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 

 

On Saturday we read that as Jesus and the disciples went out of Jericho on the road toward 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.'"  Today's reading covers the events of what we commemorate as Palm Sunday; it is known as Christ's Triumphal Entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah who would deliver them from Roman control, and reestablish David's kingdom.  In humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom through His deliberate instructions to the disciples here.  Rather than riding into Jerusalem on a horse or chariot, as earthly kings would do to show their power and glory, Jesus rides on a donkey, which is a sign of humility and peace, as shown in St. Matthew's quotation of Zechariah 9:9.  My study Bible notes also that St. Matthew reports a colt as well as a donkey.  In the writings of Church Fathers, these two animals are seen as representing the faithful Jews and Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.  At Orthodox Vespers of Palm Sunday, it is sung, "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.  These people who spread their clothes before Jesus on the road do so as paying reverence to a King.  My study Bible says that this is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, 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 people's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26, a refrain associated with messianic expectation.  It as recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (which is also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as ranches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!" an appropriate prayer to one known as Deliverer, or Savior. 

 

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, we are given a few things to think about.  First of all, let us consider how many times Jesus has avoided this particular day.  For until now the Christ's identity as Messiah has been kept secret in some sense (this is referred to as the Messianic Secret).  He has not openly declared it in a public way, as a king would.  But this entrance into the Holy City proclaims that day, and He boldly lives that claim, as we will see in particular in the reading that follows, when His first act is to cleanse the temple.  He is openly living, and therefore, declaring that identity.  His entrance into Jerusalem, as He has also warned the disciples three times, means that His open and final confrontation with the religious authorities will now take place, and it will culminate in the Cross (and thereafter Resurrection on the third day).  But before now, there have been times when His life was threatened through confrontation of one sort or another, but He avoided this outcome, and eluded those who were after Him, such as when He went into Gentile territory (in this reading) after one such confrontation.  This entrance into Jerusalem is deliberately meant for this time, after an estimated three years of public ministry and preparation for it in the teaching of His disciples, now apostles, and all the signs and teaching of His ministry.  In St. John's Gospel Jesus repeatedly speaks of this time as "His hour," such as when He told His mother, "My hour has not yet come," and said to His brothers, "My time has not yet come but your time is always ready."  St. John also writes before Christ's washing of the disciples' feet at the Last Supper, "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end."  (See John 2:4; 7:6; 13:1.)   While this event of the Triumphal Entry is also understood to us as imaging God's eternal kingdom, and Christ's rule as Lord, prefiguring the fullness of Christ's wedding as Bridegroom to His Bride the Church in the heavenly Jerusalem, so we must also understand on earthly terms how important timing and boundaries are to the living of our spiritual lives in this world.  There is a discreet time and place for all that Jesus does, as He follows the Father in all that He does.  In other words, although the event we read of in today's reading is publicly declaring who He is, and speaks to us of true eternal realities, so we must also realize that Jesus does things in His earthly ministry for a particular purpose, at particular and deliberate times.  It helps us to think about our own need for discernment and prudence in our own spiritual lives, as we seek to follow Christ in the living of our faith as well.  Most of all, it helps us to consider what a prayerful approach to life looks like.  It is not one in which we rush in as fools who rush in "where angels fear to tread," so to speak.  Rather, we look to our spiritual lives, and our growth in such, as those things which unfold in God's sight, as the work of faith, engaging us in our choices at particular times and in particular ways.  Spiritual struggle is not that of bold declarations and hasty choices, but rather prayerful discernment.  Before sending out the disciples in their first apostolic mission, Jesus taught them, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and gentle as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  We also are to remember that we live in this world that is still a battleground.  Just as in Jesus' life He led the way for us in a world beset by the influence of spiritual evil and its outcomes (see Matthew 4:1-11), so we enter into this battleground with Him as our Lord, our King who enters into Jerusalem on this day we read about in today's reading.  His words still stand for us, and we remain as spiritual sheep in midst of wolves.  Let us remember as we are impatient for outcomes or signs that God's timing is not our timing, God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8), and we need prayer and discernment to guide us, and all the collective experience of the Church which we are a part of.  Jesus boldly proceeds to the Cross, but does so fully knowing what He is doing, and with all prudence and wisdom, and the power of God.  For this also is a lesson in humility and service to God.  Let us take His yoke and learn from Him (Matthew 11:29-30).

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 him 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 the 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, as they traveled 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 hard 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 him go.  The event described in today's reading is what is known as Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  It 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.  Here we are told of Christ's careful preparation and instruction for how He will make this entry.  It will be in humility on a donkey's colt.  My study Bible says this is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9), as opposed to the way that conventional kings make an entry at Christ's time:  on a horse or in a chariot, displaying signs of military power.  

 

 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 the 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.  Christ's entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the kingdom of God, my study Bible says.  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).  The people who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as paying reverence to a King.  My study Bible says that this is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, even our very lives, for Christ.  The cry of the people comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation (Hosanna! means "Save, we pray").  These verses were recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Jesus enters the temple now in this spirit of messianic authority.  

 

The people wave branches and spread their clothes, reciting the verses repeated so often at the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot).   There is a connection which runs as a thread between the Feast of Tabernacles, as suggested in these verses from Psalm 118, and the Transfiguration.  At the Transfiguration, St. Peter seemingly confusedly suggested that tabernacles (or booths, or tents) be made for the Lord, Moses, and Elijah, as was done at the Feast of Tabernacles.  The Feast of Tabernacles commemorated the time when Israel dwelt in tents as they wandered in the wilderness following the signs of the Lord toward the Promised Land.  It was the time when God moved with them, in the pillar of fire by night, and a cloud by day.  This showed that God is Spirit (John 4:24), and does not dwell in temples made with hands (Acts 17:24), but dwells with human beings and within them (Luke 17:20-21).  But where Christ is, there His kingdom is too, and He comes into the world as a human being to dwell with us, to be with us, and to bring this Kingdom and presence of God more fully to us.  The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, then, is a sign for all, not a fiat or a coup, not the establishment of a worldly kingdom, but rather -- as my study Bible says -- the image of the fullness of that Kingdom as a promise at the end of the age, and union with Christ's Bride, the Church.  This entrance into Jerusalem is a kind of promise and image to be fulfilled, but it initiates the true events that define Christ's mission for us and our salvation.  This is the beginning of Holy Week, in which Christ will suffer and die, and rise again on the third day, defeating death for all of us.  In all of these things, He is the heavenly King whose kingdom will find its fullness through faith, and whose throne is in our hearts.  The people who welcome Jesus into Jerusalem do so with all expectation of the Messiah desired for Israel at the time, with faith and hope.  But Christ will preach, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36), explaining how the kingdom of God originates not from the worldly sense of what a kingdom is, but from God.  It operates on different rules, will manifest in different ways.  The Incarnation, at the same time, teaches us that the power and spirit of God can also work through material things, that holiness can permeate the material world, for holiness is what the world was made for.  When we take the Eucharist, we must understand this.  If we use holy water, we must understand this.  When we ask that our food may be blessed, or any other thing, we must understand this.  Christ's kingdom is not "of" the world, but it is for the world -- even for the life of the world.  Unlike an earthly king, He will give His life for all, and He will take it up again so that we may follow (John 10:17-18).  When we worship, when we pray, when we enter into any of the holy practices and sacraments of the Church, so we help to make manifest that Kingdom here, we work for its full realization, we work the work of God.  Let us recall His Triumphal Entry, and know that it is the icon of our hearts, its fullness to be manifest through His work and the faith that persists and endures. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

  When He had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they 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 notice Christ's careful preparations for His entry into Jerusalem, which we commemorate on Palm Sunday.  This colt is a young donkey, upon which Jesus will ride into Jerusalem.  The Gospels of Matthew and John quote from Zechariah 9:9, which reads:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, acolt, the foal of a donkey."  My study Bible explains that by Christs time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  In humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom, as He doesn't ride on a horse nor in a chariot.  A donkey, my study Bible says, is a sign of humility and peace, as Zechariah's prophecy implies.  My study Bible further explains that this entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It's also a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers, and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  The people who spread their clothes on the road do so as paying reverence to a King.  My study Bible notes that this is spiritually understood as our need to lay down our flesh, and even our 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!"  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 people shout praise by quoting from Psalm 118:25-26.  This verse was associated with messianic expectation.  My study Bible tells us that 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.  

 

 Jesus says, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."  This expression gives us a sense of the unseen reality behind all things visible to us in the world, the reality of the spiritual life we can't grasp in a physical way.  This is the reality of the Kingdom "which does not come with observation" (Luke 17:20-21).  It is the reality and power of the Holy Spirit at work, the understanding possible only through a sense of spiritual comprehension, also known as noetic understanding.  John the Baptist makes a similar type of remark in Luke's chapter 3, when he tells the religious leaders who come to him for baptism, "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones" (Luke 3:8).   These expressions speak of the power of God and its linking into our world via faith, a sense of uncovering what is true, despite being unseen by so many.  Those who cannot perceive are the ones referred to in the quotation from Isaiah used so frequently:  "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them" (Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:15; Mark 4:12; John 12:40; Acts 28:27).   This spiritual force, so unstoppable that it would make the stones cry out if the people did not, is the reality being enacted in what we call Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the declaration of the Kingdom.  Even as Christ does not ride in a chariot or on a horse like a military, earthly king with conquering forces, nevertheless the weight of glory is with Him on the donkey's colt, and the spiritual power of the universe on His shoulders as He goes to the Passion which He calls His hour of glory (John 12:23).  Those with faith, the disciples who welcome Him into Jerusalem, understand it.  Perhaps tellingly, in Matthew's Gospel, when the religious leaders chastise Jesus for the praise of those who welcome Him, it's with reference to the children in the temple.  Jesus replies quoting from Psalm 8:2, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" (see Matthew 21:15-16).  Not for the only time, Jesus refers to God's surprising revelation to those whom He calls "babes":  "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes" (Matthew 11:25).  It's the wise and prudent religious leaders in today's reading who can't really see what's happening, and don't understand the power that could enliven even the stones to shout out, should the disciples fall silent in their praise.  What might be happening around us that we don't see right now?  How is God at work, and we are unseeing?  St. Peter 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" (1 Peter 2:4-5).   The living stones still testify with praise.

 

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 

 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.  And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

- Luke 14:1–11 

 

Yesterday we read that some Pharisees came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You."  And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'  Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.  And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.  And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  But they kept silent.  And He took him and healed him, and let him go.  Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?"  And they could not answer Him regarding these things.  Here Jesus once again builds on His words from earlier in the chapter, when He spoke to the ruler of the synagogue, who objected to His healing of a woman oppressed with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years (see this reading from Wednesday).  Here He eats with scribes and Pharisees, in the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees.  They watched Him closely to catch Him so they might accuse Him (Luke 6:7).  Jesus is, of course, aware of this, so we know that all of His actions and words are chosen deliberately to teach.  This is the second time He mentions the efforts to save the life of an animal on the Sabbath, comparing it to their attitude toward healing human beings on the Sabbath.  We note that the animals are useful work animals, needed for commerce or produce or transport.

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them:  "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.'  Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  This parable is directed toward guests (and will be followed in Monday's reading with one directed to hosts).  In imitation of Christ, my study Bible comments, perfect humility is expected of guests -- and we will see that boundless charity is demanded of hosts (see James 4:6).

Jesus teaches a lesson about humility in today's reading, as He addresses guests in His parable.  But clearly, Jesus does not simply speak to those at this particular table, nor is He simply teaching us about good manners.  (Although, frankly, this is a good teaching on being a guest and how humility is the basis for what has come to be understood as good manners.)   In the tradition of the Church -- especially the monastic tradition -- humility has come to be understood as the foundation for all the rest of the virtues, and the gateway to the rest of them.  For without humility, we first of all cannot honor God as properly we should be doing.  How does one honor God if we cannot put consideration of self second, and God first?  How do we learn and grow without humility?  For if we put ourselves as front and center of what we know, we are not going to be open enough to reconsider our opinions or be willing to allow a little light to change our minds, or to reveal new things we don't already know.  Moreover, one has to consider the primary importance of repentance to Christ's preaching and the message of the Kingdom, even from the prophets who came before, and John the Baptist who prepared the way in Christ's lifetime (Matthew 3:1-2).  To repent is to turn around, to change one's mind, to go from one road to another.  Repentance is not possible without some degree of humility, putting our own opinion second to something better.  So, Christ's words here in this parable teach us about God's response to our humility.  To be offered the more generous place at the table, to go up higher in the sense of glory as Christ uses that word here ("Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you"), is to be recognized in terms of our capacity for that honor.  In John's Gospel, Jesus tells the religious leaders, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44).  In this sense, Jesus gives us this teaching:  "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  We will not find the honor that comes from the only God without first having the humility to seek it, and to put God first, before our own limited understanding of what is great, and good, and true.  Christ cannot say to us, "Friend, go up higher" unless we first are capable of advancing into the reality that He offers, the truths of the gospel He teaches, the mysteries of the kingdom of God (Luke 8:10).  It's also clear that there's another layer to the parable, and that's as it's directly told to these Pharisees and scribes (lawyers) who join Him at table at the home of one of the rulers of the Pharisees.  All of these are the elite and educated of their time, the ones who are experts in the Law and the faith, who would spend all their time debating Scripture and the commands found therein.  So, their understanding of what is lawful and what is not is something they put great store in, so secure are they in their zealotry.  But Jesus' parable is a reminder that they shouldn't be so secure in what they absolutely think they know, and it's also a hint that they don't really know the Person they sit at table with.  They have no idea that He is Lord, and will be their Judge.  Humility, then, is their only key to hope, to be able to see what they don't know, and to learn what they need to learn, to find the only One who can tell them, "Friend, go up higher."  Then they will quite literally "have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you."  As they are in their worldly roles, they consider themselves to be the exalted ones, even as Christ is warning them, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

 

 

 

 

 

So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?

 

 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."  The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite!  Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?  So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?  And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

 

- Luke 13:10-17 

 

Yesterday we read that were present at that season some who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."  He also spoke this parable:  "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.  Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.  Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?'  But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.  And if it bears fruit, well.  But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"

 

Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."   As we have previously read in the Gospel (Luke 6:7) the scribes and the Pharisees had built up certain traditions around the Law.  According to such tradition, healing was considered work, and so it was not permissible on the Sabbath.  Because of this the ruler of the synagogue responds with indignation.  My study Bible comments that those who enforced such tradition felt they served God by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, but such legalism made them insensitive to God's mercy.

The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite!  Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?  So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?  And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.  Jesus responds with a command, "think of it."  My study Bible cites patristic commentary, suggesting that this command directs us to a spiritual meaning for the eighteen years that this woman has suffered.  In the Greek expression, this number is literally translated "ten and eight years," and both St. Ambrose and Theophylact see ten as representing the Ten Commandments and eight as representing grace -- for the day of Resurrection is frequently called the "eighth day."  So, therefore, humanity is lifted up by faith in Christ, which fulfills both law and grace. 

Let us notice that the text tells us that this woman had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  This "spirit of infirmity" is not a figurative expression for illness but an indication that her illness was caused by an unclean spirit.  We can think of her "bent over" state as a signal of oppression in some sense, by an entity hostile to humanity placing upon her a kind of unjust burden and affliction.  Jesus' words in delivering her healing confirm this understanding, for He tells her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."  She has become unbound, in her healing, from the thing that literally held her down, "bent over and could in no way raise herself up."   This is language that tells us she was held in some sense captive by something that only Christ could free her from.  Jesus tells us directly that Satan has bound this woman, a daughter of Abraham, for eighteen years.  It gives us a picture of unseen warfare, a spiritual battle, with Christ as the One who is powerful enough to liberate this woman from the force that held her captive and harmed her.  If we think of illness in this sense, it gives us a different sort of picture to ponder than the usual concepts we have of medicine and healing, in which simply finding the right solution -- such as a procedure or a pharmaceutical -- is the key to healing.  We do not think of affliction or illness as a manifestation of spiritual force of some kind.  But perhaps we need to shift our focus, generally speaking, and consider what it means that affliction is seen also in these spiritual terms.  Perhaps it broadens our modern perspective into something better than what we know, despite the advances in science that have helped so many.  Perhaps it gives  us a picture not only of how the demonic might work, but even more importantly for our purposes, it gives us a sense that healing the body or even the mind should not be thought of as separate from spiritual healing -- or rather, the state of true health must include all of the above.  A young man suffers from a very rare cancer in a family of my acquaintance, and there is no one who could tell him or his beleaguered parents that the struggle to find him a cure is not also a tremendous spiritual battle, that takes its toll on every level, and needs every kind of help that can be given.  Another friend has just lost her husband to a different type of cancer, and her need is all-encompassing; supported by a strong faith she already had, no one would deny her their added prayers for every step of that difficult journey with her husband's illness, as well as her grief and that of her family.  Who can deny such impacts, or characterize such illness as something merely purely physical?  While we might not want to categorize every illness or affliction as coming from the same type of source, our real healing should never leave out or be blind to this very real spiritual battle we find in the Gospels.  For Christ has called Himself the "stronger man" who is the One effective against the strong man that binds this world (Luke 11:14-23).   Let us not neglect our spiritual reality midst every problem or affliction we have, because we are more than the body and we need all His help, all the time.  

 

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.

 

 

The Lord has need of it

 

 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.  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.    The event described in today's reading is called the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  It 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 reestablish David's kingdom.  In humility, it says, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish en earthly kingdom.  He doesn't ride on horse, nor in a chariot.  As we can see from the careful and specific preparations described here, Jesus chooses to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey.   (And not just a donkey, but a donkey's colt.)  This is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  My study Bible further comments that this entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of 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 (Revelation 21:2). 

 

 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.  The people who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as paying reverence to a King.  It is perhaps reminiscent of blind Bartimaeus throwing aside his garment to run to Jesus in yesterday's reading (see above).  My study Bible comments that this spreading of their clothes before Him is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh,  even our very 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's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26.  These verses were associated with messianic expectation.  They 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.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!" and is therefore a plea meant for a deliverer, the Messiah.   We note that Jesus' first act is to go into Jerusalem and into the temple, a fitting act for Christ.  To look around at all things reminds us that He is declaring His kingdom, an act worthy of a king laying claim with authority.

Jesus seems to be full of contradictions by worldly standards.  Here He comes into Jerusalem in what is known as the Triumphal Entry.  He is greeted as Messiah and king, and the people lay down their clothing before Him, as if they are laying down their lives and loyalty to Him.  But Jesus rides into the city on a donkey, and not as a conquering king with chariots, horses, manpower, armies, and weapons of war.  He does not display any trophies or treasure He has captured from other lands.  Perhaps in this context, it's important to remember that at this time in the world, and particularly in the Roman Empire, slaves were an important part of the society and the economy.  Captured slaves would be paraded as part of the grandeur of emperor or other ruler; foreigners captured as slaves played a great role if they happened to be educated, or even -- relevant to today's reading -- skillful charioteers and horsemen.  But Jesus has none of that as part of His retinue coming into Jerusalem and hailed as a King and Deliverer.  He has only a donkey upon which He specifically and carefully has chosen to ride.  He has only His disciples as His court, and the people who shout and welcome Him into the city.  Jesus' first act is something the Messiah would do:  He comes into the city and the first thing is that He enters the temple, and surveys it for Himself, He looked around at all things.  So, in some sense, Jesus is full of contradictions.  Clearly the people expect a king, possibly one like David, who will re-establish the kingdom of Israel and throw off their Roman rulers.  He speaks with authority and He acts and commands with authority and even with power.  But He has no material power to back this up, and He uses no material might to display such authority and power as belong to worldly kings.  There are displays of this authority and power to be sure, in His casting out of demons, in healing sickness and ailment and affliction, and of course in the displays of the miraculous events such as turning water to wine at a wedding.  But nothing that Jesus does is about proving who He is.  He doesn't feel the need to convince through manipulative power, nor even to win hearts and minds through coercion of any kind, and this is what is anomalous to worldly kings and worldly forms of power.  What we could say about Jesus is that He is a king by faith; He is our King by faith.  By faith He is King in our hearts and souls.  And this is what He is looking for in His subjects.  This is the quality that qualifies those who would be a part of His Kingdom.  In the tradition of Orthodox theology -- and especially in hymnography -- one could say with the patristic tradition that our faith is, in effect, found in paradox.  If we want to see, or to attempt to derive any concept of our God, it would be only in the paradoxes we're given through revelation.  It is through paradox that we begin to grasp something of the nature of God.  In the Orthodox tradition, there is a name for Mary, Christ's human mother, which means "wider than the heavens" (Platytera/Πλατυτερα), because in her womb she held the Lord of the Universe.  This is paradox, that a woman could hold the universe in her womb.  The Incarnation might be said to be the ultimate paradox, for how could God become human?  The Crucifixion is so great a paradox that it is "a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks" (Corinthians 1:23).  The poetry of the Church (again, especially in its hymns) is found in the many expressions of such paradoxes, even found in the form of riddles that open our mind to what it is that makes the impossible possible (for example, how can a Virgin bear a Son?).  Christ presents us with paradoxes that beg us to ask who He is, for the answers found to such seeming contradictory realities are found in God, and in this story of God who became human.  Let us recover the wonder of paradox, and discover how that opens us to our faith, and the surprising qualities of God, whose strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).  Perhaps that is how we explain the Lord of the Universe laying claim to His Kingdom, which is both worldly and heavenly, riding on a donkey's colt upon which no one else had sat.

 

 

 

 

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.