Palm Sunday, Year C
Luke 19:28-40 that we read at the beginning of Mass today before the procession and the passion of our Lord in Luke 22:14-23:56 clearly reminds us of the fickleness of humanity. The Jews in Luke 19:28-40 praised and glorified Jesus, saying "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord."
Then switched to chants of "crucify him, crucify him," in Luke 22:14-23:56. The fickleness of the Jews clearly explains our relationship with God. Quite often we say ‘yes’ to God praising and glorifying Him in our lives, then later say ‘no’ in our actions and we abandon and reject Him. Why are we fickle in our relationship with God? Why are we fickle in our spiritual lives? Fickleness makes it impossible for us to stand firm and strong in God. It makes it impossible for us to grow in our faith in God as well. What are the causes of fickleness? Pride, Complexity of life/values and Inconsistencies in our belief in God.
Pride makes it impossible for us to stand firm in God. We are called by the Church to let go and let God be in charge of our lives. Hence, we should work on the virtue of humility to help us stand firm in God and let our lives be centered on God and not in ourselves. The second cause of fickleness is Complexity of life and values. We complicate our lives by concentrating on doing extraordinary things or practices rather than the simple practices of our faith that will lead us closer to God. We even set extraordinary goals/values for ourselves and this leads to frustration in our spiritual lives when we fail to or cannot achieve them. Lastly, Inconsistencies in our belief in God is one of the major causes of fickleness in our faith. We tend to look or search for quick fixes in our spiritual life instead of being consistent with, dedicated to and patient with our normal and simple religious practices. Firmness of faith in God can only be achieved by or strengthened in us with hard-work, dedication and trust in God which shows consistency in our belief in God.
So my brothers and sisters, as we begin the Holy Week, let us strive to be humble as our Lord Jesus Christ was, practice simplicity of life like Jesus did and be consistent in our belief in God, in thoughts, words and actions. Amen!
