Fr. Manuel João, comboni missionary
Sunday Reflection
from the womb of my whale, ALS
Our cross is the pulpit of the Word
The Lord Needs a Colt!
Year C – Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord
Luke 19:28-40 (Blessing of the Palms)
Luke 22:14-23:56 (Passion of the Lord)
With Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord, we begin Holy Week, also called the Great Week. The rite of blessing and the procession with olive branches and palms marks the end of Lent, while the liturgy of the Word – especially with the reading of the Passion – opens the immediate time of preparation for the celebration of the mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, that is, the Paschal Triduum, the heart of the liturgical year. The Church and her children live this week as a “spiritual retreat,” in recollection and prayer, in intimate and profound communion with their Lord.
This Sunday has two faces, two distinct moments. The first: the rite of the Palms, followed by the procession, characterised by joy and enthusiasm. The second: the Eucharist, with the proclamation of the Passion, marked by sadness, failure, and death. Glory and Passion, joy and sorrow, light and darkness, good and evil… are mysteriously united in this Sunday. The two dimensions reveal that the glory of God is manifested in the Passion of the Crucified Jesus, a scandal to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles, according to the words of Saint Paul.
Let us also follow “Jesus, who walks ahead of everyone, going up to Jerusalem,” acclaiming Him with the joyful crowd: “Blessed is He who comes, the King, in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
A) Palm Sunday, Without Palms!
1. Sunday of the colt. In today’s account, Jesus, to reveal His Lordship and Kingship, says He needs a colt! (Mt 21:3; Mk 11:3; Lk 19:31). This is the only time in the Gospels that Jesus states that He “needs” something. This colt recalls Zechariah 9:9-10: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations.”
This donkey, a symbol of humility, service, and poverty, becomes one of the most beautiful and striking images of God. The Lord needs “donkeys” who will be witnesses to Christ, who on the cross bore the burden of the sin of all humanity. As Saint Paul writes: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
2. Sunday of the mantles. “They threw their cloaks on the colt, and put Jesus on it. As He went along, people spread their cloaks on the road” (Lk 19:35-36). It is interesting to note that while Matthew and Mark speak of cloaks and branches being spread on the road as a sign of acclamation, Saint Luke mentions only the cloaks. Spreading the cloaks, a symbol of one’s life, was a gesture of submission to the king (cf. 2 Kings 9:13).
Where have we spread our cloaks? On the backs of the horses of the powerful? Have we perhaps carpeted the road to success, wealth, or well-being? Easter is an opportunity for us to wake up from misleading illusions and to get back on the path of Christ and His royalty of peace, humility, and service.
3. Sunday of tears. “As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes’” (Lk 19:41-42). Just as there is a first time, there will also be a last, beyond which it will be too late. Then there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Lk 13:28). But even God weeps for His missed visits!
B) The Sanctity of the Passion Narrative
The Passion narrative is the oldest, most developed, and most sacred part of the Gospels. “These final chapters ARE THE GOSPEL. The other chapters are a commentary on it. The rest of the Bible reveals God’s back: it tells us what He has done for us. Here, however, we see Him face to face, in what He has done for us. God has no more veils: ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM’ (Jn 8:28), that is, you will know JaHWeH.” (Augusto Fontana)
The apostles were the “witnesses of the resurrection.” So why did the Christians of the first generation attach so much importance to the memory of the Passion? Because they recognised that the danger of ignoring the cross of Christ was very real: it would have been a betrayal of the Christian message. This risk, even today, remains a serious temptation for many Christians. The kerygma, that is, the Christian proclamation, is a triptych that indissolubly unites the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord!
C) Suggestions for Internalising the Passion Narrative
1. One way to approach the long narrative is to focus attention on each character who plays a part in this drama and ask ourselves which one – or which ones – we see reflected in ourselves. Each of us has a role in this drama. Every character plays a role in which the Scripture is fulfilled. Which word is being fulfilled in me?
2. A second approach is to dwell on the goodness and meekness of Jesus during the Passion.
The Gospel of Luke presents a Jesus full of goodness and meekness. Even in the most dramatic moments, Luke highlights the gentleness and mercy of the Lord: He welcomes Judas with tenderness, heals the wounded servant, looks at Peter with love, comforts the women of Jerusalem, forgives His executioners, and promises paradise to the repentant thief. Even those who condemn Him or witness His death – Pilate, the people, the centurion – recognise His innocence and justice. His last words are not words of pain, but of trustful abandonment to God: “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”
Let us welcome this gaze of Jesus, who heals us from our weaknesses and infidelities, renews His friendship and trust in us, and awakens in us joy and enthusiasm to follow Him.
Let us turn to Him, in turn, with a gaze full of tenderness, love, and gratitude, with the wonder and passionate love of Saint Paul: Jesus, the Son of God, “loved me and gave Himself for me!” (Galatians 2:20)
3. A third way could simply be to sit before the Crucified, to listen to what He says to us from the throne of the cross.
A Blessed Entry into Holy Week!
Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCC
