Proclaim His Kingship! Homily for Palm Sunday

 

The lectionary of Palm Sunday offers us the opportunity of two Gospel readings; the first at the blessing of the palms, and the second at its usual place in the Liturgy of the Word. The first Gospel reading, which recounts Our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, ends with Our Lord responding to those who would have had Him rebuke those who were acclaiming Him:

I tell you, if they keep silent,
the stones will cry out!

In other words, Our Lord is encouraging all of us to proclaim the nature of His kingship;

Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest.

In the face of the kingship of Our Lord, even the stones, may not keep silent, but must proclaim the Gospel.

How do we proclaim the Gospel? There is a line often, and erroneously, attributed to St. Francis of Assisi; “preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.” It is first through our actions that we must preach, and in this strategy, Our Lord Himself, offered us an example. As we heard in the first reading today:

I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

We are all today, children of the French and subsequent revolutions, which have normalized revolt against authority. If those charged with authority are in error, or simply disliked, we feel it acceptable, or necessary to overthrow them, challenge, or disobey them. This has not been the Catholic way, however, and Our Lord showed us the way of humility before power. We submit to lawful authority and suffer, because it offers us the potential to unite ourselves with the passion of Our Lord – think back to St. Paul’s beautiful prayer: “In my flesh I take on what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of His body the Church” (Col 1:24).

But Our Lord is not advocating cowardice. As the first reading indicates:

The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.

The Gospel today demonstrates that Our Lord had the courage to rebuke those in power:

Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?
Day after day I was with you in the temple area,
and you did not seize me;
but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness.

Or when questioned before the Sanhedrin:

If I tell you, you will not believe,
and if I question, you will not respond.

It takes courage to be this bold before rogue authority. And so should it be with us, standing boldly before authorities who are abusing their power. We stand before them not to overthrow them, but, as Our Lord did, to rebuke them, and then boldly bear the consequences.

Brothers and sisters, one way in which we in India, and Goa, particularly dodge our Christian obligations in a society that is losing all sense of justice and the rule of law, is by accommodating ourselves to the madness around us. If we are to enter heaven, we must confess Our Lord in deeds, not just in words. To acknowledge Him in word, and not deed, would be to emulate Judas who betrayed “the Son of Man with a kiss.”

It is my firm belief that we must not begin our confession of Christ in social activism. If our activism is not firmly grounded in piety, it will eventually be overtaken by the perverse logic of revolution. This week Saint Paul instructs us that:

at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Hidden in this text is at least one bodily action that too many of us have given up; bending the knee. Brothers and sisters, I urge you to resume the practice of genuflection before the Blessed Sacrament. Here in Fatorda you have a particular opportunity; the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the oratory can be seen from the main road. Should you pass the oratory, genuflect in the street. Confess Christ as Lord in public, and grow in piety! It will stand you in good stead in your social activism. Kneel, don’t sit, after receiving communion. One cultivates piety only through pious actions, and our Christianity – indeed the body of Christ! – has suffered much from the tendency from the past few decades to make everything about the head, or about discourse! Let the others scoff, mock, wag their heads at you. Proclaim, through your actions, his name to your brethren in the midst of the assembly!

My dear brothers and sisters, Holy Week offers us great opportunities to grow in piety through the public demonstration of our faith. This week, DO NOT sit at home and settle for quick services. Go to the processions, Way of the Cross, attend on Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday until midnight. And when you do, whisper under your breath,

Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory in the highest.

(This homily was prepared to be preached to the faithful at the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary, Fatorda on Palm Sunday, 13 April 2025.)

(Image reference: Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, Anthony van Dyck, 1617, Indianapolis Museum of Art)