This April 13 (Sunday), the Catholic Church celebrates the universal solemnity of Palm Sunday—the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem!
Palm Sunday is the official beginning of Holy Week, a seven-day period when the events of our Lord’s passion unfold. The grand reception of Christ into Jerusalem was triggered right after he publicly resurrected his friend Lazarus from the dead. News of this divine miracle quickly spread throughout Israel, so when Jesus finally entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, a huge crowd gathered and shouted, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Many disciples waved palm branches and laid their cloaks before His path.
All of these actions were direct references to prophecies in the Old Testament—the procession was parallel to Solomon’s coronation in 1st Kings, the donkey was specifically mentioned in Zechariah, the crowd’s chants were connected to verses in Psalm 118, the palm branches (symbols of victory) were an allusion to Israel’s liberation from the Greeks in 1st Maccabees, and the cloaks on Jesus’ way was the customary “red-carpet treatment” for welcoming the arrival of stately rulers.
Passover became a significant festival that brought with it a nationalistic zeal for the coming of the Messiah (who many believed to be Jesus), and the main reason for the raucous fanfare was that the Jews were eagerly awaiting their liberation from Roman oppression. Naturally, this caught the attention of the Scribes and Pharisees, who had already been plotting Christ’s murder. It gave them the perfect excuse to commit it a few days later by accusing Jesus of being a revolutionary.
In paintings that depict this scene, the Jews are usually portrayed as wild and celebratory. In contrast, only two beings are seen as stoic and calm. The first is Jesus, who knows that the people ready to crown Him as their King will be the same ones who will shout for His crucifixion on Good Friday. The second, surprisingly, is the donkey, who, in its animal nature, is immune from the pride that infects human beings and can thus ignore the flattering words that are being showered their way.
Sometimes, it’s tough to emulate Christ since His power and majesty are often beyond our willingness to reach. However, we can most certainly lower ourselves to the attitude displayed by the donkey by carrying the commandments of Jesus in our hearts and shouldering the burdens that they impose on our bodies. When the Lord arrives to claim His throne, let us remain aloof and indifferent to the temptation of gaining honor among men, knowing full well that they will turn on us in our moments of weakness, and cling only to the One who will never abandon us in our darkest hours.
Hosanna in the highest!
|Painting used: The Procession in the Streets of Jerusalem c. 1886-94 by James Tissot
Beloved Son
This April 13 (Sunday), the Catholic Church celebrates the universal solemnity of Palm Sunday—the Triumphant Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem!
Palm Sunday is the official beginning of Holy Week, a seven-day period when the events of our Lord’s passion unfold. The grand reception of Christ into Jerusalem was triggered right after he publicly resurrected his friend Lazarus from the dead. News of this divine miracle quickly spread throughout Israel, so when Jesus finally entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, a huge crowd gathered and shouted, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Many disciples waved palm branches and laid their cloaks before His path.
All of these actions were direct references to prophecies in the Old Testament—the procession was parallel to Solomon’s coronation in 1st Kings, the donkey was specifically mentioned in Zechariah, the crowd’s chants were connected to verses in Psalm 118, the palm branches (symbols of victory) were an allusion to Israel’s liberation from the Greeks in 1st Maccabees, and the cloaks on Jesus’ way was the customary “red-carpet treatment” for welcoming the arrival of stately rulers.
Passover became a significant festival that brought with it a nationalistic zeal for the coming of the Messiah (who many believed to be Jesus), and the main reason for the raucous fanfare was that the Jews were eagerly awaiting their liberation from Roman oppression. Naturally, this caught the attention of the Scribes and Pharisees, who had already been plotting Christ’s murder. It gave them the perfect excuse to commit it a few days later by accusing Jesus of being a revolutionary.
In paintings that depict this scene, the Jews are usually portrayed as wild and celebratory. In contrast, only two beings are seen as stoic and calm. The first is Jesus, who knows that the people ready to crown Him as their King will be the same ones who will shout for His crucifixion on Good Friday. The second, surprisingly, is the donkey, who, in its animal nature, is immune from the pride that infects human beings and can thus ignore the flattering words that are being showered their way.
Sometimes, it’s tough to emulate Christ since His power and majesty are often beyond our willingness to reach. However, we can most certainly lower ourselves to the attitude displayed by the donkey by carrying the commandments of Jesus in our hearts and shouldering the burdens that they impose on our bodies. When the Lord arrives to claim His throne, let us remain aloof and indifferent to the temptation of gaining honor among men, knowing full well that they will turn on us in our moments of weakness, and cling only to the One who will never abandon us in our darkest hours.
Hosanna in the highest!
|Painting used: The Procession in the Streets of Jerusalem c. 1886-94 by James Tissot
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