Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week. We display palms not as charms to ward off evil spirits. Waving a palm simply symbolize that we welcome Christ into our life. Life is a long journey. Along the way we constantly battle our conscience; Good versus evil. Evil always seem to intrude on us while good needs constant working on. In today’s world the voice of conscience is gradually being drowned out. The cock is crowing but we can’t seem to hear it anymore.

This week is a good time to quieten down and listen to the cock crowing in our life. Who have we become? The Passion of Christ is a journey made once for all of us. It is the triumph of good over evil. In the journey to Calvary, good is hidden in the shadow of evil. All along the way till the very end, evil forces itself upon good. Such is also true for our own journey in life. We must wave our palms to welcome Christ on our own journey.

Evil penetrates all aspects of our daily life. Many things create for us a distracting din. Progress and material comfort are obviously good but evil use them to raise the level of cockiness in us, increase our self-importance and reduce our need for Christ. It uses our power to reason and even our fellowship with one another to effect itself. It attacks our pride to take away our humility, our humble need for Christ.

We can identify with the many characters along the route to Calvary. A collective voice is a very powerful tool of influence. We too have been in a baying crowd. We too have gotten together, formed opinions of others to crucify their reputation. Like the crowd it was easier for us not to believe. We take lustful pleasure in soaking in our own opinions. It happens to every one of us. The collective voice is many times greater than the sum of individual voices. “Crucify him, crucify him!” The cock crows.

Sometimes we can heckle like Herod. Perhaps we have become too powerful in status, or become too learned, too cocksure of everything. We delight to debate to display our power to reason. But our pride takes over to mock and belittle. We treat others with a lower capacity than us with contempt and make fun of them. We unite with others with similar behavior and become an even greater destructive force. The cock crows.

Our lone voice placed in a group is a fearful voice especially if it is isolated. Pilate was this lone voice. His conscience found no guilt in Jesus but preferring self-preservation he gave in; the voice of the howling crowd drowned the voice of conscience. How often have we placed ourselves in this position in our daily life? The cock crows.

Along comes Simon from Cyrene. We can identify with him. He helps to carry the cross but for a short distance. In that short distance Christ unites himself with all our challenges in life. He is saying to us he will carry our cross all the way. He is the hidden good, and many times he is present in the worse things that did not happen to us.

Let us enter Holy Week with a disposition of humility. Let us quieten ourselves to listen to the cock crowing in us. Maybe it will become too loud a jarring intolerable noise. Then let us raise our palms and wave.

Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday)