Homily: Palm Sunday

March 29, 2026

My dear brothers and sisters, we begin the Holy Week today with commemorating Jesus’ Triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This Triumphant entry into Jerusalem is indeed very significant. All through the years of his public ministry, Jesus has travelled many roads of Galilee, Samaria, Judea, Jericho etc on foot, but it is only this time that He knew His entrance into Jerusalem would lead to His death, that He preferred to travel mounted on an ass like a king. Jesus indeed showed the world that He is a king. The whole ceremony of Triumphant entry had a tonality of victory. The palms we bear in our hands signify victory. The crowd of people that accompanied Jesus were singing a song of victory- Hosanna filio David, Save us oh Son of David.

However, we will see during the week that this chanting of the crowd will change to ‘crucify Him,’ ‘crucify Him.’ Is this a contradiction? It is not, instead, there lies the heart of the mystery. Jesus is openly telling the world that He is a king but not like other earthly king with only earthly power and might. His style of kingship till today has continued to be difficult for the people to accept but that remains the path to eternal kingship and everlasting kingdom of God. Jesus was not crushed by superior forces, it was He who discerning the will of the Father, willingly chose to die on the cross in order to save humanity. Thus the cross is not a sign of death, but of life, the cross is not a sign of frustration, but of hope, the cross is not a sign of defeat but of victory.

All through this week, we shall be celebrating this mystery of the cross. Jesus’s actions eternally affirms that it is through these mysteries that we shall discover the eternal Kings of kings, it is in these mysteries that we will find the pathway that will lead us to the everlasting kingdom. I invite you brothers and sisters, to be fully involved in reenacting these mysteries throughout this week. Beginning on Tuesday at the Cathedral with the Mass of Chrism, the faithful of the Archdiocese will comemorate the institution of the priesthood. The priests of the Archdiocese will renew their priestly commitments before the Archbishop. On Thursday here, we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s supper followed by His passion on Friday and on Holy Saturday night, we will gather by 7.30pm to celebrate the Mother of all vigils in the Catholic Church; the Easter vigil and cap it up with the Mass of the resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday.

Brothers and sisters, it is when we are part of these celebrations and reflect on the mysteries they contain, then we shall be able to live them and consequently obtain the abundance of graces they promise. In the passion narrative today, we read that Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James and John to Golgotha, Jesus was grieved because of His imminent suffering and death and needed support from the apostles His friends but they were busy sleeping. The result became that at the moment of test, their faith failed. May we not be sleeping Christians that will be found unready when the Lord comes. Sleep can take different forms, it can take the form of disinterest, laziness, lukewarmness, lack of courage and hopelessness.

Among all the twelve disciples of Jesus, the only person that was not sleeping was Judas. He was wide awake and busy plotting the graph of how he would make enough money from betraying Jesus and he really succeeded in achieving his aim. However, did the material acquisition bring him satisfaction and contentment? Never, instead, it landed him in sorrow, despair, loss of meaning with life and he ended up in a bigger evil. May we not be a Judas who will be awake only when the material things of this world are involved but when it comes to our spiritual upkeep, we become sleeping Peter, James and John.