PRAISE SINGERS, SPECTATORS, CROWD FOLLOWERS, ONLY FEW DISCIPLES. (Homily for March 20, 2016. Palm Sunday of the Holy Week, Year C.)


Bible Study: Isaiah 50, 4 to 7. Philippians 2, 6 to 11 and Luke 22, 14 to 23, 56.


Today is Palm Sunday. Today marks the triumphant entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. Definitely this was not the first time, Jesus would enter this great city. For more than thirty years of his earthly life, Jesus had come into and gone out of Jerusalem countless times without any fan fair, almost unnoticed. But today’s entry happens to be a special one. An entry that pulled such a large crowd, shaking the very foundations of Jerusalem.

The crowd that followed Jesus spreading palm fronds on the floor as well as their clothes while changing: “Hosanna to the Son of David” at the top of their voices represents the Church and Christianity today. It represents the body of those who proudly profess the faith today. It represents the church in its most glorious state, the church free from the shackles of persecution, the church as an agent of social cohesion.  

Amongst the crowd, you find four categories of people: The Praise Singers, the Spectators who just watch, the Emotional Followers who simply do what they see others doing and the Genuine Disciples who happen to be the fewest of the crowd. So the question is: “What kind of a Christian am I?”

Am I a praise singer? Do I join in the procession because of what I hope to get at the end of the day? Do I really love Jesus or am I shouting Hosannas so that he would take notice of me and grant me some favours? A lot of us Christians today fall into this category. We sing praises with our lips while our actions betray and crucify Jesus. We sing songs of praise without even thinking of the meaning of what we are singing, we sing like politicians, we just praise and cheer at the spur of the moment yet as the saying goes, a politician has no friend. When our true commitment is tested, we simply decamp!

Am I a Spectator? In Pidgin, am I a “Siddon-look”? Do I just come out of my door or look through my window to watch? Is Christianity some sort of entertainment for me? Do I come to church just to listen to others sing while I fold my hands and look? Do my actions show that I really belong to Jesus? There are some of Christians who are just spectators, we are neither here nor there. We actually move from church to church based on the massiveness of the crowd we see. As true spectators, the game never follows us home. We actually go back home leaving behind everything we learn in church. We are only Christians within that space of time we spend in church, the moment we get home, we return to our sinful animal nature. There were spectators who never spread clothes or palm branches but just watched the procession of Jesus and gossiped about it all day long. They did not even know who Jesus was or why he was riding on a colt. There are many today who have heard so much about Jesus but are yet to encounter him in their lives. There are some of us today for whom the word Jesus is just an exclamation word we utter when something surprises us.

Am I an emotional follower? Put in Pidgin: “Na follow-follow I be?” Amongst the crowd were people who ran to cut palm branches for no reason other than the fact that they saw others do so. This group represents a bulk of us Christians who do not even know why we are Christians. We live entirely to please people. We do things just to get a sense of affirmation and even praise from others. Some of us Christians do not know who Jesus really is and we do not care to know; we never read the bible. All that matters is that people see us going to church. We are more concerned about the dress we are wearing to church than the state of our heart before God. We love to move around in church unnecessarily so that others would notice our presence and even without examination of conscience, we jump out to receive Holy Communion. When we are church, we follow very well, but when we step out of the church, we also follow very well. We love to blend perfectly like chameleons. When it comes to sin, we jump in graciously as we see others do and basically we believe Christianity is all about giving impressions. Amongst the crowd were some who shout the loudest Hosannas, not for Jesus to hear but for people around to hear. They were just followers!

Finally, am I a disciple? Who is a disciple, you may ask? It is a person who not only moves along the road with Jesus but actually stays with Jesus. To stay with Jesus is to live a life conscious of his presence at all times in all places. The disciples did not need to shout, they must have probably followed quietly even surprised at the public display of affection for Jesus. It was not yet their time to shout Hosanna. They would do so after his resurrection when they would have to go from house to house preaching Jesus from the top of their voices. They would shout their own Hosanna when they would gather in Antioch to live a life of total sharing, love and commitment to one another, way of life that so much reflected the personality of Jesus that then merited the name “Christians” which they were called.

If your lifestyle does not proclaim Jesus, then your singing and shouting of “Hosanna” today is useless.

Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, may my very life become the palm branch which I throw on the floor for you to pass. Come through me, Jesus to save the world. Amen.

God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Sunday.


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