In the Roman liturgy this is the only Sunday of the liturgical year in which we listen to two different gospels: at the beginning, after the blessing of the olive branches, the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem; then, in the liturgy of the Word, the story of the Passion. Two more contrasting pages could not have been chosen. In the story of the entrance we meet the enthusiastic welcome that Jesus receives in the Holy City; in the story of the Passion we are told about the rejection he undergoes up to the death sentence. Before entering Jerusalem, Jesus sends to untie the donkey and his foal, then he himself will be tied and led to the slaughterhouse like a silent sheep. Jesus sits on the donkey like a meek king, he will then be nailed to the cross, like a slave. He is received as one who comes in the name of the Lord, he will be condemned as one who blasphemes his Name. He is recognized as the expected prophet, he will die as a wrongdoer crucified between two wrongdoers. The ‘crucify him’ is the final response to the initial cry of ‘Hosanna’. Everything seems to contrast between these two scenes, but the liturgy, with great wisdom, asks us to listen to them together and to understand them in the light of the other, because only in this way will we be able to answer the question of the inhabitants of Jerusalem: «Who is this?». Who is this really?

Commentary by Comunità di Dumenza

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey