By St. Theophan the Recluse
Who
did not meet the Lord when He, as a king, triumphantly
entered into Jerusalem; and who did not cry out then,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matt. 21:15)? But
only four days passed, and the same crowd with the same
tongues cried, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" (John
19:6). An amazing change! But why should we be surprised?
Do we not do the very same thing, when upon receiving the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord, we
barely leave the church before forgetting
everything—both our reverence and God’s mercy
toward us. We give ourselves over as before to
self-pleasing deeds—at first small and then also
large. Perhaps even before four days have passed, although
we do not cry, “Crucify Him!” we will crucify
the Lord within ourselves. The Lord sees all of this, and
suffers. Glory to Thy long-suffering, O Lord!