Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

For: Sunday, April 5, 2009

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

From: Mark 11:1-10  (At the Procession with Palms)

The Messiah Enters Jerusalem
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[1] And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the
Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, [2] and said to them, "Go into the
village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on
which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it. [3] If any one says to you, ‘Why
are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here im-
mediately." [4] And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door out in the
open street; and they untied it. [5] And those who stood there said to them,
"What are you doing, untying the colt?" [6] And they told them what Jesus had
said; and they let them go. [7] And they brought the colt to Jesus, and threw
their garments on it; and be sat upon it. [8] And many spread their garments
on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.
[9] And those who went before and those who followed cried out, "Hosanna! Bles-
sed is be who  comes.in the name of the Lord! [10] Blessed is the kingdom of
Our  father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!"

[11] And he entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple; and when he had
looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with
the twelve.

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Commentary:

1-11. Jesus had visited Jerusalem various times before, but he never did so in
this way. Previously he had not wanted to be recognized as the Messiah; he
avoided the enthusiasm of the crowd; but now he accepts their acclaim and even
implies that it is justified, by entering the city in the style of a pacific king.
Jesus’s public ministry is about to come to a close: he has completed his mis-
sion; he has preached and worked miracles; he has revealed himself as God
wished he should; now in this triumphant entry into Jerusalem he shows that he
is the Messiah. The people, by shouting "Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming!", are pro-
claiming Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. When the leaders of the people
move against him some days later, they reject this recognition the people have
given him. Cf. notes on Mt 21:1-5 and 21:9.

3. Although, absolutely speaking, our Lord has no need of man, in fact he does
choose to use us to carry out his plans just as he made use of the donkey for
his entry into Jerusalem. "Jesus makes do with a poor animal for a throne. I
don’t know about you; but I am not humiliated to acknowledge that in the Lord’s
eyes I am a beast of burden: ‘I am like a donkey in your presence; nevertheless
I am continually with you. You hold my right hand,’ (Ps 72:23), you take me by
the bridle.

"Try to remember what a donkey is like--now that so few of them are left. Not an
old, stubborn, vicious one that would give you a kick when you least expected,
but a young one with his ears up like antennae. He lives on a meagre diet, is
hard-working and has a quick, cheerful trot. There are hundreds of animals more
beautiful, more deft and strong. But it was a donkey Christ chose when he pre-
sented himself to the people as king in response to their acclamation. For Jesus
has no time for calculations, for astuteness, for the cruelty of cold hearts, for at-
tractive but empty beauty. What he likes is the cheerfulness of a young heart,
a simple step, a natural voice, clean .eyes, attention to his affectionate word of
advice. That is how he reigns in the soul" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By",
181).

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".  Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.  We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."  --  St Jerome

"The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever
in everlasting silence: and in silence the soul has to hear it.
   --  St John of the Cross