Joke: There was a three-year-old boy named Johnny. When it was Palm Sunday, he couldn't wait to go to church to see what Palm Sunday was. But sadly, Johnny came down with chickenpox. His parents hired a babysitter to take care of Johnny while they went to church. When they came home holding palm leaves, Johnny asked, "What are the palm tree leaves for, mom?" She replied, "When Jesus walked thru the town, people waved palm leaves at him in respect." Johnny looked upset and said, "Wouldn't you know? The first day that I'm not in the church, he shows up!"

Today, Catholic Church throughout the world marks the beginning of the Holy Week with Palm Sunday, a purpose of remembrance of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. This Palm Sunday, the Church remembers that Jesus enters Jerusalem as King. It was a long Gospel, but it’s packed with insights. There were present Pontius Pilate, the governor, twelve Apostles, including Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, and Peter, the denier, Caiaphas, the high priest, the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes, the soldiers, the Jews including the bystanders and Simon, a Cyrenian was forced to carry the cross of Jesus, the criminals including Barabbas, a notorious prisoner, and the two revolutionaries who were crucified with Jesus, some women followed Jesus including Mary, his mother, and of course Jesus himself. This was the entire human race from every corner of life, from every profession of life, from every way of life gathered together, engaged into, and witnessed the voice, the groaning of the Son of God, a complete abandonment of the Son of God, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

At his complete abandonment, Jesus, St. Paul testified in today’s second reading saying, “He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” All those groups of people, including Jesus’ apostles, came out with only one purpose and that was to crucify Jesus! Why? He cured the sick; he healed the disease; he freed the prisoners, the oppressed, the prostitutes, the woman caught in adultery; and he even raised the dead back to life again! What had he done wrong that they all wanted to kill him? Have we ever wanted to crucify the Lord Jesus and why?

Judas Iscariot crucified Jesus with a price of thirty pieces of silver. Peter crucified Jesus by denying to be his follower. Other apostles crucified him by fleeing for their lives. The high priest, the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees crucified Jesus because of their jealousy. The soldiers crucified Jesus because of their fidelity to the power of this world, not God. The criminals crucified Jesus because, in their despair, they could find no hope in God. The Jews crucified Jesus because of their innocence in listening to their leaders. Have we ever crucified our Lord Jesus Christ? If yes, how would we change and return to the Lord for our salvation and pray for others? If not, just as Mary Magdalen, Mary, mother of God, John, his beloved disciple, Simon of the Cyrenian, who helped to carry Jesus’ cross, Peter, a converter who returned to the Lord and was crucified upside down, and a good revolutionary thief returned to the Lord by acknowledging his wrongdoing and asked for forgiveness, how should we be witnessed to the world that we are the followers of Jesus and not the ones who crucified him on the cross? The decision is yours.