Once upon a time there was a wise old man who lived in a cave at the top of one mountain. He was so wise that he was able to give the people who live at the nearby valley all kinds of helpful information
Unfortunately, there were some boys in the village who found the wise old man to be overbearing. He was always telling them what to do and people wouldn’t listen to anyone else. So the boys decided to trick him and prove that he could make a mistake and that he really didn’t know anything. One day, one of the boys ran up to the others and said, “I’ve got it. I know how we will prove that the old man doesn’t know everything. Here, in my hands, I have a baby bird. We are going to call him out. Then I am going to ask him two questions: ‘What do I have in my hands?’ and ‘Is it alive or is it dead?’ The old man will know that I have a bird in my hands. He’ll say ‘You have a baby bird’. But right when he answers the second question - if he says it’s alive, I push my hands together and the bird will be dead- if he says it’s dead, I’ll open my hands and the bird will be alive.
The boys thought about it and they all agreed. So they ran up the mountain to the old man’s cave and they called, “Old man, old man, come out.” The wise old man came out into the sun and said, “Yes, my sons. What can I do for you?” And the boy with the bird in his hands holds them out and says, “Old man, we have two questions for you. What do I have in my hands? And is it alive or is it dead? The old man looks at the boy and then at the boy’s hands and says, “Why, you have a baby bird in your hands.” The boy says, “Yes. Is it alive or is it dead?” The old man looks at the boy’s hands and then at the boy and says, “My son, the answer is in your hands.”
I find this story to be a good illustration for the reflection I am preparing for this Palm Sunday.
Today, we, of course, celebrate Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem to endure suffering and death. Not many of us, however, are aware that there were in fact two processions occurred on that day. The one, as we all know, was Christ’s procession through the Eastern Gate of the city. The other was the procession of the Roman governor – Pontius Pilate.
The Passover is the commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians. As the people of Jesus’ time celebrated it, they also secretly hoped for the deliverance from the Romans as well. During this time of the year, protests against the Romans occurred inevitably. Therefore, the governor decided to ride into Jerusalem through the Western Gate of the city with his imperial cavalry so as to reinforce the riots.[1]
What a contrast between two processions!
On one side, we find Jesus humbly entering Jerusalem. The Messiah, the Son of God, sat on a donkey to enter into the Holy city with a group of mismatched men as his disciples. On the other side, we find Pontius Pilate proudly sitting on his warhorse and marching with his well-trained, highly disciplined, and powerful Roman soldiers.
The Prince of Peace and the prince of the world.
What a contrast!
The two processions of Palm Sunday represent two approaches to life for each of us Christians. As one of my professors at the seminary would put it call it as the fundamental options - the hermeneutic of gift or the hermeneutic of theft. The hermeneutic of gift enables us to see life through the lenses of love, while the hermeneutic of theft looks at the world through the lenses of power and violence.
Applying this to our reflection, we can say Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem represents the hermeneutic of love, for he, God-made-man, came to his people not with majestic glory but in humility. He, the Messiah, came to liberate his people, not by power and violence, but through sacrifice and love.
Pilate’s entrance into Jerusalem speaks of the hermeneutic of power, for his entrance was majestic and powerful. His warhorse was admirable. His cavalry was fearsome. Yes, Pilate’s procession was a manifestation of supremacy. It generated fear, great fear.
The two processions which today’s Gospel presents also challenge us to look carefully into our life and to ask ourselves, “Which of the two approaches is the aim of my life? Jesus’ or Pontius Pilate’s?”
History is filled with examples of those who have made their choices:
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Osama Biden, etc, stood out as well-known figures. These were powerful men, very powerful and fearsome men indeed. They walked the face of the earth revered. Because of them, many lives were lost. They were men who had chosen Pilate’s path.
On the other side of the spectrum, we find Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Maximilian Kolbe, Corrie ten Boom, the Trappist monks of Tibhirine, and so on. These figures were not powerful. Some of them were in fact victims of the first group of people. No, they were not powerful because they had chosen the Savior’s path. They chose to love. Because of their choice, they suffered injustice and persecutions, even death. But they chose to love anyway.
Our choices in life will often not be as radical as these examples. Nevertheless, whether a life is noteworthy or not in the eyes of God depends on the conscious choices of our life.
In whose procession do we choose to follow? Pilate’s or Christ’s? Do our hands hold the palm of praise or the sword of death? Does our life inspire love or generate fear?
The answer is in your hands.
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