Homer goes holy in the latest episode of The Simpsons, as the gang head down to Jerusalem as part of Ned Flander's latest attempt to salvage the soul of the beast. When Ned confesses to Reverend Lovejoy that Homer's (hilarious) antics are starting to get to him, Lovejoy suggests inviting the Simpsons family to accompany Ned's Bible study group on their trip to Jerusalem. Homer refuses, naturally. Marge loves the idea, naturally. And Homer is overruled. Naturally.

Unfortunately for Ned, the trip soon becomes a nightmare, as everyone is interested in everything but the religious sites (except for Ned, of course, who diligently prays for Homer at every stop on their tour). Eventually, Homer's goofing off is too much for Ned, who angrily declares that Homer's soul isn't worth salvation. Homer ends up in the desert, and through a combination of sunstroke, dehydration and the Veggie Tales, comes to believe he is the Messiah. 

While not breaking any new ground, the episode still manages to be mostly entertaining and fresh. There's the usual potshot at religious iconography (Homer takes a nap in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) and the usual "Why can't we all just get along (and eat chicken)?" speech. But the humor is good: the hilarious disruption of Ned's Bible study group meeting; Homer's ultra-sarcastic excitement at Ned's invitation ("Take my family to a war zone, on a bus with religious lameos, in a country with no pork, in a desert with no casinos!"); Lisa using her new-found Krav Maga skills on Bart ("No groin, no Krav Maga!"); and Messiah Homer's creation of a new religion ("Chrismujews!"). It's all good. 

Guest star Sacha Baron Cohen as the tour guide Jakob is less of a success, with his (intentionally) bad jokes, aggressiveness and frequent lapses into Hebrew falling on the wrong side of hit-or-miss more often than not. His niece Doreet (voiced by Yael Naïm), who deals with "American punks" (like Bart) as her military service, is a better addition to the episode. 

(contd.)