Peace in heaven and glory in the highest

 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:

"'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

- Luke 19:28-40

Yesterday, we read that after visiting the home of Zacchaeus the tax collector, Jesus spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because His disciples thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'  And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

  When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.   My study bible says that Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem marks the public acclamation of Jesus as Messiah.  Even His disciples, we've been told, expect the kingdom to appear immediately (see yesterday's reading, above).  But the crowd's understanding of the Messiah is flawed as they are expecting a political leader, a king.  Christ comes to establish a Kingdom 'not of this world' (John 18:36).   What's interesting is that Jesus allows this, and we're given a real sign of His kingly manner when He gives instructions to tell others, "The Lord has need of it."  To put their clothes on the colt, and to spread clothes on the road before Him is to honor Him as a king entering the great city.  But a donkey is a sign of great humility and of peace, the opposite of a triumphal king entering with signs of power such as horses, chariots, and soldiers.   My study bible says this entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It is also a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (see Revelation 21:2). In this sense, Jesus' Triumphal Entry becomes a pure and open declaration of the Kingdom, and His Lordship as Bridegroom.

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  The descent of the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem is coming from the East, the way the entry of the Messiah was expected.  The crowds are singing a verse from Psalm 118, a hailing of the Messiah.  My study bible says this verse was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabenacles (commemorating the time when Israel lived in tents), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  The Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot) is the feast of the coming kingdom, marking the time when Israel followed Moses in order to find the promised land.

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."  There are those who want the disciples to be quiet as they hail Jesus into Jerusalem.  Perhaps Jesus is suggesting these men (the Pharisees) are harder than the stones.  Commentators such as St. Ambrose state that the stones may be symbolic of those who will follow Christ with praise ("the living stones" of St. Peter), while others like the Pharisees here will not.  Whatever the reason, in this open Triumphal Entry, Jesus indicates that the recognition and praise is so overwhelming that it is impossible for those who sense this moment to keep silent.  And it just could be that the Pharisees, in some sense, are harder than the stones.

Various early commentators make interesting observations about the entrance into Jerusalem.  St. Ambrose calls Jesus the "mystic Rider" as he rides on the colt into Jerusalem, a colt that has never before been ridden.  As this rider would change the minds of Gentiles, Ambrose says that "the mystic Rider therefore could cover the inmost places of our mind with the hidden mystery. He would take his seat in an inward possession of the secret places of the spirits, as if with the Godhead, ruling the footprints of the mind and curbing the lusts of the flesh. Those who received such a Rider in their inmost hearts are happy. A heavenly bridle curbed those mouths, or else they would be unloosed in a multitude of words" (EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 9.9.22).   Ephraim the Syrian notes that at Jesus' birth Jerusalem was in turmoil, and as He goes to His death, it is again in turmoil.   Amidst the turmoil it is the voices of the children that prevail.   Soon after His birth, it is the children who suffer and are martyred in His name by the ruler, Herod.   Soon after His death, it will be again the children (his disciples) who will be persecuted and martyred.  At the same time, we have the heavenly mystery manifest here.  Cyril of Alexandria tells us that at Jesus’ birth there is "peace on earth" (as reported by Luke in 2:14). As Jesus enters Jerusalem for his passion and resurrection, there is "peace in heaven."  Earth and heaven are therefore joined together in peace through the incarnation and atonement of Christ.  We have a heavenly mystery, that great reality that teaches us about the end and purpose of all things, intertwined with earthly life, a proclamation so strong and so true that even if the Pharisees (as "persecutors") were to quell all praise from Jesus' followers, the very stones would have to cry out.  This event is an intermingling of so many things that heaven is for a time manifest on earth in the truth of the proclamations of the children.  But we know that Jesus has told us of the mystical reality of this Kingdom that is present to us, because the kingdom of heaven is within us, and doesn't come with observation.   Via that kingdom, we have the completeness of His joy, and His peace that passes understanding.  In this way, Jesus' Triumphal Entry as Messiah tells us a truth about ourselves.  Just as St. Ambrose says that He rides into our hearts and our minds; the donkey who's never before been ridden symbolizes perhaps our own nature, and Christ is the only One who can truly guide and give us order and purpose - our true Master.   Those who praise Him on this day we read about are the ones who can recognize and honor His great works.  The day after Thanksgiving - today - let us think about what we are grateful for, what we praise at work in our lives.   We may feel turmoil everywhere, but we know we have the Kingdom and it is present to us, even in the gifts of joy and peace incomprehensible and yet manifest in ourselves.