First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18a, 19-20, 23-24; Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11; Gospel Acclamation: Philippians 2;8b-9 Gospel: Matthew 26:14- 27:66

Today’s Reflection is by Fr. Eugene Goussikindey, SJ., Director, Centre de Recherche d’Étude et de Créativité (CREC), Benin.

The celebration of Palm Sunday and of the Passion brings us fully into the unfolding of the entire Holy Week. From the outset, the structure of the liturgy presents two scenes that seem irreconcilable. Rather than attempting to harmonize them, we gain more by allowing them to speak to each other. The procession highlights the central theme of the condemnation—namely, kingship. The Passion, on the other hand, presents the trial leading to the condemnation, in all its stages, from the betrayal by the disciples to the crowd, and through the Jewish and Roman authorities. The verdict is expressed in Pilate’s inscription: “Jesus, King of the Jews,” and sealed by the faith of the centurion: “Jesus, Son of God.”

The liturgical celebration opens with the Gospel according to Matthew (21:1–11). Matthew describes an event in which Jesus takes the initiative. He sends for a donkey and its colt for a kind of solemn entry into Jerusalem. In doing so, he shows that he is aware that “his hour” has come, that his mission of redemption is reaching its fulfillment. With this solemn entry, all eyes are fixed on him; yet attentive observers notice a contrast in the setting: he rides on a donkey. The heir of David, acclaimed by the crowd, lacks the splendor and grandeur that surrounded the great king whose promises he embodies. It is through the liturgy of the Passion that the deeper meaning of his kingship is revealed: more than a king, he is a “servant” who has deliberately chosen to identify himself fully with the people. Without clinging to his equality with God, he becomes the servant of the Father’s will by serving his brothers and sisters.

Against this background, the grace to be sought emerges from his place in the procession entering Jerusalem. He is neither at the front nor at the back of the crowd. He is at the center, with people walking both ahead of him and behind him. On this Sunday, we are invited to ask for the grace “to be with”: to be participants rather than distant observers. Despite the fickleness of the people, Jesus remains in their midst. He does not save us without us.

The crowd’s cry, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” makes the entry into Jerusalem a striking one. It echoes the praise expressed in the Psalm (23/24:7–8): “Lift up your heads, O gates; be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may enter. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.” This acclamation reflects a people awaiting the final manifestation of salvation in the city of David.

In Israel, salvation is the work of the Messiah, God’s chosen one. The Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians reveals who this Son of David entering Jerusalem truly is: “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not cling to equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming like men.” We now understand why the Lord, the King of glory, rides on a donkey. It is by choice, in solidarity with those he is not ashamed to call his brothers and sisters. This posture of service, born of his self-emptying, leads to his exaltation above all, and to the worship of all in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The Passion is the full manifestation of this self-emptying into the condition of a servant. Through it, we see that Jesus became “like us in all things,” sharing what troubles the human heart: suffering and death. His response to suffering, betrayal, and condemnation reveals a deep sensitivity to trial: Jesus does not hide his feelings, yet he remains dignified in adversity. Before this suffering man, Pilate declares, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews,” while the centurion professes, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

Thus, on this Sunday, from the “Hosanna, Son of David” of the Palm procession to “Truly, this was the Son of God,” we follow a continuous path—a single thread of a mission carried through to the end. We are invited not to be spectators, but active participants in the event of our salvation. Like a prologue, Palm Sunday and the Passion set before us the entire journey of Holy Week.