Reflections from the Heart – April 2, 2023

Palm Sunday
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

When he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?”  If we really knew and understood who Jesus was truly, we would shake inside.  Those who came to know him by his prayer life and through his healing ministry became afraid when they encountered the divine in his presence and in his presence their own sense of weakness, sinfulness, and insecurity.  In his presence, we experience our own smallness and need of salvation. How often Jesus said to the disciples and encouraged them and others to not be afraid of him.  To not doubt or disbelieve but to be confident and trust he was the Son of God and the Son of Man who was coming into the world to heal the broken hearted, to reconcile poor sinners to the Father and to one another and to renew our relationship with God as his beloved children and his beloved creation.  Do you know who this is?  Do you know, truly know the one who created you in beauty, redeemed you in love, restored you to innocence, sanctified you in grace, saved you from death and welcomes you to eternal life?  Do you know the one whose words have the power to heal, the mercy to forgive, the strength to move mountains, the Spirit to lift up, the grace to renew you and help you to start over again?  Do you know Jesus, really know Jesus who taught us how to pray and said, “Let there be light,” “Love one another as I have loved you,” “Behold, your mother,” “I thirst,” “You will be with me in Paradise,” “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”  Do you know the one who prayed to the Father for you, who intercedes to the Father for you, who asks that you will be one with him as he and the Father are one? The one who asked the disciples to look deep within themselves and to consider the truth about who he is by asking the disciples directly and asking us directly as well: “Who do you say that I am?” How will you respond to the question about Jesus’ identity when asked who do you say Jesus is? How will you respond to your family and strangers you encounter on your own road or in your own journey to the Jerusalem, Calvary or Emmaus’ of this life? Perhaps we might need to rephrase the question to “who is this to you?” A valid response requires knowing Jesus personally and intimately in prayer.