Christian Reflection and Prayer

PALM SUNDAY

Scripture:

The next day the great that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was
coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out
to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord-
the King of Israel!"

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
"Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
Look, 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 had been
written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that been
with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from
the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he
had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him.
'The Pharisees then said to one another. "You see, you can do
nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!

What Does Palm Sunday Mean?

"Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey a colt. There is no doubt it
was a deliberate symbol. Was it to poke fun at the pretentions of the powerful?
Would they be expecting the Messiah to ride a white horse into the city?

But it is the donkey that speaks most powerfully of the ministry of Jesus.
He always seemed to choose the weak and the lowly as the symbols of his calling.
The lamb and the sheep, the dove and the donkey are all weak and powerless creatures.

By his action, Jesus was saying something about power and powerlessness.
The humility of his action stands in contrast to the crowd's expectation of him
as a conqueror. In the entry to Jerusalem, God is identified with the poor rather
than the rich, with the humble against the proud, with those who love against those
who hate, with peace against war. All the virtues which we tend to see as weak are
the ones which he claims to be strong. He gives up power and in his powerlessness
shows the greater strength.

In many Bible commentaries, this event is described as "the triumphal entry".
This statement is a complete misnomer. It arose in medieval times when the church
was obsessed with temporal power.

The truth is lost if we associate this event with triumphalism. Jesus entered Jerusalem
with all the symbols of simple humility. His actions were a mockery of the things
the world associates with power.

But it is in his humility that real strength resides. In his weakness is our strength."

Ron O'Grady
Aotearoa/New Zealand
From: The Bible Through Asian Eyes