Many years ago I heard a Presbyterian minister make the point that many in the crowd who called for the life of Jesus were also in the crowd welcoming Him as their King. At first glance, they cried Hosanna as the Lord rode into Jerusalem with Jesus recognizing the need for the crowd to proclaim the truth, even in the midst of those who did not want to hear it (Luke 19: 39-40).
She reflected on how amazed she was when she realized the number of people who turned on Jesus in less than a week. To go from welcoming Him as the source of their hopes and dreams to crying for His blood as if He were the greatest traitor of all. Further, they were so convinced of what they were demanding that they were willing to take responsibility for it while also putting such blame on later generations (Matthew 27:25).
How could this happen? Why did this happen? What did the Lord do to cause the people to turn on Him? Or, the biggest question of all, how many in the crowd were sincere in their proclamation of Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest (Matthew 21:9).
Following the Herd
Humans are communal beings who were always meant to live with others. While we certainly love our families and at times, peer groups, we have also been taught by some anthropologists that many of our ancestors may have sought out the company of others for the sake of their own survival. We certainly see that in the world today.
Whether it is a group of friends, teammates on a sports team, classmates, social groups, etc., there is certainly a way for us to find an identity in a group of people. Unfortunately, the social approval that one could experience in such settings may not actually come from people of good character or people who speak the truth. Sadly, this could also come from a church and/or religious groups. One simply needs to recall the actions of Westboro Baptist Church along with the devotion that these people showed when it came to not only speaking their message but also traveling the country to speak such a message.
One could only wonder how such people would react to Jesus had they lived during the time of our Lord. After all, every person who met the Lord was challenged by many of His teachings, which is why so many of them left and returned to their previous way of life (John 6:66). We experience the same thing on a daily basis because each day we are confronted with the choice to live as Jesus did or to reject Him and offer our justifications for abandoning Him along with all that He taught.
When we reject the Lord we are not necessarily yelling, Crucify Him! However, our sins are what put Jesus on the cross so we certainly say it with our actions. There are times we do it because we seek fulfillment in ungodly things while there are other times we do it for the approval of other sinners. Either way, such moments put us among in the crowd of people who called for the Lord's life even though we have some sort of recognition of who He really is. When it comes to our daily activities it would be when we choose to reject the Christian way of life.
Community of Faith
The hope from the moment of Jesus' entry in Jerusalem is that people are still the way that God made them, which is good. With that in mind, we must recognize those who not only welcomed our Lord with cheers but also remained faithful to Him. Perhaps some of them were among those in the crowd who asked Pontius Pilate to release him rather than Barabbas. We must also recognize the moments in our lives when we were also faithful to the Lord.
It happened and it will happen again so with that being said, we can say with certainty that we are all capable of being disciples of Jesus. Further, when we live in that way we are in fact a community of faith and not just members of the crowd seeking an identity.
Such a community is one filled with love because it is a community that is living in the truth. And what are these truths? It is a community of sinners and when members of this community fall into sin the rest of us lift them up and encourage them to get back on the path of truth. Showing such love to one's neighbor also acknowledges their dignity and in doing that the sinner sees their true worth. Meanwhile, those who lifted up the sinner are allowing the Lord to live through them.
Think of the love that the sinner feels. Think of the joy that the vessel of the Lord feels from the grace that guided their actions. Feeling the Lord's mercy through one's community. Feeling what it is like to love one's neighbor who needed to feel that love. That would only lead to one response from all, as we cry out in praise to the source of our joy:
Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Carlos Solorzano
- BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach
- Certified by the Theology of the Body Institute
- Instructor of Theology at St. Augustine Catholic High School
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