The rhythm of the Liturgy on Passion or Palm Sunday feels like a rollercoaster ride as we transverse the journey from the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and we conclude with Jesus being buried in the tomb.

Jerusalem for the only time in the public ministry of Jesus becomes a focal point. While Jesus has traveled back and forth between The Galilee and Jerusalem many times throughout his life, it is this pilgrimage at this Passover that is most significant. Jerusalem stands as the very heart of the Jewish world at the time of Jesus, much as it does today. It was the capital city established by Kind David, the greatest king in their history and in whose lineage Jesus stands. It is the home to the great Temple, built first by King Solomon and at the time of Jesus again under construction following the plan of the Roman Client King Herod the Great, dead by that time over thirty years. It is the pilgrimage city, where Jews from throughout the Mediterranean world come for the various religious feasts throughout the year. Passover is always the most important and well-attended feast, with tens of thousands of pilgrims flooding the relatively small city, with its narrow streets and crowded markets.

Jesus is not staying on those cramped Jerusalem streets with the other pilgrims choosing instead to stay across the Kidron Valley in Bethany, which was the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. His approach to Jerusalem, then, each day of the festival week takes him over the Mount of Olives and to the Temple through the magnificent gate on the valley side called the Golden Gate. The Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives will figure prominently later in the week.

What exactly incites the crowd to welcome Jesus as the messianic figure is unclear. Jesus certainly evokes that fervor as he chooses to enter the city on a colt, a messianic image from the prophet Zechariah. Still, the response of the people is overwhelming and invokes images of God’s visitation to the Temple. The crowd clearly expects that the messianic plan of restoration, long ago foreshadowed in the prophets, is about to unfold in their midst.

What it must have been like to be in that crowd! Certainly, there were those zealous for the coming of Jesus, carrying their hopes and dreams of the arrival of the Messiah. There were those who might have been uncertain but got swept up in the passion of the crowd anyway. Some idle onlookers stood by no doubt, while others went about their business ignoring the whole affair.

The disciples must have been overwhelmed at all of this. Long suspecting, and then even clearly stating that Jesus is the messiah, they weren’t prepared for this enthusiastic outpouring from the crowd. Theirs’ is about to be a most emotionally charged week. They walk into the city straddling Jesus riding on the colt as the crowds greet him with their “Hosannas!” Yet, in a few short days, one of them will betray Jesus, handing him over to the authorities, leading to his crucifixion. One of them, the one who is the doyen of the group, will deny Jesus three times before onlookers at the initial interrogation of Jesus. But that is all ahead of them – today it is about Jesus being heralded as a conquering hero, the coming of the promised messiah, into the city what should be the seat of his throne.

In the Synoptic accounts Jesus enters the Temple area but leaves immediately and returns to Bethany. The next day, and after cursing a fruitless fig tree, Jesus erupts in righteous anger as he overturns the tables of the moneychangers. Jesus teaches the crowds in the precincts and returns each morning. Fearing the crowds, and the talk of Jesus being the messiah, the officials of the city and the Sanhedrin conspire to have him killed. The legions of the occupying Roman army stand guard, securing the pax Romana in a city rife with pilgrims. Even Pontius Pilate, the prefect of the district, is in the city for the feast.

What becomes of this crowd, the crowd that gave such enthusiasm to his arrival, witnessed his indignation in the Temple, and listened intently to his teaching? Jesus came with no army he did nothing to rile the Romans; he didn’t call for arms or foment rebellion. As the week moves on they disperse and Jesus is alone with his disciples. The crowd turns on him, and in the end, they call for his Crucifixion. He is not the messiah they wanted they will await another.

In how many ways does the reaction of this crowd mirror the lives of so many of us who welcome Jesus into our lives but then turn aside from him as the demands of discipleship press against us?

Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.