Palm Sunday – 13th April 2025
The events that begin on Palm Sunday and take place for the rest of Holy Week are basically the story of a human drama; it is the drama of Jesus and it is also our drama. As he enters into the dramatic events of his final week, he invites us to follow and stay with him as he does every Easter.
We are asked not just to remember Palm Sunday as an historical event that took place in the past. More importantly we are called to try our best to truly enter into the events as they unfold and to experience what happened as if we are actually there with Jesus. We are celebrating and taking part in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as they happen to and for us today.
Jesus enters into the city on a great wave of hope, joy and optimism. The crowds line the streets, they wave palms, put their cloaks on the ground as they shout out his name. This was an ancient tradition in Rome used to welcome soldiers and armies home after battle. The people welcome Jesus in the same way triumphantly shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. This wave of popularity won’t last too long; how quickly the crowd will change and turn against Jesus. These very same people, who initially welcomed Jesus joyfully, will soon shout angrily, ‘Crucify him, Crucify him.’ It is not only the crowd who turn against Jesus. His closest friends betray, deny and desert him. The rest of them run and abandon him; he is left alone.