Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! 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 Jesus spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they 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 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.  Today's reading gives us the story of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  At this time, expectations of the Hebrew Messiah were that He would deliver the people from the rule of the Romans and re-establish the Jewish nation.  That is, a political and military ruler.   It was prophesied that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem from the East, from the Mount of Olives, as Jesus is.  But Jesus is no military ruler, and His kingdom is the Kingdom of God, which "does not come with observation."  We're told here that He gives explicit instructions for the animal upon which He is to make His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem:  a donkey's colt.  That is, He's not a powerful worldly ruler with a cavalry with which to fight the Romans militarily.  He chooses a humble animal upon which to enter into expectant Jerusalem.  Rather than riding in a chariot, this is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  We note that the people who spread their clothes on the road before Jesus do so was paying reverence to a King.  There is a traditional spiritual interpretation given here, that it shows our need to lay down our flesh -- even our lives -- for Christ.  This entrance into the Holy City, my study bible tells us, declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It's 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 (Revelation 21:2).

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!"  We hear the expectation in the description of the whole multitude of the disciples who began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice.  Their chant is from Psalm 118:25-26, verses associated with messianic expectation.  These were recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (a feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waived.

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."  These Pharisees clearly have an understanding of the implication of the words that are shouted out by Jesus' disciples.  They know that they mean to say Jesus is the expected Messiah and liberator of Jerusalem.  Jesus' words about the stones of Jerusalem tell us how deeply true the words are, the reality of the presence and expectation of the Kingdom of God.  In the very next verses following today's reading, Jesus juxtaposes the image of what is coming in Jerusalem, that not one stone will be left upon another (19:44).

There are many reasons why, in today's world, we come up against a conflict between the desire for some sort of liberation or alleviation of our problems, and what we perceive as a religious way to see our lives.  Like the situation of Israel at the time of Christ, at least in the sight of Christ's teachings and demeanor, we may feel a conflict or choice between material means to achieve an end, and the call of prayer and faith.  This is illustrated through the juxtaposition, at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, between Barabbas and Jesus -- a choice offered to the people by Pontius Pilate for amnesty to one or the other (see Matthew 27:15-26).  It's an illustration of a human, worldly predicament:  do we use means of manipulation and coercion to achieve a desired (and "good") end, or do we wait on God?   In tomorrow's reading, we will see that Christ clearly states that the predicament of Jerusalem is that of being unaware of "the things that make for your peace."  But here, His disciples are expectant of the immediacy of the full manifestation of the Kingdom, and His teaching about the Kingdom is something entirely different from what they expect it to be.  There we find the thrust of our faith:  we're to seek God's way to good goals, even when those goals seem impossible, undesirable, and difficult.  And there we rest in that truth, that the goal of our lives is to participate in God's life for us.  We have no idea what a kingdom ruled by Jesus Christ might have been like, and my opinion honestly stated would be that it is useless to speculate on something Christ told us was not going to happen, as He gave the disciples several warnings of His hour of the Passion, Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection.  Moreover, for all of Creation, it seems that this central event was most essential to God's plan for salvation, necessary, and even the best outcome.  In this paradox we simply put our trust, and continue forward in the mystery of our faith.  There are things we know, and things we don't know, but hope that the future will reveal.  And this is the reality of the presence of the Kingdom of God; that it is among us and within us, regardless of the things we see in the world and the choices with which we're always and repeatedly faced.  Those who say that our faith offers us an easy and simple fix, a kind of magical panacea for our lives, have no basis in truth.  Our reality is far more complex, rich in both wisdom and mystery, and a product of thousands of years of human experience and hope.  Christ offers us His own human struggle as example, and tells us to follow Him, with patience and endurance.