Homily of Palm Sunday
By Fr Oluwafemi Victor Orilua CSSp
Matthew 21:1-11, Isaiah 50:4-7, Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 26:14-27:66
Jesus embraced His suffering and death with courage and resolve. He entered Jerusalem gloriously on a donkey, fully aware that His death awaited Him. He knew who would betray Him, who would deny Him, and who would desert Him, yet He continued to walk with them. He knew that many who sought Him for miracles would soon turn against Him. Yet, despite all this, He remained steadfast in His purpose. Nothing could deter Him from offering Himself for the salvation of the world. He came to die for all humanity, regardless of their response to the call of grace.
Today, the Church celebrates Passion Sunday, a day when we remember the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are invited to reflect on His journey to Calvary and to examine our own response to the great sacrifice He made for us.
In His Passion, many played a part: the elders who condemned Him, Pilate who knew the truth but constrained by fear and politics, washed his hands of responsibility, and his wife who sensed the truth and sought to warn him. There were the soldiers who arrested Him, the crowd whose cries of “Hosanna” turned to calls for His crucifixion, the women of Jerusalem who wept for Him, Veronica who wiped His face, Simon of Cyrene who was compelled to help carry His cross, and the two thieves—one who mocked Him and the other who asked to be remembered in His kingdom.
Each person in this story reveals something about human response to God’s plan, faith, fear, courage, indifference, or repentance. Today, we are invited to stand before the cross and decide where we place our hearts.
Moreover, as followers of Christ, let us reflect on which of the disciples’ places we occupy. They fell asleep instead of praying with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, perhaps not fully grasping the enormity of the suffering that awaited their Master. Judas betrayed Him into the hands of His enemies, Peter denied Him, and the others fled. Perhaps, had they understood the weight of what lay ahead, they would have prayed and found the strength to remain by the Lord.
Nevertheless, these events reveal the human condition and the struggle for survival. If the Lord, who prayed fervently, felt the weight of torment, how much more do we, who sometimes neglect prayer, need His strength? Life comes with crosses we are called to bear each day. Let us always look to Jesus and draw courage from Him to embrace our trials with faith and joy.
We adore you o Christ and we praise you, by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
