[ Most insights from the Gospel of Mark (Catholic Commentary on Sacred Sacred Scripture) by Mary Healy ]
Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately on entering it,
you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat.
In the Old Testament it was a common requirement for animals for sacred use to have never been used for anything ordinary. This tethered colt brought to mind Jacob's prophecy of a king that would come from the tribe of Judah:
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes (see Genesis 49:10-11)
Jesus instructed the two disciples that he sent out as to exactly what they would find and how they should respond when they did.
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.
On a human level this could indicate that he had disciples in Jerusalem who were ready surrender their property according to his will. But at a deeper level we see Jesus perfectly in control of his destiny even as he approached the cross. He went toward his death not as a horrific accident, but rather with salvific purpose. Human authorities and conspirators thought they were the ones in charge, the ones directing the destiny of Jesus as they wished. But Jesus said, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father" (see John 10:18). Just as disciples found everything as Jesus described it, so too would his descriptions of the coming passion provide assurance that he saw everything that was to come, and that it was part of the charge he had received from his Father. Even their own abandonment of Jesus in his hour of need was subsumed by his under this higher purpose of Jesus when he spoke of it in advance.
So they brought the colt to Jesus
and put their cloaks over it.
This colt brought to mind the prophecy of Zechariah about the coming of the messianic king to Jerusalem: "Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass" (see Zechariah 9:9). The humility of entering the city demonstrated that Jesus came in peace and not in conquest. It also brought to mind the royal procession of Solomon, son of David, into the city at his coronation (see First Kings 1:32-34). Jesus was truly the son of David entering Jerusalem. And he was indeed entering Jerusalem to be enthroned. But his throne was to be the cross and his crown, a crown of thorns. The crowds, who would later reject a weak and suffering messiah, were still stoked at this point, and responded with homage to the coming of a new king by laying their "cloaks on the road" (see for example Second Kings 9:13).
One thing the two Gospel readings of Palm Sunday make clear is the fickleness of the crowds. One day they welcomed Jesus with shouts of joy. Very soon they were shouting to have him crucified. This is something that is probably true about ourselves as well. At times we kind find ourselves riding the high of hype and excitement as our faith produces feelings of joy and consolation in our hearts. But do we remain faithful during the darker and more difficult times? Or do we rather run from Jesus or join in those who mock and ridicule his apparent impotence? We probably don't say anything as blatant as "He saved others; he cannot save himself". And yet, do we not sometimes secretly judge Jesus for not intervening in situations in just the way we think he should, and for allowing suffering we think he should prevent? But he knew in advance that we would sometimes be fickle and half-hearted in our commitment to him. He was prepared to accept this, and all ignominy, in order to transform it by his own suffering and death into a deeper and more unshakable trust in him.
When the centurion who stood facing him
saw how he breathed his last he said,
“Truly this man was the Son of God!”
No comments:
Post a Comment