I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out

 

 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 the 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 until 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.  Today's reading presents us with what is called Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which is celebrated in the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible comments that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control, and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But as the text indicates here, Jesus very carefully (and with foreknowledge) instructs the disciples in how He is to enter into Jerusalem.  It was expected that the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem from the East, as Jesus is doing, from the mountain called Olivet.  But He quite carefully structures an entrance that will not display military power and the might of a conventional king with horse or chariot.  By doing so, He shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  In humility, He will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt.  My study Bible notes that this is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  

 

 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.  The people who spread their clothes on the road before Christ do so as paying reverence to a King.  It is spiritually interpreted, according to my study Bible, as our need to lay down our flesh, even our very lives, for Christ. 

 

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 cry of the whole multitude of the disciples comes from Psalm 118:26, which was associated with messianic expectation.   At the Feast of Tabernacles, which was the feast of the Coming Kingdom, this was recited daily for six days, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved, my study Bible tells us.

 

 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."   This intriguing response from Jesus appears only in St. Luke's Gospel.  Habakkuk 2:11 and Joshua 24:27 speak of stones as witness or witnessing, and throughout the Bible we read of creation praising the Creator.

 

 I'm intrigued by Christ's response to the Pharisees, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."   While it is not unusual in the Bible that the witness of all of creation praises God (see, for example, Psalms 19; 148), we also read references to stones connected to St. Peter.  Possibly, as St. Luke was in Rome, and as he is also the author of Acts of the Apostles, which greatly follows the development of St. Peter subsequent to Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension, Luke echoes themes in St. Peter's life and teaching.  Of course, we know that Peter was called Simon, and was given his name by Christ, as it means Rock, or Stone (Matthew 16:18).  Moreover, in St. Peter's first Epistle, he gives us the image of the faithful as "living stones," who build up "a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5).  Of course, we know that Jesus has pronounced Himself to be the "chief cornerstone" (see Luke 20:17; Psalm 118:22) to these same religious leaders, indicating to us, if we follow these metaphors, that He is the foundation stone of the Church, and the faithful witnesses, the living stones, build up its walls.  Perhaps most important is the suggestion of what "stone" or "rock" indicates to us.  Most significantly, it suggests strength.  In particular, this is the strength of witnessing.  We want to be steadfast in our faith, steadfast in our living testimony to our faith by the shape of our lives, even day to day.  A stone is solid and enduring, it does not change its substance.  A stone that is part of a wall relies and rests on the stones laid first beneath it, but it also upholds, strengthens, and supports that which is placed atop it afterward.  Those who have come before us have built up on the foundation of the Church their own walls and fortifications as witness testimonies to our faith; they have given us support and foundation.  Will we do the same, in our time, for those who come after us?  Jesus' suggestion that the very stones would cry out in witness also tells us of the natural support and testimony of all of creation to His identity as true Creator and Lord.  This world was made for the kingdom of God, and not to be the kingdom of the one called the "prince of this world" who is also the father of lies.  Creation, in this sense, is the true and natural witness to the majesty and glory of God.  Moreover, my study Bible reminds us that in this entrance to the holy city of Jerusalem, Jesus also images the promise of His entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers, and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:1-2).  The crying out of the stones, therefore, suggests not only witness but prophesy by the elements of creation, the stones of Jerusalem, turning toward the fullness of Christ's entry as Messiah manifest in its true destiny as the transfigured New Jerusalem of Revelation.  Let us be like these stones, those who know who we are in Christ's faith, in His kingdom, and in our destiny as faithful witnesses to the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt

 

Palm Sunday; the Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem.  Armenian illuminated manuscript

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

 The King of Israel!"

 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion; 

Behold, 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 were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

 

- John 12:9–19 

 

On Saturday, we read that, after Martha (the sister of Lazarus) had spoken with Jesus, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

  Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.   On Saturday we read about the raising of Lazarus, the seventh and final sign in John's Gospel (see above).  Between today's reading, and where our previous reading ended, the Scriptures cover some notable events.  There is first of all the response of the religious leaders in Jerusalem, after being told by witnesses of the raising of Lazarus.  They begin to plot in earnest to kill Jesus  (John 11:45-57).  Second, there is the notable event in which Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed Christ's feet with fragrant oil, which Jesus said was in preparation for His death (John 12:1-8).  Here we find that the chief priests are not only plotting to put Jesus to death, but to put Lazarus to death also, because it is on account of him that many from among the temple in Jerusalem now believe in Jesus.  

 

 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!"  The event described here is called Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and it is celebrated in the Church as Palm Sunday (commemorated yesterday universally).  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  Jesus is welcomed into the city as if paying reverence to a King.  The people's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna, my study Bible explains, means, "Save, we pray!"

 

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  In humility, my study Bible says, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  He does not ride in a horse nor in a chariot, but on a young donkey (a colt), which is a sign of humility and peace.  The Scripture is quoted from Zechariah 9:9.  Christ's entrance into the Holy City, my study Bible explains, declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  Moreover, 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).  

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"   Note how understanding works; the disciples remembered this Scripture and connected these events to their meaning when Jesus was glorified (that is, after His death, Resurrection, and Ascension).  We see how important the raising of Lazarus was to these central events of Holy Week; it is this spectacular sign that has made all the difference, both to the people -- and to the Pharisees.

Palm Sunday conjures up images of processions.  As we know the Church (especially, perhaps, the Orthodox Church) has many processions, times when a saint is commemorated or another type of feast day.  This procession image of Jesus entering into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday might, in some way, be compared to modern parades, especially those of a military nature.  But of course, the difference is really what makes all the difference.  This is "like" a military parade of a king entering into a city to claim it, to take ownership and authority in some sense, to claim a throne.  But in a sense, it's also nothing of the kind, and that is intentional.  For although people expect a King, and many now -- at least at the present moment depicted in the Gospel -- believe that Jesus must be that King, that political Messiah they wanted, a strong man liberator against the Romans and all other conquerors, it is not to be.  For Jesus has chosen not the military style display of power and authority, not an impressive array of great men and generals and war capabilities, but to ride into Jerusalem on a young donkey, a colt.  This is the Jesus who proclaims in humility His authority, His messiahship, His true identity.  For let us face facts as they truly are.  For one thing, there is no possible earthly display that could really convey to us the grandeur of God, the unlimited power of Christ, the power to create at levels of life and death that truly belong to Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.  Nothing could define or narrow down a specific image of that truth, for it is unlimited and also beyond the scope of our imaginations and understanding.  In this sense, it also follows that Christ, of course, cannot give the religious authorities in the temple what they continually ask for, a sign that will convince them of who He truly is.  His signs don't work that way.  His signs are just that, signs of the presence of God, but they cannot be fully defining images of God, for that is impossible.  How can our Creator be limited to an image conveyed in earthly terms?  For that, only humility will do, because the authority of Christ needs nothing of the sort that would convince us of its reality, it need not prove itself to anyone on worldly terms.  It is rather His life, His ministry, and what He will call the sign of Jonah -- His death on the Cross, and His Resurrection -- that will be the fullness of God's gift to us, God's grace, the gift that just keeps on giving to us.  For in His life distinguished by His humility is all the Church, its 2,000 years of history ongoing, its continual expansion -- despite persecution, its endless flow of saints in myriad form and origin, its love, its truth, and all the ways we believers are given ways in which we see in His light and our lives may be resurrected, too.  He cannot be limited to human or earthly form, but His gifts are given to us through His life that keeps on giving to us, and that even beyond the grave, beyond our deaths, beyond our imaginations.  Let us think of this spectacular paradox of Jesus parading into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt, against the wishes of the religious establishment, but into the hearts of those who will receive it.  As He has said, even as Creator, He remains with us "gentle and lowly in heart," offering us His yoke of discipleship and learning, but at the same time, rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29).  He is Isaiah's suffering Servant, who "will not cry out, not raise His voice nor cause His voice to be heard in the street" -- even "a bruised reed He will not break" (Isaiah 42:1-4).  But this is how it must be, for how could anything else teach us of what is unlimited and unimaginable, a paradox our minds cannot grasp?  He is the One who will die for love of us all, given for love of the world; He is our Lord and there is none other like Him. 

 

Hosanna in the highest!

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David

That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!"

 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went  out to Bethany with the twelve.

 

- Mark 11:1–11 

 

On Saturday we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho, on their way toward Jerusalem.  As Jesus went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blilnd Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

 

  Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  The events described in today's reading are understood as Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  It is celebrated by the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  Let's note Jesus' careful preparation for this event, and the specific directions given, making them very significant in the Scripture.  Jesus specifies a young colt, on which no one has sat.  Note also that He has allowed His disciples to refer publicly to Himself as the Lord.  

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem in His Triumphal Entry on a donkey's colt, a sign which my study Bible calls one of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  The people spread their clothes in such a way as to pay reverence to a King.  My study Bible says that this is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, and even our lives, for Christ.  

 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went  out to Bethany with the twelve.   The people quote from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"  

My study Bible comments on today's reading that this entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and this is the way we, as followers of Christ, should view it.  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).  Jesus walking into the temple as His first act after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem is an act of the Messiah, surveilling His heavenly Kingdom.  As we will see, this will be followed by acts which could only be done by the Messiah, in response to which Jesus will continually be questioned as to His authority to do so by the religious leaders.  Tradition asks us to understand the acts of Jesus on many levels at once, as whatever He does is both temporally and eternally true.  That is, as Jesus goes triumphally into Jerusalem, we must also see this -- as my study Bible noted -- as parallel to the promise of entry into the heavenly Jerusalem, and the fullness of the wedding feast unified to His pure Bride, the Church.  Not only do we read about events that happened two thousand years ago in today's text, but we must also understand the promise of this event (which is ongoing, and whose signs are with us, such as the continual growth of the Church around the world), its fulfillment through time, and its ultimate fulfillment at the end of the age which is yet to come. So, therefore, this event exists and is fulfilled at many levels, and its promise ongoing, which is our hope.  Moreover, we know that the events of Christ's eventual suffering, death on the Cross, and Resurrection will also be a part of His experience at Jerusalem, the response of the religious leaders, and even His glory.  For His time on the Cross, paradoxically in worldly terms, will be what He calls His hour of glory, when He will glorify His Father's name (see John 12:30-36).   In Hebrews 13:8, we read, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."  In Revelation 1:8, we read, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."  Revelation 4:8 tells us the four living creatures, the seraphim around the Lord's throne, continually praise, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"  Taking all of these things together means that should we choose to dispute whether or not we should look at this event as only something that historically happened once in the past, or as an event of promise continually unfolding, or even as one with an eternal horizon of fulfillment (whose time we don't know), the correct answer to this question is that all of these things are true at once.  And this is our reality as believers, we hold all of these things at once, for they are all true of our Lord, who was and is and is to come. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,

'Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Hosanna in the highest!"

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." 

 

- Matthew 21:1-11 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus (and the disciples) went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 

  Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me."   And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"  Today's reading concerns the events of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which is celebrated by the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But in humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  Here He tells His disciples to bring Him not a horse nor a chariot, but a donkey to ride into Jerusalem, which is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9, quoted here in the text).  My study Bible notes here that Matthew reports a colt as well as a donkey.  It notes that in patristic commentary these two animals are seen as representing the faithful Jews and the Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.  At Vespers of Palm Sunday, an Orthodox hymn declares, "Your riding on a foal prefigured how the untamed and uninstructed Gentiles would pass from unbelief to faith."

 

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  My study Bible explains that the people who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as paying reverence to a King.  There is also a spiritual interpretation to this, that it shows also our need to lay down our flesh, and our very lives -- as we are called to in ways small and great -- for Christ.

 

 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."  The people's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26, associated with messianic expectation.  This was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot, or the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"   My study Bible further explains that Christ's entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It is, additionally, 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).  

There is a sense in which we are mistaken if we understand the events recorded in the Bible as simply things that happened once upon a time in history, for which we need to search to find relevance to our own lives today.  But the events of Christ's life are not given to us as a mere history book or story of the past, or of "once upon a time."  Neither are they in the realm purely of imagination.  Scripture overlaps in many ways many types of literature, but it is its own unique form of literature, which also borders on what we might call the poetic.  Its meanings echo through many other events, through the times of our own lives, and perhaps most importantly, they have a timeless quality.  Christ coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday has historically been understood in the Church in the terms my study Bible describes, as parallel to, and overlapping in a sense, Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride.  So, in a sense, this is always happening, and He is always with us.  Just as His Crucifixion, Passion, and Resurrection are not merely one-time events in history, but realities that are present to us in our lives of faith, so is this entrance into the Holy City, which is also an entrance into our hearts as well, where these spiritual realities may be perceived and dwell, and through which we take and live our faith.  Are we, like the people, going to accept or reject Him?  Do we welcome Him as Savior, as they do, shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"  And if we do so, how do we understand what "Savior" means to us?  Is He saving us one time in our lives, or is this an ongoing kind of plan of salvation, living with us and dwelling within our hearts as we seek daily to live our faith?  The mysteries of Christ and His life, His public ministry for us, are those things that are lived sacramentally in our lives.  They take the substance of our experience right now and live within us as we are called to account to understand how we are to "work" within our faith, and how these events have meaning for us now.  Will we be like those who seemingly accept Christ one day as a hailed hero, and a week later will cheer for His conviction and death, riled up by the religious leaders who wish to rid themselves of Him?  And how does He live in our hearts, as a heavenly King, who asks of us a spiritual loyalty that is comprised of all our heart, and soul, and mind?  Christ's ministry was not simply private or personal, nor are the events of His life given for us purely historical events.  They are imbued with a kind of timeless property that means they live in us and for us, they are present to us, and through faith we can always experience them for ourselves.  The Triumphal Entry in this sense is always happening, just as Christ is always gathering His Bride to Himself, to live in the New and heavenly Jerusalem.

 

 

I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out

 

 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 taught 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.'"

 

 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.  We note in this interesting passage the notion of God's providence at work, in Christ's command regarding the donkey's colt upon which no one has ever sat.  Moreover there is the hint of the Messianic undertone as the owners of the donkey's colt simply accept that the Lord has need of him.  For the disciples to throw their own clothes on the colt, and the people to spread their clothes on the road, is understood as paying reverence to a King.  Moreover, my study Bible notes, it is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, and even our very lives, for Christ.  There are multiple symbolic meanings here, for the Messiah was prophesied to enter Jerusalem from the East, precisely this route which Jesus takes near Bethphage and Bethany, and the mountain called Olivet.  But, as my study Bible points out, Jesus enters not as a conquering king, riding on a horse or chariot, but on a donkey, and a donkey's colt at that.  Besides its pure quality as in a kind of sacrifice (on which no one has ever sat), a donkey is a sign of humility and peace (Zecharia 9:9).  

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!"  This cry comes from Psalm 118:26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Again, as my study Bible points out, Jesus is being welcomed by His followers as Messiah. 

 

 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."   Even the stones are in some sense symbolic with meaning, as they suggest echoes of other sayings we read in Scripture referring to those who will inherit and carry the Kingdom.  Jesus will quote from Psalm 118:22 to suggest that He Himself is the stone it mentions:  "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone" (see Luke 20:17-19). In Luke 3:8, Jesus tells the religious leaders that "God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones."   St. Peter, who was given the name which means "Stone" by Jesus, writes, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame'" (1 Peter 2:4-6).

In today's reading we read the events of what is known as Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  This is celebrated in the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah, to deliver them from Roman control and to re-establish the kingdom of David.  Christ's riding into Jerusalem on a humble donkey's colt is a sign that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.   To come into Jerusalem this way, greeted as Messiah, is rather a kind of promise, an image to be fulfilled in a teleological sense; that is, in the fullness of Christ's Kingdom.  For Jerusalem as the Holy City is the true Bride, the Church.  My study Bible states that this is 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).  Yet even with such a greeting as one fit for an earthly Messiah, we know what is going to happen in a week, and so does Christ.  He has warned His disciples three times about what is going to come about -- His Passion, crucifixion, and Resurrection on the third day.  As we view these elements of the Triumphal Entry, on the day we call Palm Sunday, let us consider the way that parallel realities can seemingly exist all at the same time.  The people believe the Messiah to be an earthly king, one who will issue in a re-emergence of the kingdom of David, and they greet Jesus as such.  But this is, devastatingly for many, not to be.  Neither is Jerusalem going to be freed from Roman rule except in one of the most terrible battles recorded, the Siege of Jerusalem, at which time the magnificent temple will be destroyed -- which was surely unthinkable to the people.  Christ's kingdom, as He has said, is "not of this world" (John 18:36).  So it becomes an important lesson in looking at Scripture and the powerful symbolism in the events we're given to understand that such "realities" exist on different levels.  While it is true that the people expect a political messiah -- which Jesus is not -- it is also true that He is the Messiah.  While they expect a worldly kingdom, which is not to be so -- it is also true that Jesus has come to bring the kingdom of God closer, "at hand" to us.  Let us consider that we need clear vision to understand more than mere appearances tell us, for such vision would also include meanings that rest within the spiritual realm Christ has anchored more firmly into this world, within us and among us.  Just as we are to understand that as the angels in heaven celebrate and worship God, so we also participate together in the same worship, for this is the communion of saints.  In John 18:36, after Jesus states that His kingdom is not of this world, He declares, "If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  In yet another perception of a layered reality, Jesus' kingdom is not of this world and so His servants do not fight in an earthly fashion, but we understand that parallel with all that we think we see and know is a spiritual battle that rages, and in which we most certainly fight, but not with conventional material weapons.  For that fight we "put on the whole armor of God," as St. Paul tells us.  In Ephesians 6:10-20, he goes into detail about how that battle is fought.  So let us consider this "dueling" sense of reality, how Christ is bringing a Kingdom into the world and is Messiah, yet at the same time He goes to the Cross, and to Resurrection.  We live in such a time as we await the fullness of His promise, and the time of His return.  Let us follow His commandments, for as St. Paul tells us, in so doing, we battle for a Kingdom with a power we can't fully know, even a power to make the stones cry out.

Hosanna in the highest!

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David 

That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!"

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

 

- Mark 11:1-11 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.   

 

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  The events in today's reading mark the day we commemorate as Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, and beginning the final week of Christ's earthly life.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But, in humility, Jesus shows here that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  Note the careful preparations so that Jesus rides, not on a horse nor in a chariot, but on a donkey.  This is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9), as my study Bible notes.  It adds that 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.  

 

 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.   My study Bible comments that the people who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as paying reverence to a King.  There is a spiritual interpretation to this gesture, also:  that we have need to lay down our flesh, even our lives, for Christ.  The leafy branches signify this event as Palm Sunday.

Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"   The people's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26.  These verses were associated with messianic expectation.  During the Feast of Tabernacles (or the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), they were recited daily for six days, and seven times on the seventh day.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

 

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.  As befits the One who is Messiah, the first thing Christ did upon entering the Holy City, the Bride Jerusalem, was to go into the temple, and He looked around at all things.  

 

In a certain sense, there are two parallel realities happening in today's reading.  The first is the Incarnate Jesus, the God-Man, (or as He often refers to Himself, the Son of Man), who comes finally into Jerusalem in this last week of His earthly life.  He has evaded the religious leaders after having various skirmishes with them throughout the second half of His ministry in the Gospel, at times going into Gentile territory, at other times passing through Galilee but not wanting anyone to know He was there.  But this entry into Jerusalem marks the time for direct confrontation, and His "hour" that is to come soon (John 2:4; 12:27).  In this sense, He is the Incarnate Jesus walking toward the confrontation that will lead to His Passion and Resurrection, marked by the Crucifixion to come after a few days and toward the end of the week that begins on this day, Palm Sunday.  But in the other sense, He is the Son of God fulfilling His mission as Son of Man, Incarnate as human being, but at the same time entering into the patterns upon which an infinite reality of God and final outcome of a universe hinge:  He is the Bridegroom going in to His Bride, the heavenly Jerusalem, and establishing the events in which we may also participate in both the worldly and mystical realities enacted and depicted in the Gospels.   The human Jesus goes into Jerusalem on a donkey, and is hailed as the Messiah, welcomed by the crowds who expected a worldly kind of Savior, a king who can liberate them from the Romans and all other foreign invading powers, empires, and armies.  The fully human Jesus will die a fully human death, neither becoming king in the earthly sense, nor will He fulfill the expectations of a "savior" who can permanently restore Israel's good fortunes and worldly power.  But the parallel reality of the Son is the one that happens through these very earthly events:  the completion of His mission as Incarnate human being, His ghastly death and suffering on the Cross, and the Resurrection, bringing all of human life with Him, including our suffering to be transfigured in the light of the Cross.   We step into the transcendent realities even of the heavenly Jerusalem to which He will ascend as He makes it possible for us through His life and mission, inviting us in through the Eucharist and the faith He teaches to us.  Let us see both His worldly life, and the fullness of His mission, for we are invited in to participate in both, and to be raised with Him.  For even as we live our lives in this world, He prepares the ground for our own experience of carrying our crosses and living in the image and teachings He gives us to fulfill our own places in His Kingdom.  As we prepare to enter into the Lenten and Easter cycle this year, let us consider our participation in the fullness of His life through our faith and worship, even the temporal and absolute realities into which we are invited by Christ.  Therefore, by the same token of the life of Christ, we also walk these realities through our own lives.  As human beings, we are soul and body, corporal and spiritual, temporal and eternal.  We make choices for our faith in this life, building values in the world which are not imply worldly but also eternal.  Let us consider the power in the life of Christ, and how that power might be at work also in ours.

Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,

'Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Hosanna in the highest!"

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

 

- Matthew 21:1-11 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus and the disciples went out of Jericho, on their way to Jerusalem, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"  So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.   Today's reading gives us the event which the Church celebrates on Palm Sunday.  This is called the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  By Jesus' time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom, my study Bible explains.  In humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  He does not ride on a horse nor in a chariot, but rather on a donkey -- a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  This entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of 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).  My study Bible also notes that, specific to Matthew, there is a colt as well as a donkey.  Some patristic interpretations see the two animals as representing the faithful Jews and the Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.  An Orthodox Vespers hymn for Palm Sunday declares, "Your riding on a foal prefigured how the untamed and uninstructed Gentiles would pass from unbelief to faith."  Those who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as if paying reverence to  King.  Again, there is a spiritual interpretation to this, in which it  is understood as indicating our need to lay down our flesh, and even our very lives, for Christ.

Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!"And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."  The cry of the multitudes comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

Jesus comes into the Holy City of Jerusalem, from east, as prophesied Messiah, in the image foretold by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9).  We see the powerful meanings of images and symbols, this one given to Zechariah centuries before in a vision of this event.  Zechariah was born during the Babylonian exile, and returned to Judah in 537 BC, encouraging the returning captives to rebuild the temple.  His prophecies, as characterized by my study Bible, are messianic, apocalyptic, and eschatological -- powerful and rich in symbol, and telling us many things about Christ which inform our own understanding of things to come.  Among many other things in the context of apocalyptic and eschatological understanding of Christ, Zechariah foretold His coming in lowliness and humility (Zechariah 6:12, 13:7), His rejection and betrayal for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13), and His crucifixion (Zechariah 13:5-6).  Jesus affirms the prophecy Himself when He quotes from Zechariah 13:7 in Matthew 26:31.  In this kind of vision, Zechariah was given an understanding that works through symbols and images which not only foretell something that is to happen, as in Christ's Triumphal Entry, but also does so outside of time, in compressed images that convey both symbolic meaning in what we might call "heavenly" terms, as well as the worldly reality of Christ's earthly life.  This is the nature of vision.  But Christ shows His own understanding of the prophesies about Himself in today's reading (and in His quotation of Zechariah to the disciples which will come in chapter 26).  So we accept both the affirmation of Christ's understanding and the meanings in these images of the lowly colt of a donkey and the Prince of Peace (from the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6).  That is, He who does not meet the people's expectations and hope for a political Messiah who will free them from the Romans and establish a magnificent earthly kingdom for Israel, but who nevertheless fulfills the prophecies and expectations given by God.  How can one be what God calls one to be, and yet disappoint and anger so many?  This is a question for all the prophets and saints that have come before us, for the disciples and immediate followers of Christ, and -- of course -- for Christ Himself who already understands this all too well.  For "success" in the eyes of the world and the earthly goals of life is often a far different picture (indeed, radically and totally different) than the picture of a life which is successful in God's terms, and which "successfully" fulfills God's will for that holy person.  There is no greater example than Jesus Christ, and He is the One whom we follow above all, and who sets the pattern for all the rest.  Can we follow our Prince of Peace, the Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep who will be scattered?  How well do we understand the things of God as opposed to the things of men (Matthew 16:23)?  How brave are we when it comes to carrying the cross He asks of us?   With what courage could we accept a mission which calls us out of the world (John 15:19)?

 

 

Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. 

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

The King of Israel!"

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion;

Behold, 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 were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. 

 

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

 

- John 12:9-19 

 

Yesterday we read that the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think -- that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.   The Gospel emphasizes for us the significance of the raising of Lazarus from death; many of those from Jerusalem have now begun to believe in Jesus.  This is the home ground of the chief priests and the religious rulers, where people begin to have faith in the authority of Jesus.  So great is the perceived threat that the chief priests plot to put Lazarus to death also.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  The people's cry is from Psalm 118:25-26.   These verses are associated with messianic expectation.  They were recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means "Save, we pray!"   It is a plea to the Messiah.  In this context, the pronouncement of Caiaphas that it is "expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" takes on heightened significance, as we can see the growing tension of the religious rulers as Jesus is greeted as Messiah and Deliverer. 

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, 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 were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.   My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But Jesus does not come as conqueror with horses and chariots and army to establish and earthly kingdom.  He rides on a young donkey, a sign of humility and peace.  The quotation is from Zechariah 9:9, which the disciples only later come to understand as fulfilled by Jesus when He was glorified, and upon receipt of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"   Again, the text emphasizes for us this peak of tension with the religious rulers.  The people welcome Jesus as liberating Messiah, and are filled with expectation and hope, especially because of the testimony of those from Jerusalem who had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead.  This final and seventh sign of John's Gospel has sent the people to Christ, as the Pharisees say to one another, "Look, the world has gone after Him!"

John's Gospel builds up for us the political tension in Jerusalem and especially among the religious establishment toward Jesus.  Jesus is now hailed and received into Jerusalem as a Messiah, and we know that political tensions are high because of the Roman occupation.  The expectations of the people clamor for a political Messiah, one who will liberate them from occupation, and restore David's kingdom.  It is in this context that John seems to ask us to understand what is happening.  Jesus has come into Jerusalem riding on a young donkey, a "donkey's colt," as the quotation from Zechariah says.  He has come as the Messiah or Prince of Peace, and not to establish an earthly kingdom.  As He will say to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).  But the people expect something else, await something else, deeply desire a kingdom that is "of this world."  The religious leaders, who have positions of authority and are entrusted by the Roman rulers to keep the community in order, also fear the people's faith in Jesus, that "the world has gone after Him!" also for political reasons.  They want to guard their places, and they fear Roman response and repression because of the popularity of Jesus.  So what we seem to have in this story are false expectations all around about Jesus.  Neither those who welcome Him as conquering Messiah nor the religious rulers who fear loss of their own authority because of Jesus truly understand what He is about.  Let us also observe the disciples who follow Him in faith.  John's Gospel makes it clear that at the time when this event occurs (which we commemorate as Palm Sunday), the disciples really do not understand what is happening.  They don't understand the significance of the young donkey, for example.  It is only after Jesus is glorified, John tells us, that they begin to more fully understand Christ's gospel of the Kingdom.  But they show us a way through times of great tension and confusion, when all about us seem to be caught up into movements of the day, and especially times of conflict and violence.  In today's reading, we're given a picture of the mixed motivations that are all around in such times, and that would also include the story of Judas and the role He will play, even the betrayal that will come from among them.   But the way the disciples show us, when we are caught up in such times of confusion ourselves, is to follow Christ in faith, even if we do not have sufficient knowledge of the fullness of the time to understand what is happening.  For it is our God of peace whom we truly need; it is Christ who shows us the way to true order and true justice; it is His way and His love we need to seek for ourselves, for through Him we are also the children of God's house by adoption, and there is one Lord we serve and in whom we trust.  The people of Jerusalem greet Him as material Savior and Deliverer, but we have been shown the greater meaning of those titles.  There will be all kinds of people who present themselves to the world as liberators, but it is Christ who truly cares for our souls, and who has suffered for (and with) all of us.

 

 

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna!  

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David

That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!"

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

 

- Mark 11:1-11 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho, on the road toward Jerusalem.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.  Loose it and bring it.  And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here."  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?"  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded.  So they let them go.  As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He instructs the two disciples to prepare for what is understood as Christ's Triumphal Entry into the holy city.  The colt is a young donkey, never before ridden (on which no one has sat).  It is an animal symbolic of peace and humility, and contrasted with a conquering king who would enter with full military and chariots drawn by horses.  As the text shows, Jesus clearly picks this animal for a specific purpose.

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.  And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Christ's followers welcome Him to Jerusalem.  My study Bible tells us that the people who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as paying reverence to a King.  This is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, even our lives, for Christ.  The leafy branches are related to the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom; see the following verses and comment).

Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!"  The cry of the people comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation and the coming of the Kingdom.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles -- and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple.  So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.  Jesus' first act shows a messianic intent -- He goes directly into the temple as He enters the city, and looked around at all things.

The events in today's reading are called Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is the holy city, the place of the great temple, and that is His first destination as He enters.  He clearly enters as Messiah and is welcomes as Messiah.  We celebrate this day in the Church as Palm Sunday, named for the branches that are waved and spread before Him as He enters.  There are many ways in which the Church thinks of this day and this event.  Christ comes into Jerusalem as the Bridegroom claiming His Bride, the holy city, the temple, and His people.  It is considered to be an event that mirrors the eventual union with the New Jerusalem, a cosmic event reflecting the risen Christ as Lord Almighty, an eternal "future" toward which we all look.  (See 1 Corinthians 15:20-28.)  We mustn't forget that the true mystical realities of Christ are always with us; they exist outside of time as we understand it.  Jesus' Triumphal Entry may mirror the fullness of a cosmic Kingdom, one that is not simply worldly or earthly, as my study Bible might put it.  We know the events that are coming in this final week of Christ's earthly life, and they will open us to the power of the Cross and Resurrection.  They will give us the fullness of God's love for us in Christ's willingness to suffer and die so that we are liberated through His life as Jesus.  Let us keep in mind that as Jesus draws into the city, riding on the donkey's colt, He knows full well what is going to happen, what He is coming into.  He has already warned the disciples three times of the Passion to come, and He comes willingly into the city and into the temple.  I wonder if we can understand the courage this takes, and draw upon the strength of Christ facing what He knows He must do, and on His faith and love and trust of the Father.  For it is here that we find ourselves at times:  knowing there are things we're called upon to do, sacrifices we might need to make in life, and drawing upon the strength of the faith Christ has given to us.  There are times we know we will be rejected or suffer for doing what must be done for a bigger picture:  dealing with the death of a loved one, or nursing an ill person, taking on responsibility for someone who can no longer be responsible for themselves, or helping one less fortunate because they are unable to help themselves.  There are times when it is our faith that becomes our strength, gives us capability for sacrifice, for enduring suffering even for others, and it is Christ upon whom we draw for our image of strength and faith, and our faith in the Resurrection to follow.  Those who lack such faith are lacking indeed in the fullness of what life can be for human beings, for Christ has shown us what we are capable of, the strength and greatness met in humility before the Cross and service to God who is love.  Let us remember this picture when we go through or own times of the Cross, even the moments of temporary celebration when we know something difficult is in front of us.  For it is here where we meet our Lord, our Messiah, and He goes into Jerusalem for us.  For we are His true Bride, His Church.  And He claims us and loves us even when no one else does (Psalm 27).