The coming Kingdom

Mark 11: 1-11

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”​ 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The first recorded Palm Sunday dates to the 4th century in Jerusalem. The ceremony wasn't introduced to Western Christianity until about the 9th century. This is an important moment for our liturgical calendar because it represents the beginning of the Holy week and raises all the emotions related to the Kingdom of Jesus in Jerusalem, the highest moment in His earthly ministry in terms of recognition before His passion and crucifixion. The scene started with a parade as part of the entry into Jerusalem.

Have you attended a parade? What was the parade you remember as the most special? Have you ever marched in a parade? Well, let me share a funny story about a funny donkey in a parade. There is a nice story that pays attention to the "feelings" of the donkey. This little animal was calm in his house. Suddenly, two strangers came and took him away to march in a Parade. They treat it very well and, on top of that, they decorate it richly. Someone rides him in the parade, but the donkey doesn't notice because he is flattered by everything happening to him. And he begins to walk through the crowd. The people have made themselves branches of olive and palm trees and cheer him, proclaiming the king Messiah. Then the donkey realizes how famous and important he is. Well, as you can notice,e he was a little confused about himself, and we are going to talk about it later. For now, we can analyze the bible reading for this reflection.

Secular census records indicate there were at least 2,500,000 people in Jerusalem for the event. An exciting rumor spread through the city: "Jesus Christ is coming!" Jesus had spent the night at the home of friends in Bethany on the opposite side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. The two were no more than three miles apart. The text of the bible refers in Matthew 21:1-11 to a very good combination of different aspects to consider. I would like to highlight at least 3 of the more relevant: the realism, the symbolism, and the mysticism. The realism is base in the fact that the political and social tension contained in the Jerusalem society was a huge aspect of the context during the Jesus ministry. The reputation for Jews was as rebels, especially because just some decades before they led an uprising against the Maccabean, that revolt of 167- 160 BCE was a Jewish uprising in Judea against the repression of the Seleucid Empire.

The revolt was led by a country priest called Mattathias, and his military followers became known as the Maccabees. Successful, Jerusalem was captured, and the Temple of Jerusalem reconsecrated, an act still commemorated today in the Jewish Hanukkah festival. When the Roman Empire conquered Israel, they were well informed about the attitude prevalent among the Israelites, a mix of nationalism, cultural, and religious pride. Inside the Jews group, different tenders were defined, especially in relation to the Roman Empire; some of them as Pharisees and Sadducees, were more tolerant of the Roman domination above Isarel, especially because they received some benefits from this posture. On the other hand, other groups, like the zealots, were rebels looking for the opportunity to provoke a revolt. Essenes were totally indifferent about the earthly expectation, and they were more focused on the spiritual change for the humanity living a permanent retirement in the desert.

All these groups perceived Jesus from different expectations, all ofthem were impacted by the ministry of Jesus on the earth, and during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, they expected their position in relation to the Roman Empire. Even the expression Hosanna appeals for an earthly expectation, save us now, here from our oppressors. Moreover, they appeal to the Kingdom, but they interpret it in the line of the Davidic Kingdom, the highest moment for the earthly Israelite kingdom. Then we can read a eartlycture of the scene by jews during the Palm Sunday. 

The second aspect was the symbolism, Jesus showed a different perspective about all the earthly realities around him, but not exactly in the same expression as the Essenes. He was not avoiding people, nor the life in the community. He was sharing with the people, but here he is entering the city as a big leader, riding a donkey. Such a joke for the opposites and a real confusion for His followers. Why did this leader, with all His previous miracles and signs decided to do it in such a strange way? Why is He producing rather a sensation of weakness? The only explanation is the symbolism contained in the gesture. While all the legends about great conquerors were drawn with a lot of details related to power, this leader, who showed power even above nature and the demons, is acting as a simple villager, a humble farmer, or a modest carpenter, as equal with all the crowds cheering His name around.

That also was a strong message for the Roman Empire and its followers, including Pharisees and other due this simple guy had all the capacity to make tremble even the Roman Caesar's power with a simple sign or His wisdom coming from the Father. The third aspect is the mysticism contained in Him, due to all His previous miracles made in favor of a lot of people who were healed, resurrected, delivered from demons, the multiplication of the bread and the fishes, the calm of the waters in the Lake, a lot of clear signs of His supranatural power. This man is more than a carpenter; this man is surely the Messiah, even John the Baptist recognized in Him something superior to himself. I mean, the most relevant of the Essenes considered Jesus the Mesiah announced, and he declared in this way to his followers. No doubt about the mysticism contained in the figure of Jesus entering Jerusalem, acting as a simple human but being more than one. He is the Son of God; He is the real king, the only one. Then, with all these references this day, the confusion was extreme, while in other parts of the city, which was full of crowds due to the easter fast and full of Roman soldiers due to the tension that this scenario produced in the authorities.

The poor were represented in this new style of leadership as Jesus represented. The weak saw in Jesus the empathy and the authenticity of a real leader, the hunger and the thirst found in Jesus, the fountain of hope and love, and the sick found in Him the healing and the restoration. How a human being represents all this at the same time, without the need of an army, a ritual, or magic, without more than the value of the truth contained in his teachings. This was and until now is the mystery for humanity. 

This text corresponds to the third of the so-called songs of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh that Christians very early applied to Jesus when they saw how he had acted and how God had worked in him. Here, the servant presents himself with the characteristics of a prophet: it is the Lord who has given him a disciple's tongue to teach; The words he says to the dejected are not his; but he has heard them from the Lord, he does not resist God and, therefore, he does not back down from the suffering that the carrying out of his mission causes him: convinced that the Lord will defend him, he is not shamed before the men who They belittle him, attack him and make fun of his performance. 

The author speaks about the Christian vocation (12:1-29), evoking the revelation of Sinai (Ex 19-20), through fire, storm clouds, storm, and trumpet, but the signs of the manifestation of Jesus will be of another type, more personal, loving, and close. For God to speak to a person or a people was a sign of death (Dt 5:23; Ex 20:19). It was a type of revelation appropriate to a specific way of understanding God. With Jesus, we have seen and heard what many others desired (cf. Mt 13:16). At this moment in the Church, we have the certainty that the Son has spoken to us (cf. Heb 1:2). The current revelation of God surpasses the ancient way of manifesting God. The believer is on the mountain of God's presence and grace (cf. Is 2), a peaceful and welcoming city, the church of God. The new Jerusalem is the one in which Jesus is its foundation (cf. 11:10) and of which the city of David was nothing more than a shadow and prefiguration (Ps 48:9, Is 54:11). The new believer approaches the angels who are no longer signs of God's terror, but rather participants in salvation itself (cf. Lk 10:20; Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5). It is also participation with all those who have obtained the birthright in the new community of faith (cf. Ps 68:6) and together with all those who, in the measure of God's revelation, gave the level of faith required (cf. ch. 12). In short, it is an approach to God himself, the possibility of believing, feeling loved by God with the security that faith in Jesus, the Mediator, gives.

The psalm of Jesus on the cross (according to Matthew and Mark), which begins with the lament of a man so threatened and mistreated that he even seems abandoned by God, ends with thanksgiving and an invitation to the community to praise this God who, in fact, never abandons his Servant. This text is part of the third song of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (42,1-7; 49,1-7; 50,4-9; 52,13-53,12), a key figure in the message of hope that Isaiah transmits to his captive people in Babylon, and the starting point of a style of messianism identified with the suffering people. All this is very much following the fundamental intention of the Second Isaiah (40-55): Consolation. Thus, in this poem the servant presents himself as a comforting prophet, the words he says to the dejected are not his; but he has heard them from the Lord, he does not offer resistance to God and, therefore, he does not back down from the suffering that the carrying out of his mission causes him: convinced that the Lord will defend him, he is not ashamed before those who despise him.

The first Christians very soon identified Jesus with this Messiah announced by Isaiah, starting from the apostolic tradition that kept alive the memory of Jesus, identified with the poor and excluded of his time, and for this reason murdered, and starting from their own experience. of a suffering people, the experience of a story in which the presence of the risen one is a consoling force. 

Where are we marching to? Are we just going from the manger to the tomb? This is exactly how existentialism looks. The idea of just existing without any purpose or any cause, or any sense through our biography. This is not what the Scriptures say about life. The Bible says in gospel of John 10:10: Jesus came to us might have life, and that might have it more abundantly. We must avoid any kind of immediatism, and we must build our hope in the firm rock of Jesus as an individual and as a society, recognizing to change the human being has been the big challenge throughout human history, even all the political economical and social systems implemented. Political systems have passed through human societies, and the big question continues to be how to touch the human heart to produce enough loyalty, solidarity, justice, and love to generate a stable peace and love that we as humanity.

How are we marching through our lives? Are we just self-centred, considering our person as an individual is the most important thing? This is exactly how narcissism looks. We live in a consumerist culture in which the most important thing is selfishness. We think as consumers, but what happens when we lose our consumption capacity due to unemployment, stop, or structural poverty? Well, we find that we are just crowds or statistics for a global market. Jesus' message on Palm Sunday is about how to avoid any kind of narcissism, and we must be humble. I think that this story of the "bighead" donkey (because he believes himself to be more than he is) helps us to look at ourselves a lot. First, sometimes we put ourselves at the center of faith: we seek to be praised, recognized, listened to... We seek to have different, personal positions, at odds with the faith that our parents gave us... And, when we do this... we have some followers who applaud us... and we believe them... and we accept the "fair and proportionate" praise... and... Jesus ends up on the floor because we are the center. This happens to priests and all those who have the power of speech to take a stand on things. But it can happen to anyone. Do the following phrases sound familiar to you: "I believe my way"; "I am a Christian but not a fanatic"; "The Church has to change and adapt to the times"; "That was before, and now the fashion is different"... and the list could be long. (I'm sure you can suggest another one.) What happens is that the center of life is not God but the person, the believer... and Jesus ends up on the floor. 

How do we perceive the future? Do we have enough trust in humanity to believe that we can be better than we actually are? Or are we going to disclaim our vocation to the wellness and solidarity aspirations? To avoid any kind of secularism, we must believe with all our faith and transcend simplicity. Jesus didn't build an empire for Israel, even though He could have. His decision was invite all human beings to be transformed through repentance and the forgiveness coming from God. On February 27, 380, in Thessaloniki, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I (347 - 395) signed a decree in the presence of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian II (371-392) that made Christianity the religion of the state and punished the practice of pagan rituals. Then, that simple carpenter riding a simple donkey one Sunday in Jerusalem won the battle against the Roman Empire in the end, and he subjected human power under his humble feet because He is the real king. I am not suggesting everything was resolved with this political decision, not at all, but we can confirm that if we can trust that there is no power bigger than God's power, so we can do it better now, spreading the gospel with our word but also with our deeds and the signs of the Holy Spirit.

During the nineteenth century, it was Chancellor Bismarck of Prussia who entered the City of Jerusalem riding a white horse. So great was the number of soldiers and officials that an entire section of the city wall had to be removed. That was impressive, but not equal to that day in Jerusalem when this humble man who was the Son of God did it to start the pathway to the final victory above death forever. We'll find moments in our life when we feel loneliness, the evil can get us discouraged and reduce our faith, or we can experience the weaknesses in our flesh due illness or our age but God is our power all the time and His power is over everything around, we can trust in Him and change our loneliness in solitude, our weaknesses in humility, the evil in opportunities to be promotors of peace, love and witness of the God's Kingdom coming soon.