Fr Antonio Pineda
ow would you like to be a donkey? Your immediate answer would probably be, “No, thank you!”. But wait. Let me explain.
On Palm Sunday, the King comes to take possession of his Kingdom. Who is this King? God’s only Son, the Anointed One, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. What is his Kingdom? The eternal, everlasting Kingdom where God himself rules every heart.
The King’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem is the first act of the sacred drama of Christ’s greatest work: his passion, death, and resurrection, by which he would redeem the world and establish his everlasting Kingdom.
On Palm Sunday, we celebrate this triumph with the ancient symbol of victory: palm branches. And it is right that we should. But are we only spectators? No. We are called to be involved in Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
The clue to this fact, that we are called to be more than just spectators, is the way Christ entered Jerusalem — on a donkey.
That means a bunch of things.
- It means that Christ is fulfilling his Father’s will, because Zechariah had prophesied that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a donkey.
- It means that Christ is the Prince of Peace, because when kings in ancient times came bringing peace, they rode on donkeys, but when they came bringing war, they rode on horses.
- But most importantly, it is a parable.
On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem and Jerusalem stands for every human heart. Just as Jerusalem was surrounded by huge stone walls, every human heart too is surrounded by walls. And Jesus wants to go through those walls and win over those hearts.
And he doesn’t want to do it alone. He could have walked into Jerusalem on his own feet, but he didn’t. He chose to need the donkey. In the same way, in order to bring his Kingdom into people’s hearts today, he chooses to need you and me.
We are the donkeys, carrying Christ into every city of the world, into every heart. Jesus wants to conquer the world through us. Let us remember this as we begin Holy Week.