He took the form of a slave (Phil 2, 7)<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.\u00a0 But he is not here to be served but to\u00a0serve and to give his life as a ransom for all.\u00a0 Genuine disciples remember and live the Master\u2019s self-giving ministry.<\/p>\n
According to popular belief, the Messiah cannot be the Suffering Servant.\u00a0 So, it is not surprising that the crowd stops acclaiming, \u201cHosanna to the Son of David!\u201d given the obvious suffering of the one handed over to the authorities.<\/p>\n
All now shout together, \u201cLet him be crucified!\u201d angry that the one who seemed to them to be their hope for the liberation of Israel has turned out to be an impostor.\u00a0 The admiration of those who are comparable to the seed sown on the path or on rocky ground has turned into bitter and violent disappointment.\u00a0 That is how they let off steam sometimes, those who are angry with themselves for thinking they allowed themselves to be fooled.\u00a0 Judas is perhaps the worst of them, but then Peter\u2019s denial and the flight of the others are lamentable too.<\/p>\n
The religious leaders, for their part, do not feel disappointed, but rather vindicated, and happy that they have persuaded the crowd.\u00a0 They are absolutely certain of their scriptural interpretations; they consider them not debatable.<\/p>\n
They are bent on protecting their interests.\u00a0 They see communists everywhere, heretics, blasphemers, enemies of national or cultural security or identity.\u00a0 They are obsessed with imposing a multitude of precepts, but neglecting the weightier\u00a0part of the law (cf EG<\/i> 35).\u00a0 To attain their goals, they see to it that the just one whom they find obnoxious is subjected to revilement and torture, like a criminal, and condemned to death.\u00a0 They search Scriptures, yet they reject Jesus to whom Scriptures testify.\u00a0 What happens to the seed sown among thorns happens to them:\u00a0 they get choked by their obsessions.<\/p>\n
The clean of heart, in contrast, the poor, those who mourn, the meek, and the persecuted and falsely accused, do not harbor ambitions.\u00a0 That is why they see God and have a sharp vision.\u00a0 In consideration of their simplicity and their low condition, the Father reveals to them what he hides from the learned, and so, the true religion, as St. Vincent de Paul says, is found among these simple people who carry their daily crosses with lively faith and in silence (Coste XI 200-201; XII 171).<\/p>\n
Given their precarious situation, there is no thinking of seats of honor; they only hunger and thirst for justice, mercy and peace.\u00a0 And they fight for them, bearing the cross and not the sword.\u00a0 Sleepless, they cry out of the depths to the Lord in repentance and hope.\u00a0 Since they know by experience what it is to feel abandoned, they also know to commend their spirit into the hands of the Father.\u00a0 Overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death and agonizing often, they understand the resurrection better than anyone else and long for it more.<\/p>\n
And they are enamored, understandably, with the Eucharist, the memorial of Christ\u2019s sacrifice and pledge of the fresh bread and the new wine in the Father\u2019s kingdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"