L-okkażjoni storika li tagħha niċċelebraw il-festa ta’ Ħadd il-Palm – qisha tirrepeti dak li qegħdin ngħixu bħalissa. Ġesù, il-Messija mwiegħed, mill-ftuħ tal-ministeru pubbliku u tad-dinja, mill-ftuħ tal-għadira ta’ Kinneret, mill-għoli tal-Muntajna tal-Beatitudni tad-Diskors tal-Muntanja u minn dak tat-Tabor, mill-wisa’ tal-Witja tal-Beatitudni, mill-ftuħ tax-‘Xatt l-Ieħor’, jidħol ‘jingħalaq’ fil-belt ta’ Ġerusalemm.
Minn Ġerusalemm jidħol fit-Tempju, fil-Kamra ta’ Fuq, fil-Ġnien tal-Ġetsemani, fil-ħabs tal-Palazz tal-Qassis il-Kbir u ta’ dak ta’ Pilatu, imbagħad fil-qabar! Hu ukoll ingħalaq jew ġie magħluq. Bħalna, fl-għeluq differenti ta’ kull wieħed u waħda minna.
Imma trid tgħid ukoll kemm kompla jwettaq il-ħidma salvifika tiegħu minn dak l-għeluq! Mill-għeluq tal-qabar, imblukkat mill-blata, issiġillat u mgħasses, sploda fil-qawwa tal-qawmien tant li seta’ jidħol fl-għeluq tal-post fejn kienu miġburin id-dixxipli mwerwrin, fl-għeluq tal-qalb ta’ Marija minn Magdala, taż-żewġ dixxipli ta’ Għemmaws fid-djuq u djieqa ta’ qalbhom li ma ħallithomx jagħrfuh, u tad-dixxipli l-oħra wieħed wieħed u waħda waħda.
Tgħid din is-sena se joħroġ mill-għeluq tal-qabar biex jinfed l-għeluq tiegħi u tiegħek?
Tgħid din is-sena se nħallih jikser is-siġilli fuq il-blat ta’ qalbi u ta’ ħajti biex jidħol bil-qawwa tal-Ispirtu u tax-Xālôm, speċifikament tiegħu?
Dan nawgura lili nnifsi u lilkom hekk kif qegħdin nibdew din il-Ġimgħa tal-Glorja tal-Mulej tagħna!
Niltaqgħu nhar il-Ħadd, kmieni filgħodu, ħdejn il-Qabar Vojt!
The historical occasion that gave rise to the feast – Palm Sunday – seems to repeat our current experience. Jesus, the Promised Messiah, from the spaciousness of his public and world ministry, from the spaciousness of Lake Kinneret, from the height of the Mount of Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount and that of Mount Tabor, from the spacious Plain of the Beatitudes, from the spaciousness of “The Other Side”, he enters into the restrictions of Jerusalem.
From Jerusalem, he goes into the Temple, he goes up to the Upper Room, he enters the Garden of Gethsemane, he is thrown into the prison of the High Priest’s palace and that of Pilate, and finally, is laid in the tomb! Even he shut himself or was put in there. Just like us, in the various restrictions each and every one of us experiences.
However, we have to acknowledge how he continued accomplishing his saving mission from those ‘constraints’! From the closure of the tomb, blocked by the heavy stone, sealed and guarded, he burst out in Resurrection Power into the closure of the place where the disciples were locked for fear of the Jews, the closure of Mary from Magdala’s heart, the two Disciples of Emmaus’ closed and anguished hearts that hindered them from recognising him, and those of the other disciples, one by one.
This year, will Jesus be able to come out of the closure of the tomb to penetrate my and your anguish?
This year, shall I let him shatter the seals on the stone of my heart and of my life so that he enter with all the power of his Spirit and of his Shālôm?
This is what I wish for myself and for you as we initiate this Week of the Glory of Our Lord!
See you next Sunday, early in the morning, at the Empty Tomb!
Fr Paul Sciberras