Le 13 Avril

Homélie

Nous cherchons un roi tout puissant qui va rétablir sa royauté en détruisant toutes les autres. Voilà le prophète nous présente un roi totalement différent « J'ai présenté mon dos à ceux qui me frappaient. ……..Je n'ai pas protégé mon visage des outrages et des crachats. » Comment ce roi peut-t-il nous sauver ? C’est pourquoi dans quelques jours toute la foule qui a crié ‘Hosanna au fils de David ! Béni soit celui qu i vient au nom du Seigneur’, va se disparaître sans laisser aucune trace de sa voix forte.

Le psalmiste nous présente la même crie du Seigneur et celle de tous ceux et celles qui attendent et cherchent encore ce Roi tout puissance qui va revenir pour les sauver. « Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, pourquoi m’as-tu abandonné ? » Avec le palmiste nous crions nous aussi, Mais toi, Seigneur, ne sois pas loin : ô ma force, viens vite à mon aide ! »

Il vient pour nous transformer, de mal au bien, de violence au non violence, de confrontation au dialogue. Aujourd'hui, nous entrons dans la semaine sainte. Nous allons suivre jusqu'à son sacrifice sur la croix. Comprenons bien : C'est notre vie qui est clouée à la croix avec lui. Notre vie avec ses peines, ses souffrances que le Christ a prises sur lui. "C’était nos faiblesses et nos pêchés qu’il portait dans son corps sur le bois". Un jour il a dit qu'il n'y a pas de plus grand amour que de donner sa vie pour ceux qu'on aime. C'est ce don total du Christ que nous allons célébrer tout au long de cette semaine Sainte.

Laissons ces paroles pénétrer profondément en nous. Le Christ appelait ce temps, celui de son baptême, celui de son initiation où son humanité entrait définitivement en Dieu, non pas pour rester portionnaire de la mort mais pour être par amour fontaine de vie nouvelle. Quarante jours de la marche vers la Pâques avec de pénitence, de prière et de jeûne, nous amène devant cet autel pour un sacrifice extraordinaire.

C’est dans la Pâque du Christ que nous apprenons jusqu’où va l’amour de Dieu pour nous. Chacun de nous peut relire sa propre passion en ce contexte d’amour, de vie nouvelle et d’espérance. C’est ainsi que la Passion du Seigneur et la nôtre deviennent présence intérieure de Dieu, et perspective du Royaume de Dieu.

Jésus a eu un mouvement de recul à Gethsémani mais il a continué à avancer. Ne nous étonnons pas si cela nous arrive à nous aussi. Continuer à la route du don est la sagesse que Dieu attend de nous. Que cette semaine sainte soit pour nous d’une semaine de grâce. Amen.

In English

Today with the people of Jerusalem we acclaim for a new King, a long awaited one and with them we seek an all-powerful king in Jesus Christ, who will restore His kingdom, the Kingdom of God, by destroying all others which are manipulating the people of God and the creation in general. To our surprise, the prophet Isaiah presents us a totally different king beyond our wild imagination, "I gave my back to those who beat me . ........ I have not protected my face from insult and spitting . " With our human intelligence we doubt that how this king who is weak and voiceless can save us ? That is why in a few days later the whole crowd who shouted ' Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord, ' will disappear without leaving any trace of their acclamation.

The psalmist of the Sunday reading gives us the same cry of this voiceless Lord and that of all those who are awaiting and still seek this King with hope that He will return to save them, we raise our voice with Him "My God, my God , why hast thou forsaken me? " , O Lord, be not far : O my strength , come quickly to my aid ! "

He comes to transform us, by taking in Him all the evil that the human soul can indulge and through His Cross He transforms all in to good , from violence and vengeance He comes to lead us towards non- violence and patience , from willful confrontation and agitation He will teach us to enter in to a healthier dialogue, even with our enemies, from mighty and powerful, He will instruct us to win everyone in silence and through listening.

Today, we enter in to Holy Week, where we are going to follow Jesus, just to His sacrifice on the Cross, from His solemn last meal to the Cross and Death. It is important that we understand it with our human intelligence the divine perspective and the generosity of God to abandon Himself to the injustice willed by His own people whom He loves. In truth, it is our life, which is nailed to the Cross with Him. Our life with its sorrows and sufferings, pains and disappointments, Christ took on Him to transform this human failure and shame in to a divine victory. "It was our weaknesses and sins he carried in His body on the wood " . One day He said that there is no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends . It is this total gift of Christ that we celebrate throughout this Holy Week .

Let these words sink deep within us and shine for others in the house and on the streets. Christ called this time that of his baptism which He once proposed to the sons of Zebedee, that of His initiation where humanity came finally in God , not to stay proportionately to the death but to be in love as a fountain of new life.

Forty days of the march towards Easter with penance , prayer and fasting brings us to the altar for an extraordinary sacrifice, where Jesus offers once and for all, for our sins and sins of the world.
It is in the Passover of Christ that we learn how far God can go to show His loves for us. During these days we are called to read the passion of Christ daily and as many as possible for us. Each of us can read our own passion in this context of love, new life and hope. Thus the Lord's Passion becomes our inner presence of God, and perspective of the kingdom of God.

Even though everything was fore told and Jesus was very much aware of this painful process, which was imperative to save the humanity, it was not easy for Him as human being to accept the pains of others in Himself. Jesus had recoiled in Gethsemane , but He continued to advance, by accepting the will of the Father, as His own. It is not surprising if it happens to us too. After fully aware of everything going to happen, we may be tempted to retire and recluse or reverse our decisions to go forward in life. Continue the path of the gift, received and shared, is the wisdom that God expects of us. Let us remain firm in our engagement towards the social development, the sanctification of the humanity and the salvation of every soul. I wish you all that this Holy Week may be for you all a moment of grace and the fulfillment of the joy that the Lord has promised us during this Lenten season. Amen .