Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, As we raise our palms today shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David!” with joy, we are ushered into the most sacred and intense week of the Christian journey, the Holy Week. Palm Sunday invites us to walk with Jesus on a road that defies human logic, a road where God’s glory is revealed in humility. Victory is won through surrender, and life comes through death. Let us contemplate this paradox.
The Obedient Servant
The first reading gives us the voice of the Suffering Servant who says: “The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.”
Jesus perfectly fulfilled the words of this prophecy. He spoke with tenderness to the brokenhearted, touched the lepers, welcomed sinners, and dined with them. Yet, He is mocked, spat upon, beaten, and stripped of His dignity. He does not fight back. He never let go of His trust in His Father: “The Lord is my help. I shall not be ashamed.”
And Here Comes the Hard Truth
When we walk with Jesus of Nazareth, we are not promised applause and comfort. Sometimes, walking with Him will mean loneliness, rejection, betrayal by friends, relatives, and colleagues. There could be moments when being steadfast to the Faith will cost us more than we imagined, when we might experience silence from Heaven. But it is in those moments that our Faith is put to the test.
Let us pause and think about these words of Jesus from the Cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22).
Have you ever been there? Praying, crying, feeling like heaven is shut? Jesus has been there too. He knows what it is like to feel abandoned, betrayed, misunderstood by many, even by family. His brothers, and sisters, and even His own people could not understand. To them, it was a scandal. To the Greeks, it was foolishness. A God on a cross? That makes no sense. Don’t we still see such arguments in our society today? And yet, this is the wisdom of God. No wonder why Jesus rejoiced that God the Father had revealed the secret of the Kingdom to the little ones, those who embrace this mystery with childlike hearts.
As St. Paul says in Philippians, Jesus did not cling to His divinity. He let go. He emptied Himself. The Word who created galaxies chose to be born in a manger. The Lord of glory chose the wood of the Cross. He descended down into our pains, into our mess, into our death. And because He went that low, God lifted Him up.
This Is the Scandal of the Cross
The throne of heaven became a Cross, the King of the Universe wore thorns instead of a crown of gold, victory came not through force, but through forgiveness.
In the narration of the Passion we hear today, we are reminded how quickly the crowd changes. “Hosanna!” Becomes “Crucify Him!” Judas betrays Him. Peter denies Him. Pilate washed his hands. The crowd turns their backs. But Jesus bears it all. He loved us even to the point of saying “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” This is the heart of our God, the mystery of Divine Love for Us.
So today, as we wave our palms, we are asked: Will our Hosanna last? Will we follow Him not just in moments of Joy but also in sorrow?
This week let us not rush toward Easter’s down. Let us walk with Jesus in the Upper Room, at the table of the last supper, kneel and pray with Him in the garden of Olives. Stand at the foot of the Cross with Mother Mary and St John. Let us cry out to God when we feel abandoned. Let us love like Jesus even when it hurts.
The world may not understand it. It may still call it foolishness or scandal. But we know the truth: “the Cross is the wisdom of God and Power of God.” Amen.
[Readings: Luke 19:28-40; Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14—23:56]
