At The Procession with Palms
Gospel Mk 11:1-10
When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ reply, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.'” So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, and they permitted them to do it. So they brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!”
Homily
Parades through city streets are part of our culture and expectations. Many of us await the Independence Day parade with great longing. We love the pageantry and the show of weaponry and armour. Somehow it gives us a sense of security, false may be, but a sense of security nonetheless and of course as Trinis we love the marching to the sound of calypso music. Independence Day parade reminds us that we are an independent nation, with borders that we have to protect with the force of arms if necessary.
Today Palm Sunday we celebrate another parade, not military, but Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey. The donkey or colt was not just a symbol of humility. According to custom, a great leader wishing to show his capacity to conquer, would enter a city on a horse in full armor – but a king coming in peace would sometimes show this intent by riding a colt or a donkey. For those aware of this custom, Jesus’ action might also be interpreted as accepting the title of king – and therefore his coming might even be interpreted as a challenge to established religion and to Rome. There is a prediction however which relates to this event. It is taken from the prophet Zechariah who in Chapter 9 verse 9 of his book declares:
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See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The gospel accounts almost seem to be present this event so as to show the fulfillment of the prophecy. The cries of “Hosanna” … “Save us” ….and the carpeting of the road with the Palm branches certainly sounds like the welcome of the awaited king. But a closer reading suggests a deep misunderstanding. The words which John records the crowd using to greet Jesus are a direct quotation from Psalm 118: 25 and 26 – as it happens, the last Psalm from the group called Hallel (Psalms 113 – 118). As part of the ritual of the Passover feast, worshippers carried bundles made of palm, willow and myrtle branches, and waved them as they marched chanting these same verses from this psalm. The association in the people’s minds with the Messiah as a conqueror is underlined when we remember for example that this same psalm was also sung when Simon Maccabaeus had overcome the Syrian forces and conquered Acra one hundred years previously. Just as Jesus was signaling the type of mission he represented with his entry on the colt, the crowd were signaling in their words and actions that the anointed one they were expecting was to be their mighty leader who could lead to victory over Rome and beyond. The truth is however that Jesus was never about power. Jesus was always about merciful service to the poor, the sick, and sinners who wanted to repent. There was therefore in the minds of the people a serious misunderstanding about Jesus, his person and his mission.
This misunderstanding about Jesus still exists among many today. For many of us Jesus is the “go to” person who can solve the problems which we encounter in the journey of life. Jesus is the person we make deals with; I will do this if you give me such and such or save me from such and such. This is a total misunderstanding of the role of Jesus in our lives. Jesus is first of all, son of God and son of Mary. He is a person who gave his life out of love, love for the Father and love for us as individuals. We have to be conscious of that love and give love in return. When one really loves, one is concerned about doing the best that one can do for the person loved, not what one can get. Secondly, Jesus manifests himself to us in persons around us, especially those who suffer and we love him in those who suffer, even when Jesus Christ presents himself to us as Mother Teresa of Calcutta would say in distressing disguises. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, Jesus is the one to be imitated and unlike what the people of his time would have mistakenly thought, Jesus is not about power and the acquisition of power but about humble and merciful service.
This is how the saints lived. This how St. Francis and Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Maximilian Kolbe lived. And since all of us are called to be saints, this is how all of us are called to live, imitating Jesus Christ in his merciful service to all whom he encountered, especially those who find themselves on the margins of society for whatever reason.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, the culture in which we live does not value servanthood. It values power and rewards the acquisition of power, yet your Son Jesus by his life and death taught us that the way to happiness is merciful service to others, especially those on the margins. Give us the grace we beseech thee to imitate your son Jesus in his attitude of servanthood so that we create a kinder, gentler world. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our mother and Jesus your Son. Amen
