First they cheered and welcomed Him, then they hurled insults at Him. This story is older than the event and is still told a thousand times over today. But there is a difference that changes the world. Here is a slightly different look at Palm Sunday.
“A new star in the sky” or “The deep fall of so and so”. Titles like these can be found when you scroll through YouTube, zap through the television, or flick through the newspaper. And if you are completely honest, you will admit that in the first case you feel a bit of an adrenaline rush, and in the second there is the guilty pleasure of seeing witnessing someone’s downfall.
Around three thousand years ago, the ancient Greeks were already familiar with these effects. The legend of Icarus attests to this: his father created two sets of wings made of wax and feathers. He warned his son not to fly too high. But Icarus got carried away and came too close to the sun. The wax melted, the wings disintegrated, and Icarus plunged into the sea and died.
The myth as a cash machine
The story has become a business model these days. This is the pattern used by the gutter press to report on the rise and fall of celebrities: Britney Spears, for example, was celebrated as a pop star and then showered with malice after her breakdown. Or the actress Lindsay Lohan, a prime example of a youth idol who lost her mojo. And the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a beacon of hope who was branded a laughing stock.
If anything, such stories are made by the press. The industry is cynical and admits it. The head of the German media group Springer once admitted to building people up in its tabloid only to knock them down with the stroke of a pen. The person being referred to here was the first man in the state at the time, the federal president of Germany, who was built up by the press and then knocked down.
Why we love to see people fail
As readers, listeners, and viewers we join in the game. Why is that? Psychologists have answers.
We root for people who stand out from the crowd and rise to fame. Because their success reflects our own desire to escape the limitations and banality of our everyday life. Such role models give hope: “One of us made it.”
The flaming out of stars is celebrated with similar frenzy, not out of mere sensationalism, but because their being knocked down satisfies a strong need: to justify our own passivity. The principle is: “If even heroes fail, then it’s not worth me trying at all.”
The King on the cross
It was spring in Jerusalem. The city was full of pilgrims who had come to celebrate Passover. The crowd started to cheer when a certain Jesus of Nazareth rode into the city. People who had heard about Him or witnessed and experienced His activity spread out their cloaks along the road, waved palm branches, and cheered him. It was a welcome for a king.
Only days later, the crowds scorned and ridiculed Him, the religious leaders sneered at Him, and the henchmen abused and jeered at Him. The man was stripped of His garments. Soldiers drove nails through wrists and ankles. Jesus struggled for every breath. Thorns pierced His scalp. His parched throat constricted when He drank the pure vinegar. Then there was a cry. His blood was no longer flowing.
Had Icarus fallen?
Looking ahead
From the perspective of the Pharisees and scribes, yes, Jesus had fallen: where did this itinerant preacher from a fishing village get the audacity to present Himself as the Messiah? It was bound to fail. However, what they did not see was Easter morning and the moment of His ascension, nor the day of Christ’s return.
The resurrection was more than just the resurrection of a single person, it was the turning point for all of humanity. Human beings fail because of their excessive pride and overconfidence. Archetypes such as Adam and Eve have a story to tell. They wanted to be like God. Jesus broke the vicious circle.
How Jesus dealt with everything can help us today already. He kept His feet on the ground even when He was flying high. And when He had reached the lowest point of His life, He held His chin up, looking ahead, far ahead—beyond Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, and Ascension. Jesus’ focus was on His goal—always. He became one of us so that we could become one with Him.
Photo: senadesign – stock.adobe.com