01 April 2023 – Palm Sunday Of the Passion Of The Lord (Year A) (Sunset Mass)

by Fr Joachim Robert

Dear friends,

As we begin Holy Week, we are reminded once again of that entry towards Jerusalem that Jesus had to endure. And as He enters into that Jerusalem, the place of His death, it was also a place where He redeemed you and I. It was a place where He showed His love for you and I to redeem us and liberate us from the slavery of sin.

And as we have taken that journey, dear friends, from the beginning of the celebration and taking that journey in procession with our palms raised, the whole sense of excitement, the whole sense of joy when we sang ‘Hosanna, Hosanna, king of the Jews.’ But as we gradually entered closer and closer towards that Jerusalem, we come to see those experiences or perhaps happy moments were turned into moments of rage, challenge, difficulty and obstacles for Jesus.

And as we look at our own lives in a situation similar like Jesus, how would we respond? Will we just stick around when things are okay, when things are good, when things are cozy, especially in our walk of discipleship where we allow ourselves to just enjoy those ‘moments of consolation’ that we have and treasure that moments? But when we are faced with obstacles and challenges like Jesus, will we still embrace the cross, allow ourselves to be molded by the challenges and obstacles, inviting us to a deeper response to our love?

In the way of Jesus, dear friends, is a path of humility, a path that allows Himself to empty Himself for the sake of others. And are we willing to take that step, with the obstacles and challenges that we are confronted with? Are we willing to humble ourselves, empty ourselves for the sake of another?

And very often, dear friends, there are two options when we are confronted with suffering and challenges.

One is because we have suffered. Because we have experienced those sufferings and pain, we want also others to experience the same pain and suffering. And we continue to perpetuate those negative emotions perhaps of how we were treated towards the people that is around us. And doing so, dear friends, we are not free in allowing the grace of God to be at work. Because we become succumbed to how others have treated us and that becomes an obstacle for us to move beyond. We are imprisoned with our past that we never, never want to move forward. And we are hindered because we continue to perpetuate how we have been treated.

On the other hand, the way of Jesus is the path where He embraces the cross, acknowledges that this is what God has invited Him to. And for the sake of humanity, He allows Himself to enter into that Jerusalem. Even though difficult it may be, He embraces them so that others may have life, so that others may be liberated, so others may truly experience the love and the mercy of God.

So as we enter into this time of Holy Week, dear friends, a time that we take to rediscover those moments of encounter of how Jesus invites us to respond and follow Him together with our utmost love for Him. Do we run away? Do we perpetuate or do we embrace the cross that comes along the way in our lives as we enter into that Jerusalem?

Jesus knew that it was a situation that demanded His life. But He was willing to make that sacrifice that you and I may be liberated. And as we look at the whole scenario of the passion reading today, dear friends, the whole scenario of many, many different characters, different emotions, different people with authority, even His close allies, in terms of how He has felt the sense of abandonment, the sense of rejection, the sense of betrayal but He continued to carry that cross and responded in the way the Father wanted Him to.

And you and I, dear friends, are called to be more aware of what the Lord is asking us during this time of Holy Week. Because as we enter into that Jerusalem, I am sure as we make this intense preparation to enter into that Jerusalem of our lives, the Lord will constantly invite us. In that moment of crosses, in those moments of challenges, the Lord also invites us to respond in love.

Are we willing to take up that crosses of our lives, of our families, of our community and allow the Lord to walk together with us to enter that Jerusalem and bring that healing, the source of strength towards others and also to become opportunities where we show love for one another?

Let us pray, dear friends, that this whole week can be a week that we become more conscious of the grace of God in our lives. Even in those moments of sufferings, even in those moments of challenges and obstacles, the Lord continues to be together with us, in the same way of how Jesus led the way forward, the procession by the priests, the same way Jesus invites us to allow Him to lead the way in the burdens and the challenges that we are confronted with, that ultimately as we journey together. We know that He can empathise with us, that He came to be human to be like us, He entered into our sin that we may be liberated.

And very often we ask ourselves how do we respond, how do we want to serve the church, how do we want to serve Jesus. But if you look carefully, dear friends, in the Second Reading of today, we are reminded that His state was divine. But Jesus did not cling to his equality with man but emptied Himself so you and I may live. It is Jesus who comes to serve us, through His love, through His mercy and through his compassion.

And let us be that reflection of that love mercy and compassion towards one another as we build a community in faith, as we grow in faith and we grow in the awareness of his love especially during this time of Holy week where we enter into the passion, that death and the resurrection of Jesus.

Click below to listen to the homily and watch the video:-

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