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 to His disciples, 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.  Let us note Jesus' carefully detailed instructions and preparation for His entrance into Jerusalem.   This entrance is called the Triumphal Entrance, as He will be greeted as Messiah, the prophesied Deliverer in the line of King David.  To sit on the colt of a donkey is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  In terms of the popular expectations of the people, the Messiah was expected to be a triumphant political and military leader, a king in the contemporary sense of word at that time, and one who will throw off the rule of the Romans and reestablish David's kingdom.  Instead, Jesus' careful instructions are to portray Himself as He actually is, rather than the expected military and political ruler who would have a great army with chariots, horses, and warriors accompany Him.  Instead, He carefully establishes the truth, that His entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  My study bible adds that 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 (Revelation 21:2).  

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.  To throw their own clothes on the colt, and also spread their clothes on the road ahead of Jesus, is to pay reverence as to  King.  Spiritually, the interpretation is that we need to lay down our flesh, and even our lives, for Christ. St. Ambrose comments that the clothing of the disciples represents their virtues, through which Christ, as the mystic rider, enters the hearts of the Gentiles.

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."  The whole multitude of the disciples quote from Psalm 118:26, a phrase associated with messianic expectation.  These particular verses (25 and 26) from the Psalm were recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (otherwise known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved (see Matthew 21:8).  

Some patristic writers see evoked in this scene an eschatological vision regarding Christ's mission into the world.  St. Ephrem the Syrian cites Matthew's reporting of the children singing praises of Christ at the time of the cleansing of the temple, just following the Triumphal Entry (see Matthew 21:12-17).  He comments that children played a role in Christ's birth, in the leaping of John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth, and also the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod (Luke 1:41, Matthew 2:16-18).  Here the children also play a role at Christ's death by singing His praises and incurring the wrath of the authorities, as today is the first day of Holy Week, which will culminate in His Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection.  While Jerusalem is in turmoil, as it was at His birth, and will be in the Siege of Jerusalem (which Jesus will prophesy in the next reading in Luke), the reality of heaven is peace and praise, even as the children suffer with Christ, both at His birth, and will do so at His death.  As St. Ephrem puts it,  the children are intertwined in the crown of His sufferings.  He concludes that at the time of Crucifixion, the demands we read here will be fulfilled, as the stones themselves will cry out (Matthew 27:51-52) while those with words will be silent.  St. Ambrose writes something similar, that while the Jews are speechless after Christ's passion, the living stones, according to St. Peter, will cry out (see 1 Peter 2:5).  However we understand it, St. Cyril of Alexandria says, Jesus clearly proclaims to the Pharisees that if His followers are prevented from expressing their praise, even the stones would react against their nature by proclaiming the arrival of the Messiah at Jerusalem.   I am intrigued by the paradox of the powers of heaven rejoicing at the fulfillment of Christ mission, the peace that reigns in heaven as the resolution to a spiritual war and the assumption of Christ in His place as Son of God and Son of Man, and at the same time the powers of the world are shaken.  This is an image that is hard to shake from one's mind, as indeed the world entered into its "end times" with the event of Christ's life, in which we still live, with "wars and rumors of wars" and "famines, pestilences, and earthquakes" and "tribulation, false prophets, and the love of many growing cold" even as the gospel is preached to all the world (see Matthew 24:3-14).  What these commentaries and insights teach us today is that when we see disturbances in our world or in our personal intimate lives, even conflict, we mustn't despair for our identity in the heavens and in God's work among us.  For in the disturbance, and even conflict, there may be God's work happening on spiritual levels which we don't discern.   It was Jesus Himself who taught us that He came to bring not peace, but a sword (Luke 12:49-53).  Even so, He also promises us His peace (John 14:27, 16:33).  He is the Prince of Peace, and the Spirit's prayer in us gives us the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:6-7).  It is in the troubling times in which we find ourselves that we are reminded that so often the announcement of the angels gives us a preview of spiritual battle, already won in the fullness of time and the true throne of heaven, which has its effects among us on the earth.  Here we are, still at the crossroads in this world.  How are we going to welcome the Prince of Peace, the One who rides not in a chariot but upon the colt of a donkey?  How is He our King?  What are our own expectations of Him?  And what, indeed, are the blessings He brings of spiritual citizenship that passes the understanding of the world?  Let us remember, in today's reading, the people shout as they welcome Christ into Jerusalem, "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"