Lift your palms and rejoice!

At the start of this most solemn and holy week, we rejoice with the people of Jerusalem as Christ draws ever nearer. Our rejoicing is bittersweet, however, because we know that by the end of the week, we shall either be among those calling for His blood or we shall be plunged into despair and sorrow as He is tortured and hanged to His death.

Yet our faith is not the faith of people of despair. We grieve that it is our sins that caused Him to suffer and die but we know, as a certain fact, that He defeats the evil that plunged the world into darkness.

We rejoice in the knowledge that our Lord and our God reign supreme, all-powerful and all-merciful.

As we live through all the crises of life, we must hold fast to the sure and certain knowledge that the darkness will not overpower us, will never keep us subjected to a hopelessness that sees no remedy and expects no reprieve.

Our young people are a repository of hope and a source of energy, imagination and creativity, despite the challenges that they face.

One hundred of them were the recent recipients of national scholarships and countless other hundreds have worked hard and achieved outstanding grades that are witness to their belief in themselves and their ambition to forge ahead, for personal progress and for the national good.

The sportsmen and women who emerge from our schools and our clubs are a beacon of hope and a source of pride on the athletic, cricket, football and hockey fields, on the tennis and basketball courts, in the boxing rings, the swimming pools, in their kayaks and in the cycling velodromes.

The art exhibitions that have been held nationally, including those in recent times, reveal a talent and self-belief that lift our eyes from the dreary round of school violence and national pain and excite our hope for a future that does not allow for negativity or self-pity.

The youthful musicians, singers, dancers, the casts and crews of our theatres, the writers and tech-savvy minds of our land, the tradesmen and women, the university and other tertiary level students all stand tall as they open paths for themselves and show the way for those who will follow them.

Even as we applaud the tremendous discipline and self-sacrifice that are integral to these noteworthy achievements, our hearts swell with joy and pride as we see the faith that draws our youth to the churches, temples and mosques of our land.

We see the Christ-centred spirit that inspires them to work with the sick, the poor, the disadvantaged and the outcasts of our society.

We see the enthusiasm and the unquenchable hope that, with God and the support of their elders, they can lift our land out of the morass of corruption, violence and indiscipline that taints us all.

As people of faith, let us not lose sight of the many individuals and organisations, the families and the schools, the Christ-like leaders and the faithful followers who have set and continue to lay the foundation of goodness and hope in our land.  Experience shows us that we are a blessed people and our blessings will continue to flow from Almighty God through those who serve Him here on earth.

We must continue to build upon the virtue of our people and reject the negative forces that can destroy us if we lose faith in the love, mercy and power of our God.

Let us lift our palms and rejoice!

The darkness may threaten but it cannot overpower us for the Lord is with us and walks amongst us.