Let’s face it—we have all fell victim of persecution.  In fact, many of us, maybe not knowingly, have been involved in some form of persecution towards another person ourselves.  The past is the past and it cannot be changed. What is important is that we recognize those past actions and meet them head on and face them in a Christ like manner.   I can speak for myself when I say that I have fell victim to many acts of persecution.  I have dealt with some acts better than others—that’s the human part of me.
 
On reflection, this Palm Sunday we see a connection in the Gospel and the second reading.  That on the road to Calvary, Jesus shows us the way of humility and nonviolence.  And with that we should questions our own actions….  How do your own actions, and the words you speak [Facebook messenger, Text message, or any other medium]/profess this Jesus as Lord of heaven and earth?  Are you in touch with the covenant relationship that God calls us into?  Are you aware that God calls us to act with extreme humility and nonviolence [including words and actions]—after all Christ offers himself, body and blood, for the healing of the world.  
 
Recall the Psalm today—All who see me scoff at me; they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads. – The Lord God is indeed my help; therefore, I am not disgraced.  I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
 
The taunts we give/deliver unto others are like the taunts of the crowd mocking Jesus to come down from the Cross, believing only then that he is the Messiah, the Son of God.  But just as Christ did not give in to the persecution, nor should we.  We should not meet persecution with anger or retaliation—this is a hard concept, but an ever true one.
 
Remember that Christ is there with the outcast, the poor, the shamed, and the broken within our own families, communities, and world.  May we be blessed with the eyes to see our given Christ, to see the face which in whose eyes we see suffering, and in those same eyes we see the need to open our hearts, provide tenderness, and care for all the children of Christ.