Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

‘Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—

the King of Israel!’

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:

‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.

Look, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!’

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. The Pharisees then said to one another, ‘You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!’

- John 12:9-19

The world has gone after him. These are the words of the religious leaders as they observe the man who has criticized their practices in the name of holiness, who overturned the tables of the moneychangers and called it 'a den of thieves'. The world has gone after this man as witnesses testify of impossible healings: the blind from birth are made to see, even a dead man has walked out of the tomb after four days. This is a great challenge to their authority, and as human nature so often will respond, it is envy and worry and the loss of position that takes priority in their minds.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem seated on a donkey's colt. As we can see from the text, this is a reflection of scripture and prophecy. I was speaking with a friend yesterday about Jesus' reception as king, and he pointed out to me how the great acclaim awarded this particular king has the system of the world's usual material values turned on its head. Children (the lowliest social status) acclaim him in the temple, he is outcast from the usual social structures and material power, his believers and those whom he's healed are outcasts themselves. A commentary I read today on this passage points out the lowliness of this particular king's estate: he comes not with a chariot and beautiful horses of the finest breeding, but on a donkey's colt - another symbol of his lowly social and material status.

Yet the world has gone after him - the witnesses to his work, healings and teachings continue to testify, and word goes out to those who will believe. We are faced with contradictions that abound from the least detail to the most broad observation, and those contradictions must tell us something about this kingdom. I believe they tell us that, in the midst of a world that views the material outside the context of the holy, we must nevertheless strive to incorporate one with the other - or rather to allow the one to shape our use and view of the other. While we may be faced with great contradictions in our own lives, it is up to us to hear and understand and attempt to live the truth we believe in our hearts. I believe we have great help in this on all kinds of levels, but the initial decision to accept this incorporation of contradiction must be our own. As Christ enters Jerusalem on the donkey's colt, so illumination - the light - must enter into our world and our situations, and it's our job to accept that and put together our own choices with that light as guidance for ourselves. This is an ongoing process, in my opinion, the struggle we face every day in our lives - "the good fight" as St. Paul puts it.

Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the Lord