Palm (‘paalam’) Sunday

The story is told about a boss who asked his employee if he believed in life after death. When he responded “no,” the boss said: “Guess what? After you got permission to go to his funeral, he dropped by the office looking for you!”

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Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Holy Week. The Gospel today is the narrative of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (Mt. 26: 14-27:11-54), which gives us the details of our Lord’s untold pain and sufferings starting with his betrayal, agony in the garden, judgment, way of the cross, crucifixion, ending in his ugly death and burial. Not all is a nice story on how life should end. A very, very sad ending, so it seemed. But it all eventually led to victory, His resurrection!

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Palm Sunday was Jesus’ “paalam” (goodbye) Sunday. He made a triumphant entrance to Jerusalem with people waving palms acclaiming Him with their “Hossanas.” This was His way of saying goodbye to the people who a few days after would be shouting “crucify him!” Jesus did not hide or run away, He faced His final mission not only with courage but with a deep love for us all.

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“Paalam.” Goodbye. We, too, will make our final and definitive goodbye to this world, sooner or later. It’s just a matter of time. So, how will we say goodbye to this world? What will we leave behind? Will our final goodbye be filled with regrets, guilt, or remorse? This Holy Week, let us take time to listen to the Lord and look into our hearts in honesty and in humility to know and accept the goodbyes we need to make to things, people, or attitudes that make our lives heavy with pride and selfishness. Let us make choices and decisions that will help us live meaningful lives, and die a meaningful death.

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“Pa-alam.” The other meaning of “paalam” is to give a notice, a reminder, or a statement. The whole Holy week is a reminder, a clear statement of how God so loved us that He gave His only Son to suffer, die, and rise again, so that we will have eternal life (Jn. 3, 16) May we remember how much He loved us through His death, and celebrate for He is with us still, and believe that we will see Him when He comes in glory. May our Holy Week be filled with grateful remembrance, humble celebration, and renewed faith.

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Let us take time this Holy Week to personally remember and know (“alam”) again God’s love for us. Let us listen with our hearts, let us be still and know that He is a God who wants our hearts more than our works, our devotions, our goodwill, and good intentions. Let us not just give Him some bits of our time, talents, and treasures. In other words, Holy Week is not about a week of trying to be extra “holy.” It is allowing God to (“huli”) catch and capture us! May we end up saying: “Lord, I surrender my life, everything and everyone in my life. Take over. I am your servant. You are my God!” “Magpahuli ka na kay Lord bago huli na ang lahat” (Be caught by the Lord before its too late).

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“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). May we make this our life mission statement not only for Lent but for life!

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Beyond being devotional or emotional about our Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection, let us concretize our mission to be present, to listen, and to be of help in any way to the poor and the suffering in our midst, and in our very homes. May our prayer and devotions lead us to a concrete mission.

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A moment with the Lord: Lord, we pray that our final goodbye to this world be meaningful. Amen.

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