasises it almost more: a crowd precedes him and another follows him, and he is in the centre. And there is great joy among the people. As he walks, they tear branches from the trees and wave them, spreading cloaks on the road, as if for a great celebration.
It is an extraordinary entrance. And we too, dear sisters and brothers, together with all our Communities in every part of the world, are like that people. We are a great people, united, who together with Jesus enter the Jerusalems of our time to proclaim peace, to announce salvation for all, especially the poorest and the weakest.
The holy liturgy, with the reading of the Gospel of Jesus' entry and that of the Passion, wants us to understand that there is no separation between love and the cross, between the good face of Jesus entering the city and his suffering face on the cross. Because only this love can free the world from all slavery, all violence and all war.
Jesus, even on the cross, is not alone: by his side are the many crucified of our time. And we also like to think of the many martyrs, who gave their lives for the Lord. Among them we think of Floribert, who this year will be beatified: a martyr among martyrs, who continues to teach us how to follow the Gospel to the end. With this love, and with these brothers and sisters, Jesus defeats evil.
The Gospel of the Passion warns us that sin disrupts the lives of men, even that of the disciples. It didn't take much for them to betray Jesus: they wanted to save themselves and left him alone, even on the cross. For the crowd too, a few days were enough for the ‘Hosanna’ to turn into ‘Crucify him’.
Sisters and brothers,
these days, as evil seems to unleash its brute force against the only righteous one, just one thing – indeed, only Jesus – stands firm: his kind face does not change in the days of the Passion. It is a gentle face as he enters on a colt, as he stands in front of the priests and judges, and even as he is crucified. The whole world needs this meekness and love, for evil and war to be defeated.
The Lord is asking us today to accompany him. Let us follow him, because in these days he needs to be loved and accompanied. And if we follow him, we will learn his love. The Community, like those women who accompanied him to the foot of the cross, gathers us and helps us to stay close to Jesus.
And we, illiterate in this love, will receive it abundantly, so that we can proclaim the joy of fraternity and peace wherever we go. The Lord asks us to extend the joy of his peace and his love to all the peoples of the earth.
So be it.
Homily by Mons. Vincenzo Paglia at the Palm Sunday liturgy (translation by editorial staff)
