16th. March - Lent 6:
Palm Sunday: The Passion: Celebrity Cult: Human v. God

At the last the banners have been raised and the voices cheered my name as their expected saviour. Cloaks have covered the streets and palm leaves cushion the cobbles. The crowds who used to come in curiosity have lined the streets in acclamation of a long expected victory. They had come to proclaim their conquering hero. They saw me exactly as they wanted to see me. And they cheered me to the echoes, shouting ‘Hosanna’ to their Messiah.

All the forms had been observed. All the prophecies fulfilled. Every detail had been taken care of – even down to the donkey. There could be no doubt that I was exactly who they wanted me to be. Any minute now they expected that I would lead them to their freedom from the oppression they lived under. I was going to guide them in throwing off the yoke of the Roman occupiers.

They had waited a long time for this day. The scholars and the students of the Prophets knew it was coming. The common people felt it in their hearts. It had been promised to them by their God. I had told them that many times in my teaching. Even the Romans and their collaborators feared that this day would come. All these emotions were there, gathered by that Jerusalem roadside.

What happened next must have been a big disappointment to everyone. The mantle had been thrust upon me and yet nothing had changed. The people still suffer. The revolution has not begun. The Romans still occupy the city. Their underlings still rule the roost. There has been no armed uprising and already my reputation is beginning to tarnish.

A Saviour is only a Saviour if he is able to bring instant salvation.

It won’t be long before the crowd that cheered me will turn against me. They won’t be able to help themselves. Once they don’t get what they expected, they’ll be disappointed. That disappointment will turn to anger. They will believe that I misled them and, no matter what I actually did, they will believe that I betrayed them.

I, too, will be betrayed and be handed over into the hands of my enemies. And then the end game of this affair will begin to be played out.

Where do I go from here?

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