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| Lorenzetti |
4th Passiontide
Palm Sunday
Matthew 21: 1-11
And they
approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage by the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus
sent two disciples ahead and said to them, “Go to the village which you see
before you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there and her foal with
her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him
that the Lord needs them, and he will let you take them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
‘Say to the daughter of Zion,
Behold, your king comes to you in majesty.
Gentle is He, and He rides on a donkey and on a foal of the beast of
burden.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought
the donkey and the foal, placed their garments on them, and Jesus sat on them.
Many out of the large crowd spread their clothes on
the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of them and followed Him shouted:
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the Name and Power of the Lord!
Hosannah in the highest! [Sing to Him in the highest heights!]
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who
is he?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in
Galilee.”
4th
Passiontide,
 |
| Hippolyte Flandrin |
Palm Sunday
March 24, 2013
Matthew 21: 1-11
Vessels, a jar, a bowl, carry contents. The content is on
the inside, and the vessel surrounds it. But there is a complementary gesture;
the person carrying the bowl carries both the bowl and its contents.
Christ Jesus enters Jerusalem borne on a beast of burden and
its foal. This animal is a symbol of our physical body. The body bears the
weight of our destiny and of our deeds. In the picture language of this symbol,
Christ is both inside and outside. Christ is the content of the vessel of the
body of Jesus; Jesus’ body is the vessel for Christ’s spirit of love. And at
the same time, Christ rides above the bodily beast of burden. And he guides it
regally toward its own suffering and death, and toward its resurrection.
We too are spiritual beings carried within a bodily vessel.
Our body as a beast of destiny’s burden carries us, too, ultimately toward the
end of earthly life that we all must approach.
But our hearts can connect with Christ. He can be the
content of our souls, the ‘small, bright wedge of freedom in your own heart’,[1] as
the poet says. And at the same time, He can be both content and the One carrying
the vessel. Our heart’s connection with Christ gives us One who rides with us,
guides us. He is riding both the old beast of destiny’s burden, and the young
foal which will carry us into the future. He accompanies us on our journey with
His strength and love.
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