There are
two themes in our liturgy this Sunday namely Jesus’ triumphal entry to
Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) and the Passion which opens the holiest days of the
year we call the Holy Week (Passion Sunday). Our reflection will focus on the triumphal entry
of Jesus to Jerusalem.
Jesus’
entry to Jerusalem reminds us of David
in the Old Testament when he entered Jerusalem bringing with him the Ark of the
Covenant (the box containing the two tablets of the Ten Commandments). Girded with linen ephod, he was dancing while
the people of Israel where shouting with the sound of the trumpet. Jesus was now the new David entering Jerusalem
and fulfilling the promised Covenant. Jesus
did not dance like David but rode instead on a donkey that had never been
ridden. It was the fulfilment of the
prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 “Your king
comes to you triumphant and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a
colt…”
When the people welcomed him as king, it was
the only time that Jesus let himself be celebrated by the people. In fact according to Luke (19:39-40), when
the Pharisees said to Jesus to stop his disciples, Jesus replied “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones
would shout out.” The entry of Jesus
was not just about him being the King of Israel but also the coming of the
Kingdom being himself the Kingdom-personified.
We call this in Greek as auto-basileia.
According to
John, Jerusalem was filled with people not just because of the festival of the
Passover but because the people who witnessed the raising of Lazarus went to
meet him (Jn. 12:17-18). Jesus’ popularity during that time made everyone
wanting to see him in person.
The people
although welcomed Jesus in great jubilation did not understand the meaning of
the event. Even Jesus’ disciples did not
understand it either as commented by John (12:16) because the fuller
understanding will be made manifest in the light of Easter. Because of this lack of understanding, the welcome
hosanna songs of the people will later be turned into angry cries that long for
Jesus’ death: “Crucify him!”
The
triumphal entry was like a homecoming of a hero just like in our times. True enough, it was the homecoming of Jesus
to the city chosen by God who had suffered so much pain and witnessed enough
blood shed. We can see it as Jesus’ way
of conquering Jerusalem which will later reject him and throw him out to be
crucified outside the city walls. The
conquest was not through might and power but through love and service expressed
in pain and suffering.
The entry to
Jerusalem was Jesus’ entry to his own death in obedience to his Father. Indeed the triumphal feeling was short lived
because the true triumph is not to be given by the people but from God the
Father; it was not found in the temple sacrifice but on the sacrifice of the
cross; it was not also in Jerusalem the earthly city but in the heavenly
Jerusalem. That is why Jesus died outside Jerusalem.
As we
reflect on Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, we welcome him as he enters our wounded
and suffering hearts and continue to embrace him as he leads us towards his glorious
cross.
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