Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, when the Church commemorates the last days of Jesus on earth, ending with His death and resurrection. The Paschal Mystery sums up the life of Jesus, His entire mission and His identity. For this reason, this is the most Holy Week for Christians in the year when we are called to reflect on the last days of His life on earth. These last days define the ultimate purpose of His mission and also reveal His true identity as the Son of God. Indeed, as we enter into Holy Week, we, too, are invited to reflect on how we want to define our life when we reach the end of our sojourn on this earth.
There is this story about a great scientist by the name of Alfred Nobel who made a great fortune manufacturing and selling weapons of destruction. One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, woke up to read his own obituary in the Newspaper. A reporter mistakenly thought it was Alfred Nobel, when it was his brother who had died. But what shocked him to his senses was when he realized how the world saw him as the “Dynamite King”, and no more. He was only remembered as a merchant of death, and for that alone. Nothing else was mentioned about his efforts to bring people to share ideas. So horrified was he that he was determined to let the world know the true purpose of his life, which was to promote peace and understanding. So he wrote his Last Will, bequeathing all his fortune to establish the most valued of all prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize. Now no one remembers him as the Dynamite King but for his mission of peace.
What about us? How do we want to be remembered? What kind of legacy do we want to leave behind for our loved ones and for our community? In the gospel, we read of some unknown men who allowed Jesus to use his colt to enter the city. They never stopped the disciples from taking away the colt. What they did would be immortalized in the scriptures. So, too, the case of an unknown woman who brought very costly ointment, pure nard to wash the head of Jesus. In spite of objections to her spending so much money on the ointment instead of giving it to the poor, the Lord sided with her. He said, “Leave her alone. Why are you upsetting her? What she has done for me is one of the good works. You have the poor with you always, and you can be kind to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. She has done what was in her power to do so: she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. I tell you solemnly, wherever throughout all the world the Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told also, in remembrance of her.”
Unfortunately, in the case of the religious leaders, Pilate and Judas, they ended with a sad legacy. They are remembered for their crimes. They did not act justly towards Jesus but were blinded by their fears and insecurity. “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus on which they might pass the death-sentence. But they could not find any.” As a consequence, they had to get some people to bring “false evidence against him, but their evidence was conflicting.” At the heart of their desire to eliminate Jesus was their fear of Him upsetting their status quo, and posing a challenge to the Temple.
In the case of Pilate, his life was defined by his lack of courage and principles to do what he had to do. He knew that the Jews were framing a political charge against our Lord just to have Him executed, as they lacked the power to pronounce a death sentence on Him. He knew that the charges lacked evidence. He found Jesus innocent. He was afraid of the crowd and afraid of a rebellion which could go out of control. Instead of exposing the hypocrisy of the Jews, he sought to appease them, first by having Jesus stripped and scourged, then crowned and humiliated. When that did not satisfy them, He offered them a choice of freeing a bandit or an innocent man, thinking that they would not dare to choose the bandit and murderer, Barabbas. He tried to excuse himself from being an accomplice to the crime by washing his hands of this action. Today, this act of cowardice, of washing one’s hands, has become an idiom for those who do not wish to take responsibility for an action done. The real reason was that he wanted to keep his position as the governor and thus he sought to be popular with the people. Indeed, he was “anxious to placate the crowd.” And his life was defined in the creed, “he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried.”
As for Judas, he is defined by his act of betrayal with a kiss and died a tragic end. He was immortalized as the man who betrayed Jesus with a kiss for thirty silver pieces. Whether he did it because of his greed or because he was impatient with Jesus for His inaction against the Romans, he was also sadly remembered for his tragic death at the end when he killed himself out of guilt for what he had done. His was indeed a sad case, so much so our Lord remarked, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” (Mt 26:23f)
In the case of Peter, he is remembered as the man who was a coward in standing up for Jesus when he denied our Lord three times as prophesied by our Lord. This man who earlier professed that he would die for Him but denied he knew the Lord three times before a servant. Fortunately, Peter, known for his impetuousness, was also quick to repent. He regretted his mistake and the Lord forgave him after the resurrection. In his case, Peter’s life was defined by weakness, but more importantly, for the power of mercy and grace and forgiveness that made him a leader of the Twelve and the vicar of Christ for His church.
What about Jesus? His life was defined by His standing up for the truth, and becoming a servant for us even unto death, and God raised Him from the dead. He was a man of non-violence. He did not resist arrest. In Mark’ gospel, He was silent before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate. He did not defend Himself. He was not on trial but those who accused Him was in truth put on trial. “For my part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard; I did not cover my face against insult and spittle.” He suffered injustice humbly, innocently and willingly.
But the real reason for His submission to crucifixion was that He sought to do the will of God. He came to do His Father’s will. Although as a man, He struggled with the pain ahead of Him, not just because of the cruelty of the crucifixion but because He was carrying the sins of the world. In the Garden of Gethsemane, we saw the man Jesus who was bewildered in His passion. Even His friends abandoned Him in the Garden, weighed down by fatigue. He was all alone with His Father. He said, “if it were possible, this hour might pass him by. He said ‘Abba (Father)! Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.” As a consequence, He was exalted above all. St Paul wrote, “God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names and every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of the Father.” Jesus was proclaimed Lord at His resurrection. He is defined as the Lord and Saviour of the world.
What about us? How do you want to define your life? What kind of legacy do you wish to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered? What would you like written in your obituary? Have you ever thought of what people would say about you at your funeral? Indeed, the vision of your end determines how you will act here and now. There is nothing greater than to be remembered as one who did the will of God and served Him and His people in utter humility. What is the use of being remembered as a wealthy man, a talented man, or even a man who held positions in society? To be known as God’s servant who served unto death and raised to share in His resurrected life is the greatest of all honour. It is therefore important for us to think of our end so that we can decide how we want to live our life. Most of all, we will find peace and joy knowing that we have left this world a better place for the future of humanity. So, to start from the beginning, we must begin with the end. Today, we see the beginning of the end of our Lord, but His end is the beginning of a new humanity, a new creation.
