The tension is building.
Palm Sunday is net week.
It is not unexpected that Jesus is in Jerusalem… the city that murders the prophets!
It is not unexpected that there were some Greeks in Jerusalem.
The festival was renowned! As then, so too now, Jews and Gentiles flock to Jerusalem for the big feast. It seems that Jesus understands that the approach of the Greeks indicates that his hour has come. The word is out to all… even to the tormented societies of today. The difficulty, then and now, is simply: Will I believe his word? The promise made in Jeremiah “I will make a new covenant” is about to be fulfilled, not just with the house of Israel but with all peoples.
The leaders, Scribes and Pharisees could or would not listen to Jesus because they said he came from Galilee. They failed to do their homework. He was born in Bethlehem. God’s plan has evolved and it is being revealed in all sorts of unexpected ways. We should not continue to make God do what we want!
The plan it seems is still evolving!
It is difficult, at times, to appreciate that our God is participating with us in the day to day anxieties of our lives, especially when we constantly have the headlines of papers and TV screens filled with evil. But remember the triumph of the Resurrection. Man did not design that scenario!
As the hour has come for Jesus so, too, for us. Holy Week is just around the corner. How are we going to participate in that hour this year?
Mons Frank