[Lk. 19:28-40; Lk. 22:14-23:56]
Peace to all of you who are in Christ. Amen.
Please take your liturgy booklet and look at the front page.
What’s missing?
What about a general enthusiasm?
It all seems very static, doesn’t it?
The excitement isn’t exactly palpable, at least not in this picture.
It’s certainly devout, but it’s not brimming with energy.
Could it be that expectations aren’t as high as we would expect them to be at this important event?
Let’s hold that thought.
The most famous donkey in world history.
Had the prophet Zechariah not foretold:
"Behold, your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious. He is humble and
riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass." (Zech 9:9)
Not a black steed, not a noble white horse, not an Arabian full blood, because as a Jew Jesus was not allowed ride on one of those.
Instead, we have a colt, an unimportant and seemingly insignificant colt.
Very likely, that many in Jerusalem had expected something more impressive, but instead they got a man on a donkey.
And yet, that colt would witness the beginning of the most radical events in history.
“…your king comes to you…blessed is the king”
It’s very interesting and very daring, because at the time of Jesus there was only one kingdom, the Roman Empire, and there was only one king, the Roman Emperor.
Marcus Borg and John D. Crossan, two American New Testament scholars, in their book The Last Week (2006) have underlined this 'clash of civilisations' by drawing a vivid mental picture of the two processions approaching Jerusalem that day: one was Pontius Pilate leading his seasoned troops, marching up from the coast at a swift pace, ready to quash any sign of insurgence during the Passover; the second group was far more chaotic, more spontaneous, more organic, slowly curling down from the Mount of Olives, not military professionals but local civilians of all ages, running to and fro, edged on by the disciples, shouting, waving and cheering, not for a Roman governor but for a Galilean rabbi, perhaps even for a prophet or a king.
A stead versus a colt, a war-horse versus a donkey; the contrast couldn't have been more striking; just like the contrast between the great powers-that-be of our own present-day and the coming Kingdom of our Lord.
On that day, people gathered around Jesus waving palm branches and cheering. We’re over three quarters into the gospel, and our story is reaching a first pinnacle.
Expectations are very high.
Will the rest of the narrative fulfil those expectations, that hope and those longings of liberation, those needs of the crowds who have come out to encounter Jesus as a potential liberator, a potential new Jewish ruler and redeemer for Israel?
We too very often expect a lot from God. We too have very specific needs which we would like for God to fill.
Yet, let’s be honest, just like the crowds on that first Palm Sunday we too are often disappointed. Our expectations are seemingly not being met in the way or in the timeframe we want them to be.
Even though we know the rest of the story: the next few chapters tell about many unfulfilled desires and unfulfilled needs, about more questions than answers, but only because the crowds didn’t know what we know now, that Easter will triumph over everything.
We can rely on the promise of God, the promise that our expectations will be met, all be it not in our time but in God’s time and according to God’s ways.
It’s a promise of forgiveness, of liberation, of life.
We’re invited to meet this man on this donkey, the Lord and King, who created heaven and earth and formed us all as well.
It’s this God who comes to meet us, it’s God who always takes the first step, it’s this God who’s coming to us in bread and wine later.
It’s absolutely mind-blowing.
Such love! Such compassion! The Creator of the universe… on a donkey… on His way to die… for us.
Our puny little brains can’t comprehend it, can they?! Yet, there He is, doing exactly that. Setting us free so we can better serve Him and serve each other.
This seemingly unimportant donkey witnessed the beginning of one of the greatest stories in world history.
The crowds that first Palm Sunday had great expectations and many of them would be greatly disappointed in the end.
We too are standing by the road side on the way up to Jerusalem, we too are waving our palm branches, singing hosanna, which means ‘save us, rescue us!’.
But for us the story hasn’t finished yet, we’re allowed to take a peek at the next chapters, and even if it’s not always clear to us exactly what’s happening, we can be sure that the ending of this narrative will exceed all our wildest expectations.
That’s a promise.
May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance. Amen.