Friends and colleagues in the local government sector used to ask me if I pause to reflect during the Lenten season.

It appears they have the impression that a “public servant’s work is never done,” and that we have to keep working even during the season that a number of Christian denominations observe and call “Lent.”

Of course, public servants are human beings who also need spiritual nourishment. While our duty to serve never stops, this season is a good time to pause and reflect.

I recall one such reflection, which I shared with our readers several years ago. This was published by the Manila Bulletin on a Palm Sunday.

There was a young man who once approached me and asked whether he should consider running for public office someday, and for advice.

I seriously advised him to learn from Palm Sunday: “Be cautious—the crowd cheering you today may soon call for your crucifixion.”

I first heard this from a pastor-friend when I was a young aspiring public servant, asking about lessons from Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

His insight: “Do not be fooled by the illusion created by a wildly cheering crowd.”

“You mean Jesus was not elated by the grand welcome he got,” I remember asking my pastor-friend.

“Because he also has a human nature, I guess he was happy with what was done by the reception committee,” my friend said. “After all, the nature and magnitude of the reception must have been so significant that the political authorities paid attention,” he added.

“But I believe Jesus knew that the pomp and pageantry unfolding before his eyes was illusory,” he explained. “I believe Jesus knew that He was about to seriously disappoint that crowd – the palm-waving fans were there to welcome him as a political liberator of sorts,” he continued.

“They thought Jesus had come to instigate and lead a coup against the Rome-backed regime,” he pointed out. “They were dead wrong,” he added.

“That Jesus proceeded to cleanse the Temple of merchants and money traders after that only underscored how wrong they were,” he continued.

“I guess that is what happens to many when cheering crowds meet them – they are fooled by the moment and made to think that they are Julius Caesar reincarnated,” he continued, half-joking.

“How did Jesus handle that moment?” I continued to probe.

“He kept focused on his mission,” my pastor-friend answered.

“Jesus came to Jerusalem for one purpose alone – to meet the death for which he was destined,” he explained. “He did not let the noise of the palm-waving crowd take his eyes away from that purpose; he was single-minded about his mission,” he added.

“So, do you think the crowd was angered by Jesus ‘failure’ to lead?” I asked.

“That is a valid observation,” my pastor-friend replied. “Maybe, the intensity with which they would shout ‘Crucify him!' later may have been fueled by the fact that Jesus disappointed them,” he expounded reflectively.

“It is good to keep in mind that the line separating a cheering crowd from a frenzied mob is very thin,” my pastor-friend answered.

“The lesson is, we can enjoy the affirmation of a large number of cheering people, but must, at the same time, not lose sight of what we were sent to do,” he concluded.

Those are the very same insights drawn from the lesson of Palm Sunday, which I would like to share with young people aspiring to an elective post: Focus on the public service mission. Do not go into politics just to experience the thrill of a celebrity status or the excitement of being mobbed by a throng of adoring fans.

To join the ranks of true public servants, one must face the prospect of one’s own “crucifixion.”

This Sunday, let us also pause in prayer to express gratitude for the way Christ embraced his own mission, choosing to reject the adoration of fans and remain focused on what He was sent to accomplish.

(The author is a Doctor of Medicine, an entrepreneur and the mayor of Antipolo City, former Rizal governor, and DENR assistant secretary, LLDA general manager. Email: [email protected])