Lk 19:28-40
Jesus proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem. As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples. He said, “Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone should ask you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.’” So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying this colt?” They answered, “The Master has need of it.” So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount. As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road; and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen. They proclaimed: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”
Homily
I recently heard a commentary on the Rev. Martin Luther King in which it was stated that King was guided in his utterances and his actions by the non-violence philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.
As I reflected on the commentary, I suddenly struck me that true leaders live on in their values and ideals which continue to influence many generations and persons of varying ethnicities and religious, social and economic groupings. . In the broadest sense of the word true leaders never die. A look at the personal history of these leaders will show that they enjoyed great acclaim but it will also show that they were unflinching in their fidelity to truth and honesty and that they were willing to give their lives, as many of them did, rather than compromise the values which they proclaimed and which they lived. These values are perennial and are the core values of the Kingdom, which are proclaimed by great leaders throughout the ages
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We begin these celebrations remembering the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in which the People all acclaim him as King; “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” As happens so often, this acclaim is due to a false understanding of what the leader truly represents. The People expected a Messiah who would throw the hated Romans out of Israel. They do not understand the inclusivity of which Jesus is the harbinger. This is the great value upon which so many people flounder. Many of those who followed the Mahatma could not understand nor acquiesce in his acceptance of Muslims. The same happened with Martin Luther King. The thought of blacks and whites living in harmony was not easily accepted by many either. In El Salvador, the thought of the poor sharing in the riches of the land, was anathema to the wealthy landowners. Because of the lack of acceptance of the Kingdom value of inclusivity, these three truly great leaders were assassinated. In this however they were only following the path already walked by Jesus. One week after his acclaim and triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus was humiliatingly executed between two common criminals.
There are two effects of the death of Jesus. Firstly, the message did not die with Jesus, It lives on and because the messages of the truly great leaders, three of whom are mentioned above, are all rooted in the message of Jesus, these messages have not died either.
The other effect of the death of Jesus is the recognition that there is something very noble in giving one’s life in fidelity to a mission. For us Christians, the mission is a person, Jesus the Christ. This is what has animated the martyrs down through the ages. This recognition must animate us also. There is nobility in being faithful to the values to which we have committed ourselves through baptism and confirmation, even when this fidelity means loss of position, status, money or power and even death. This is what our present day culture has to recover, i.e. the sense of the nobility of the martyr’s death. This is what catholic and Christian families have to teach to their children and to the wider society as a whole.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, this weekend we remember the triumphal entry of your Son Jesus into Jerusalem. He was misunderstood however and one week later he was to be executed with the acquiesence of the same crowd which a few days earlier had acclaimed him. Help us your people not to misunderstand him and help us to understand that it is a noble thing to give oneself totally to and for what one believes. We ask this of Mary our Mother and the same Jesus your Son. Amen
