Lk. 19:28-40; Is. 50:4-7; Phil. 2:6-11; Lk. 22:14-23:56
The First Reading from the Gospel of Luke narrates the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem on a colt. During this event, His disciples appeared to recognize the Divine Person of Jesus as their King
The contemporaries of
Jesus were familiar with the concept of Royal Entries of the Emperors. Triumphal entry was a procession
that was the highest honour bestowed upon a victorious general in the
ancient Roman Republic.
On that day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a borrowed donkey’s colt, one that had never been ridden before. The disciples spread their cloaks on the donkey
for Jesus to sit on, and the multitudes came out to welcome Him, laying before Him their cloaks and the branches of palm trees. The people hailed and praised Him as the “King who comes in the name of the Lord” as He rode to the temple, where He taught the people, healed them, and drove out the money-changers and merchants who had made His Father’s house a “den of robbers”Jesus’ purpose in riding
into Jerusalem was to make public His claim to be their Messiah and King of
Israel in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Matthew (21:5) says that the King
coming on the foal of a donkey was an exact fulfillment of Old Testament
prophecy: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding
on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9) Jesus rides into His capital
city as a conquering King and is hailed by the people as such, in the manner of
the day. The streets of Jerusalem, the royal city, are open to Him.
There is a very important
point to note in this passage. When Jesus sent the two apostles to look for the
donkey, he put in their lips the explanation to be given to the owner, “The
master needs it.”
The master needed a
service from the owner of the donkey. Today he needs the service of each and
every one of us. He keeps on sending the message repeatedly. “The master needs us.” We can say “yes” to
his invitation or we can accept it.
When the master used the
colt first time in its life it saw people laying before it cloaks and the
branches of palm trees. The colt could not think that the reverence was made
for it. It was for the person that it was carrying.
When we say yes to the
call, we are transformed. We become respected members of the society. Everyone respects
the position and not the person. But often we misunderstand that I as an
individual is respected. And I become proud. This pride will cause my down
fall. When we respond to the call of Jesus everyone sees Jesus in us. Everyone
hears the voice of Jesus through us. Everyone sees the actions of Jesus through
us. Everyone experiences the presence of Jesus in us. So when I receive love
and respect from others it should not lead me to be proud. The prophets were
revered because people saw the presence of God in them. Saints are venerated
because they had the presence of God in their lives.
This is the message of Palm Sunday the master needs
us.
Satish