Palm Sunday (Mt. 21:1-11)

            The holy week drama begins with the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.  By first appearances we might conclude that Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is a spontaneous demonstration against the established order.  In our day, we often see people throughout the world taking to the streets to protest. At times we might be caught up in such protests and not fully understand what is going on.

                I have had that experience on a couple of occasions.  I was in Italy many years ago.  I was walking down the street with some friends of mine when suddenly, a large street demonstration came by us. People were holding signs.  Others were chanting slogans in Italian. Most of the protesters were women.  My friends and I were caught up in the surging mass of humanity. The emotion of the people in the march was palpable. 

                Since we didn’t know Italian, we asked people around us what all the fuss was about.  One man said the demonstration concerned Josep Tito whose government had just fallen in Yugoslavia.  He declared that all of Europe was being thrown into chaos.  Another person said that the women were asking for more legal protections against harassment in the workplace.  To this day, I don’t know what the march was about. Sometimes we get caught up in the moment.  We can guess that maybe the people who marched along with Jesus two thousand years ago were like that.  Many didn’t realize what was happening.

                But Jesus knew exactly what was happening.  The writer of Matthew made that clear.  What transpired was a preplanned demonstration. We are told that when Jesus entered Bethany, he sent his disciples to a stable to retrieve a donkey that he had arranged for in advance.  Jesus wanted to ride this animal into Jerusalem for a reason.  Jesus was involved in a prophetic action.  He was recalling the prophets of old, who would preach with words but also, would often use symbolic actions. 

                We could think of Jeremiah who wanted to warn the Israelites of the impending doom of the Babylonian exile.  Enslavement was coming, so he had a wooden yoke constructed so he could wear it while he preached.  The people ignored his warning about reform.  And they paid a terrible price. 

                Jesus, perhaps, was thinking about Judas Maccabaeus.  The great military leader who liberated Jerusalem from the Greeks who had tried to destroy the Jewish religion. The conquering Greeks had desecrated the Jewish temple. Judas Maccabaeus rode into Jerusalem, not on a war horse, but on a donkey.  He didn’t come to claim a kingdom, but he came to restore the religion of the Jewish people.  He reclaimed the temple for the one true God. 

                When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was declaring that he came as a prince of peace.  He didn’t want political power, but he wanted to restore justice in his country.   He also wanted to proclaim a message to the world.  He was the suffering servant who had come to redeem humanity from the corruption of sin. 

                His actions were courageous. He knew that the authorities in Jerusalem wouldn’t give up power.  He knew that he would probably die proclaiming his message of peace and justice, but he rode into Jerusalem anyway.  He knew that some things were worth dying for. As Martin Luther King once said, “A man is not fit to live unless he is willing to die for something.”  Jesus was willing to die for humanity.

                As we begin Holy Week, let us participate fully in the liturgy of the church, let us get caught up in holy demonstrations of faith this week. If we do, maybe we will find the courage to let go of all selfish agendas so that we might live with Jesus in glory.