The word ‘shaken’ is defined as a ‘cause of change in mood or attitude by shocking or disturbing someone’. When we experience something traumatic, we might tell people that we were ‘shaken up’. In St. Matthew’s Gospel account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, he notes that the whole city was shaken … The actual Greek word used by St. Matthew is ‘quaked’ – to shake or shudder with fear … so the original text would read: the entire city is quaked… the entire city of Jerusalem was shaken, shuddered with fear at the arrival of Jesus … Why? Christ’s triumphant entry had to be troubling for the residents of Jerusalem and especially that of the Roman government. They see Him as a threat. The Romans would have seen Him as a rival to Caesar; the Jewish leaders would have seen Him as a threat to their positions of influence… No doubt they have heard of Him, heard of His teachings and miracles – maybe even had seen Him once or twice … but they don’t know Him. And so, no doubt they would have been deeply afraid of Him… But not His band of followers – they celebrate Him now, they cheer for Him… they know Him… He is one of them – a Galilean … He’s not from Jerusalem, He’s from Bethlehem… Now, we could argue all abandon Him save a few … but not because they see Him as the threat but rather the others … they aren’t threatened by Jesus, they are afraid of Romans, the Jewish leaders, the angry mob…
In which category do you fall? I do think that often we too, even today, even knowing the whole story, we’re just as afraid … just as shaken… either because Jesus scares us because by getting close to Him might mean that we have to make some changes in our lives, that we might discover something about ourselves that is rather unsettling, because, well, let’s be honest – who likes change? Especially if I comfortable with myself… why should I? So, we keep Jesus at a distance because we’re afraid that we may actually have to make changes in our lives … Or – we are afraid of the outside world… we are not afraid Jesus, we love Him, we love the Church, but we are faithful but only in private … I don’t need the rest of world judging me because I’m a Catholic …
What exactly is there to be afraid of today? Has Jesus not proven to us by now that He is more powerful than our weakness?! Has He not proven that He has power over life and death? Has He not proven that there is glory in the Cross and that the victory is His and ours if we are but faithful? What are we afraid of today? Perhaps it is simply that we just don’t know Him the way we should … Its not that He hasn’t proven that He is one us – it’s that we have not fully accepted Him in our hearts … We have not welcomed Him, greeted Him, gotten to know Him … As we begin this journey of Holy Week, let’s make that singular commitment to walk alongside Jesus, to suffer with Him, to die with Him and eventually rise to new life in Him.