PALM SUNDAY OR PASSION SUNDAY 

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday which is also known as Passion Sunday. Today marks the first day of holy week and the last week of the solemn season of Lent. Today’s celebrations commemorate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem an event that marks the beginning of our salvation history.

As he rode along, many people spread their clothes and palm branches on the road crying out unto him, hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Recall that last Sunday he told us that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, the hour is here, the hour set for the accomplishment of human salvation. Throughout the course Jesus’ public ministry there have been great tensions building up between him and the Jewish authorities, the height of which was when he drove them out from the temple. With these tensions they accused him of blasphemy and intensified their plans to get rid of him.

The consequence of which was his arrest, passion and death. The passion narrative is a story that touches the heart. In it, we see betrayal denial, desertion and faithlessness. When Jesus predicted that the faith of his disciples would be shaken in the events ahead Peter and the other disciples protested vehemently even when he made it clear to them that one among them would betray him none of them admitted it. While in agony in the garden he urged them to pray only to return to find them sleeping.

When the going got tough Judas with whom he had shared the same table betrayed him and handed him over. When confronted about being his associate Peter denied three times, the rest of the apostles deserted him abandoning him to his faith. Most of the people who sang hosanna a few days back some of whom might have benefited from his good works at some point, turned against him. Only the women who had been his followers in Galilee are said to have been present at his crucifixion but they remained in a distance. May we always appreciate what the Lord has done for us by avoiding sin and be ready to help those who need our assistance.

Fr Vincent Nnatuanya, CSSp