Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI
| Lord Jesus, |
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Jesus made His entry into the city of Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. The city called holy now continues to be an unholy melting pot of fighting factions - both religious and political. Once the psalmist described Jerusalem as a ‘city of compact unity, with peace within its walls and prosperity in its buildings’ (Psalm 122). At present Jerusalem is a veritable war zone. In a city that should be characterised by God’s own justice and equity, retaliation and revenge are the order of the day.
The theological tenor of this Holy Week prompts each of us to recognise that there is something of Jerusalem in all of us. Inasmuch as grudges are retained and forgiveness refused… inasmuch as vengeance is plotted, if only in the mind…inasmuch as we rejoice at the misfortune of another, withhold justice from the victimised or cast an unseeing, apathetic eye upon the plight of the poor,…inasmuch as we continue to return tit for tat, evil for evil, insult for insult… the Jerusalem syndrome lives on and we are all affected.
Despite the fact of our faults and failings Jesus wills to come to us once again, in the mystery of His Passover. He wills to heal and forgive so that the Jerusalem within us might be transformed and we may become what we are meant to be - a people united, a people of peace, a people who cry for justice.
To prompt our efforts in this regard, a 14th Century sculpture, ‘Christ on Palmdonkey’, may aid us. Now housed in the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg, this sculpture was made to be pulled on a cart in the Palm Sunday procession. To those who look upon him, the sculptured Jesus’ unfocused eyes seem to see what no one else can see. There is penetrating insight into the ‘Jerusalem of the human heart’ but also an immense compassion. This same Jesus rides into our hearts today and sees us for who we are. Nevertheless, He loves us because of who He is.
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