What kind of a Messiah Do We Expect?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for Palm Sunday, Year B

St. Gerard Majella Church

April 1, 2012

Beloved in Christ, today we celebrate the Palm Sunday. Today we gather together to celebrate Jesus’ entry into the city of Jerusalem. Today we celebrate Jesus as the King who enters our own personal Jerusalem- our hearts. Today’s celebration is a momentary celebration of joy and triumph, because few days from now, the joyful mood will be turned into sorrow. Today we join the crowd to shout “Hosanna!” but few days from today, the same crowd of people that shouted “Hosanna” will turn around to shout, “Crucify him!” “Crucify him!” We pray we don’t join them. 

Have you ever ask yourself why there was such a dramatic change in the mood of the crowd of people in Jerusalem from Palm Sunday to Good Friday? Why the radical change from “Hosanna to Son of David” to “crucify Him!?” The same crowd that cheered “Hosanna” which means “Save us,” moments later jeered “Crucify him!” One answer among many others is expectations. When we are so excited and hopeful that our expectations are about to be fulfilled and they are suddenly dashed to the ground we are not only terribly saddened but also get angry.

The people of Jerusalem hoped that Jesus was going to be their long-expected Messiah, a military Messiah. They thought that God’s Anointed One would be like King David who would lead them to battle their hated Roman rulers, defeat them and give the people the freedom they had yearned for long. But when it dawned on them that Jesus was going to be a different kind of Messiah, one who was gentle and forgiving they perceived him as weak, and their frustrated hopes turned into anger, particularly anger at Him. They had hoped for a messiah who would adopt the philosophy of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” instead they got a Messiah who taught “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also...” (Luke 6:29). They waited and wanted a vengeful messiah but got a merciful one instead. They hoped for a brash, cocky and self-assertive king that will bulldoze their enemies but ended up getting a meek and compassionate one. They wanted a power-drunk, authoritarian and mean messiah who will show no mercy on their enemies, instead they got a Messiah who tried to win over their enemies with love. They yearned for a messiah who will give speeches and tell the Romans how bad they were, instead they got one who called them hypocrites and called them to repentance.  They wanted a messiah who will speak no evil of their land but got one who said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! (Luke 13:34). Due to these, they became disappointedly frustrated and  resolved to get rid of the “weak” and “powerless” Messiah they have got. They swore to kill Jesus by all means!

So, the question for us all is this: What do we expect God to do for us? What kind of a Messiah do we expect? And when God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to, how do we react? Do we get mad at God? You and I may have seen people who got upset with God for not answering their prayers and thereafter turn and walk away both from him and from his Church. To such people, Judas is their model. But instead of asking what we want God to do for us, why don’t you and I turn the question around today and ask ourselves: What does God want me to do?