The procession gospels of Mark and John offer material for a short homily and are in keeping with the event we celebrate on this Sunday of Holy Week. Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is not all that unlike the adulation some have shown for various people competing in primary elections. Those who supported the losers will, more often than not, easily give their enthusiastic support to the winning party candidate. Following almost immediately after the procession gospel, we will hear the story of how quickly the people, including the Lord’s own disciples, forget their "Hosannas" and instead deny or abandon Jesus or even get caught up in the fervor of "Crucify him”. Obviously this quick change of heart, even among his own disciples, had an impact on the writers of the early Church.

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a sixth grade social studies teacher in a suburban school district, decided to have her student engage in an election procedure, hoping to teach them something about the democratic process. The students were a very enthusiastic group and got into the whole process. Though the school was known for the highly competitive nature of the parents, especially in regards to their children’s academic achievements, the students elected the girl who happened to also be the smartest one in the class. All went well that year. The next year was a different story. By then the parental pressure for top grades, led some of the students to turn on their former president, spreading untrue stories about how she spent all her time studying (which wasn’t true) and some of the boys began referring to her as “The Computer.”