Staying close to Jesus | Palm Sunday Reflection

As we enter into Holy Week and the Sacred Paschal Triduum in the coming days—the holiest celebrations of the liturgical year—we continue in our journey with Jesus. Beginning with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem through his dereliction on the cross, the call to remain close to Jesus and continue to stand by him becomes increasingly more difficult. 

When Jesus enters Jerusalem for the final time, he enters not as the conquering kings or generals of the past did. He does not enter mounted on a mighty horse, but a lowly donkey. He does not surround himself with imperial legions bearing sword and shield, but with crowds of common people waving palm branches. He comes not to conquer and to oppress, but to liberate and to save. 

But as the week progresses, can we see ourselves amidst that very crowd, those who, today, are cheering in exultant praise and shouting “hosanna to the Son of David,” with hopeful expectation—only as we know to turn into the shrill cries of “crucify him!” before Pilate before the end of the week. 

Or perhaps closer to home, do we identify with those who made strong professions of faith like Peter or those closest to him, like the Apostles and even Judas—some of the first to recognize Jesus as the Christ, only to deny, to betray, and to flee?

The grace that we are invited into during this week, this holiest of times in the year, is to remain with Jesus.

Stay with me, remain here with me, watch and pray, we’ll hear the exhortation on Holy Thursday evening, as Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Watch and pray. Be with me. Stay with me. Don’t leave me alone.

Of course, we have the benefit of knowing how the story ends. We cannot enter into the confusion, the despair, the fear, that the first disciples experienced—or the dread that Jesus himself had felt. 

But we know that while many fled, some remained. John, the beloved disciple, Mary his mother, and others, standing at the foot of the cross.

Those who, to great personal danger, deep agony, mockery and humiliation, and above all sorrow, remained even in the most agonizing of moments.

We are all familiar with the story of the Passion, and we will hear John’s account again on Good Friday. A lengthy account proclaimed twice yearly, not merely meant as a reminder or a recollection, but as an invitation:

The point is not simply to shock or to scandalize. The point is not merely to instill shame or even to stir up horror at the barbarity of it all—and still less to desensitize us by the rereading of the story.

Rather, we are invited this week to a difficult grace: to remain close to Jesus.

Jesus is constantly in the scriptures urging us to remain and abide and dwell and remain connected to him, as a vine to the branches, remain in my love, abide with me.

And now, at the height of his own experience of isolation, rejection, and abandonment, he continues to plead with us: remain with me, stay with me, watch and pray. Remain with me, I need you here.

In our own spiritual life and our relationship with God, it is worth making a regular examen of what prevents us from remaining close to God. Sometimes we hide in fear and shame; perhaps at others it’s more of a general apathy or distractedness, or the busy demands of “other priorities” in our schedules. Can we look—with honesty and fearlessness—at areas where I simply cannot be bothered, or so self-absorbed that I’m not moved by the suffering of others?

The grace and the invitation of this most sacred week—a difficult one, for sure—is to remain with Christ in the midst of the agonies of the Passion.

Stay close to Jesus. Remain with him. Watch and pray.

William Woody, S.J., is a Jesuit priest of the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus and a doctoral student in philosophy at Boston College. Bill earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) in moral theology from the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry. He previously taught philosophy at St. Peter's University and the College of the Holy Cross, and most recently ministered as associate pastor at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Bill currently ministers as a priest on Boston College campus and at St. Ignatius Parish.