WHICH CHRIST DO WE FOLLOW?

WHICH CHRIST DO WE FOLLOW?

Fr Luke A Veronis

What a deep tragedy is hidden within the beauty of Palm Sunday. The palms, the joy, the procession, the cries of “Hosanna!” All is real, all is sincere… and yet, all is so fragile. We know that this same crowd, this same people, will, in only a few days, stand before Pontius Pilate and cry out, “Crucify Him!”

What happened? How do people go from waving palms to raising fists? From singing hymns to shouting for death?

It’s not because Christ changed.  He is the same “yesterday, today and forever.” It is that the crowd’s expectations were unfulfilled. They welcomed a king but Jesus became the King they didn’t want. They wanted a messiah of power, of violence, a political liberator who would overthrow their Roman enemy and restore their own earthly glory. They wanted strength as the world understands strength to fulfill their national dreams. They wanted victory without sacrifice.

Jesus Christ, however, enters Jerusalem purposefully on a donkey. He chooses a humble beast of burden, not a war horse. He doesn’t call down legions of angels to join Him in conquering armies. Instead, He’s ready to lay down His life out of His Divine Love for the world.

St. John Chrysostom reminds us that “He who sits upon the Cherubim rides upon a donkey.” The One who is enthroned in heavenly glory chooses the path of humility. The Almighty King reveals to us that His kingdom is not of this world. Thus, He refuses to become what they want Him to be, and in turn, the crowd rejects Him.

What a tragic story. And yet, isn’t this our story?

Today we hold palms singing the same hymns, “Hosanna in the Highest! Lord, Save us!” The question we must honestly face, however, “What Christ are we welcoming? Which Christ are we willing to follow? Jesus Christ as He is, or some other christ who will do whatever we want?

There’s a story about a man who prayed every day for God to bless his plans. He had a very clear vision for his life, for his career, his family, and his future. He prayed daily, “Lord, guide me and bless what I am doing.” For a time, things seemed to go well. Doors opened. Opportunities came.

But then, unexpectedly, everything began to fall apart. A job was lost. A relationship broke down. Plans unraveled. And in his frustration, he prayed, “Lord, why are You not helping me? Where are you? Why aren’t You answering my prayers?”

Only slowly, did he realize he wasn’t following Christ, He was asking God to follow him. Instead of praying “Your will be done,” he was praying, “Lord, fulfill my will.”

St. Ignatius of Antioch writes, “It is better for me to die in Christ than to reign over all the ends of the earth.” In other words, it is better to follow Christ on His terms, even to the point of suffering and death, than to seek our own version of glory without Him.

That is something Palm Sunday teaches us.

Be careful of waving Palm branches and saying, “Lord, come into my life” but meaning, “Lord, come and support what I have already decided.” We want Christ to enter our kingdom of this world instead of accepting His invitation to enter His heavenly kingdom.

There’s a story of a Russian priest who was arrested following the Russian revolution. Churches were closed, priests were imprisoned, and millions of believers were killed. The faithful believers suffered horrible persecution.

Prior to the revolution, this priest had served in a beautiful cathedral, surrounded by a loving congregation. On feast days, the church was full. The people worshipped with all their heart. Everything seemed glorious. Yet, once the persecution began, chaos reigned. The faithful feared going to church. The authorities arrested the priest and sent him to a labor camp.

Years later, he came out of the prison thin, worn, and physically broken. Yet, he maintained a deep peace. His spirit wasn’t broken. One of his old parishioners asked him, “Father, how did you keep your faith through the horrors of the camp.”

To which the priest replied, “When I served in the great cathedral, many loved Christ, but it was easy to love Him there. In the camp, I had to decide if I loved Him for who He is, not only for what He gave me.”

Even when life doesn’t our expectations, God is still working, maybe not according to our plans, but according to His mercy and our salvation. As we pray daily, “In unforeseen events, all things are under Your care.” Do we believe that?

So, we return to the main question of Palm Sunday: Will we welcome and worship the real Jesus Christ or simply the christ we create in our own image? Will we follow a Christ who simply blesses our own plans or will we humbly and sincerely pray “Your Will be done,” and follow Him wherever He leads? Will we ask for a christ who only comforts or will we follow the One who calls us to deep repentance, asking us to deny yourself and take up our cross.”

 “The one who loves God cannot help but love every person as himself,” St. Maximus the Confessor teaches, “even when he is grieved by the passions of those who are not yet purified.” The real Christ calls us into a love that stretches us, challenges us, and leads us to sacrifice for others. The real Christ does something far more demanding, and far more beautiful, than simply making us comfortable. He calls us to change. He calls us to take up our cross. He calls us to forgive when we want to hold onto anger. He calls us to love not just those who love us, but even those who are difficult to love, including our enemies. He calls us to give when we would rather keep. He calls us to a life of humility in a world that constantly tells us to exalt ourselves.

He calls us to remain humble, embrace the struggle, and never lose hope, because Christ is always present.

It is easy to praise Christ when He fulfills our expectations. Yet, He didn’t come to do whatever we ask. He came to challenge us; to change us; to transform us more and more into His own likeness.

The crowd rejected Him precisely because they wanted glory without Golgotha. They wanted a crown without a cross. Christ shows us, however, that the only path to resurrection is through crucifixion; it is by dying to self that we truly discover our new life in Him!

So today, as we hold our palms and sing our hymns, let’s not imitate the crowd of the world. Instead, let’s make a decision to say, “Lord, I welcome You, not as I want You to be, but as You truly are. I’ll follow You not only when it’s easy, but even when it is difficult and costs me something.”

Let’s follow Jesus Christ into Jerusalem and then to Golgotha, to the Cross and then the Tomb, for only then will we experience the Resurrection.

This is the difference between those who shout “Hosanna!” for a moment and those who will shout it into eternity.