Palm Sunday gives us the long reading of the Passion of Jesus Christ. There is so much to reflect on today. However, what is always very surprising to me is the fact that the crowds in Jerusalem with such joy and enthusiasm, welcomed the Son of God entering their town, throwing the branches of palms in front of Him and shouting Hosanna. Yet a little bit later, the same crowd screamed – crucify Him, give us Barabbas, we don’t want Him! How easy it is to manipulate a crowd, to manipulate the people. This happens even today, happens to us when we come to church and are moved by the beauty of the liturgy, by the music, and by being close to God. We worship Him, adore Him, and declare that He is our God, but then when the moments of struggle come across, we forget about the Lord. More than that, there are times when we are afraid to admit in public that we are Christians and just like Peter deny in front of others that we don’t know Christ. Or when we choose to sin instead of doing good, then we join the crowd of Jerusalem and shout with them – we want Barabbas, we don’t want Jesus. Let us pray for the wisdom and courage to defend our faith always, especially in the moments when others will be testing us.
