By the pen of Gítaú wa Kúng'ú (profgitauwakungu@gmail.com).
The day is the twelveth Sunday of the year 2024, the sixth in Lent. It's the last Sunday before Easter to the Western Christianity (Catholic and Protestant faiths). Fascinatingly, to the Eastern Christianity followers (Western Europe-NE Africa-Far East churches), it's the last Sunday to their Palm Sunday. So, Happy first Palm Sunday!
By the way, did You Know?
This year Christian Religion will oversee two Palm Sundays: the 24th March (Western Christianity) and; 28th April (Eastern Christianity) Palm Sundays. The world will enjoy two Palm Sundays, two holy weeks eating Easter Bunnies courtesy of the Christian Religion’s fraternal twin faiths!
Well, whatever the case, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week in the Christian calendar, commemorating Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a colt (a young donkey).
About this spiritually important, historic day to the Christian Religion, the Bible tells the story. The women of Jerusalem are lined up the road to ‘The Holy City’ with Palm leaves shaking in the air amidst jubilant “Hosanna! Hosanna” Praise songs. Moments later, they are green-carpeting the road in reverence for the Christ’s carrying colt to walk on.
It must have been a joyous day to embrace!
Well, today was just a honey-drop splendour of the celebrated Biblical day. Catholics in most parts of Africa, America and Europe were all green and ‘palmy’ on their way home from mass.
Public and private motors had at least a palm fixed on the windscreen wipers or anywhere at the front of the vehicles/motorbikes.
Vivacious Climate Change Christian activists must be grudgingly engaged in the day's activity. How many palms were slaughtered today, and how many replacement palms were planted? Oh God of order!
Well, being part of the Western Christianity subdivision, Kenyans asked in to Palm Sunday a lively lot!
But something in our Palm Sunday looks skew-whiff to me, suspicious even.
Tell me, isn't this day starting the Holy Week by celebrating the triumphant entry of Jesus into ‘The Holy City-Jerusalem?’
No wonder many Kenyan Churches burst into the open fields with Christian faithfuls fanning themselves with palms as they bake in the hot afternoon sun. They're waiting for a high profile chief guests to land from the skies from the belly of a chopper. Meanwhile, their contingents are arriving in their fuel swilling, spectacular motorcades.
Immediately they land, the air bursts with ululations and commotion as excitement rocket jumps beyond comprehensible levels. The church instrumentalists hype the air rhythmically with irresistible beats of drum sets, clicking of keyboards and cluckings of tight guitar strings.
Church Choirs if not Praise and Worship teams, break into praise melodies in record sonority with energies spirited beyond human comprehension.
The home-church members gives such a magnificent responsorial it breaks the ice cold ‘unholiness’ complex among the unsaved attendants, who just came to see some helicopter, big cars, big people.
In attendance too are Media reporters, political sycophants and petty political ‘broggers’ hoping to overdose the internet with photos of and fabricated truths about their particular political idols’ speeches.
The Chief Guest are here at last. You see, they've come to lay their political palms in humility and money-carpet the way before their political future in dramatic Church Fundraiser's short speeches.
From now on, the church programme MC passes the mic over to the political MC, ie the host heavyweight elected leader.
Drama starts. It's time to shine and outshine by fire by force. Behold a critical day to recap!
Every politician and their sycophants counts this as an important card for the relevance of their political game in the next elections.
Political missiles are fired. Political shields are raised. But that's not all. To gain special political mileage, vulgar lines boom from the gargantuan hired sound systems to the salivating ears of the saved and unsaved audience.
“From the time the war on poisonous brews started, men are now sleeping on t*p of women!” The holy church’s compound breaks into shades of laughter. Hundreds of children steal lowly glances at each other.
Oh… elsewhere, a prayer strategy team is being built to armour our 1000 Unfortuitous Police with spiritual weapons, body armours and rings of fire impenetrable by the lawless gangs of Haiti. It's a complex Haiti peace building mission to prepare for. I bet Benny Hinn shall lead the Prayers Platoon.
Welcome to the Holy Week.
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