Mark 11: 1-11

PALM SUNDAY

Mark 11: 1-11

Jesus enters Jerusalem

“When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. 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.' So they went off and found a colt tethered at a gate outside on the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They answered them just as Jesus had told them to, 
and they permitted them to do it. So they brought the colt to Jesus
and put their cloaks over it. And he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out: ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!’ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything but went out to Bethany with the Twelve since it was already late.”

A good Sunday for everyone. 

The episode narrated in the Gospel text that we have just heard is set in the context where the evangelist Mark places it. What has happened immediately before? The episode of the healing of the blindness of Bartimaeus in Jericho. This is where this man, illuminated by the light of Christ, follow Jesus along the path. It is the image of the disciple who, after having looked up and seeing the way that Jesus is walking—the gift of life—follows him. It is the image of the disciple enlightened by Christ. Therefore, Jesus is coming from Jericho. The journey that brings him from Galilee to the donation of life until Calvary. It is a place next to the finish line and, coming from Jericho, it reaches Bethany and Bethphage; these are the places mentioned in today's Gospel text at the beginning of the reading. 

Let's try to locate these places to understand better what has happened. The first mentioned is Bethphage. Bethphage is a town you can see behind my back; it has a chapel built by the Franciscans, built on the place where Jesus would have started his walk on the colt towards the city of Jerusalem. 

You can also see where Bethany was located, three kilometers from Jerusalem, on the eastern part of the Mount of Olives. You can also see indicated the Mount of Olives, located to the east of the city of Jerusalem. You may notice that from the top of the Mount of Olives one can contemplate the esplanade of the Temple of Jerusalem. It is also indicated the street Jesus walked mounted on the colt to get to the city. First, he had to climb to the top of the Mount of Olives, then started to descend toward the Kedron Valley, passing next to Gethsemane and then entering the Temple esplanade. According to the story of the evangelist Mark, Jesus entered the Temple, and the conclusion of today's Gospel text says that Jesus has observed everything that was happening there. And it will be the next day, the next morning, when Jesus will enter the Temple and have that gesture on which we have reflected two weeks ago: the purification of the Temple, not in the sense of taking it to the former splendor, but to completely turn around the way of relating to God. It is no longer an earthly temple but a temple that is his person. United with him, sacrifices pleasing to God are offered. 

Let's go now to the text. Jesus sent two of his disciples and he says to them: "Go into the village opposite you"—to Bethphage. In the background, you can see the painting in the apse of the Franciscan chapel. Of course, it is about the representation of Jesus on the colt. The objective of the evangelist is not simply to tell this episode. What Jesus does is a significant gesture: get on a colt and enter the holy city. 

The evangelist wants to give us a message that radically affects our life. We will try to decipher it by reading this narration in depth. First, the village has importance in the Gospels. When in the Gospels we find the word "village," it always means a place where there is a lack of acceptance of the novelty introduced by Jesus. We know that this town refused to accept the novelty ... Ideas circulate most openly in the 'cities,' while in 'villages' people are generally very closed and very distrustful. 

We remember that when Jesus heals the blind man from Bethsaida, he leads him out of the village, otherwise, he could not recover the sight—he could not see the novelty. Jesus takes him out, and then, after having healed him, he tells him not to return to the village, not to return to that old mentality. 'You have received the light’—do not return to the old criteria that prevented you from seeing clearly in your life. This is, then, the meaning of 'village.' On the other hand, we remember well the difficulty that Jesus found in the town of Nazareth. On the mountain, the atmosphere is more closed; there is distrust. Jesus preferred to go and announce the good news to Capernaum, that it was a much more open city for the reception of his message. 

Jesus tells his disciples: "Upon entering, you will find a colt tied, which no one has yet ridden." The colt is the protagonist of this episode. He is mentioned four times—with much insistence and it has a significant meaning. First, we speak of 'colt' = 'poles' in Greek. It does not say 'ones.' 'Onos' is the donkey, and 'ponos' is the colt. The donkey is mentioned 111 times in the Old Testament and always in a positive way, because it is the symbol of the gentle, peaceful, laborious animal. The donkey works and nothing else. It does not react; it does not rebel. It is the symbol of humility, of work, of peace. 

The Bible talks about the donkey that turns the wheel of the mill or, in Egypt, the wheels of the wells. Therefore, always with something beneficial, it produces life. The donkey is not used as a weapon of war. It is only the symbol of peace. Very different from the horse. The horse is a magnificent animal, solemn and is not used for the work of the fields but for the battles. It is a war machine. When the horse is spoken of in the Bible, it means the warlike force God faces and destroys. Let us remember the book of Exodus, the song of the sea: "Horses and riders He has thrown into the sea... The Lord threw into the sea the chariots and the troops of Pharaoh, He drowned his best captains in the Red Sea ...” (Ex 15:1.4). 

Nevertheless, the kings of Israel always dreamed of the greatness of chivalry. They envied the Egyptian armies that could ride on their horses. King Hezekiah had sought this support from the Egyptian cavalry, and the prophet Isaiah was offended and pronounce an oracle: Some go to Egypt to seek help and they place their trust in the chariots and the cavalry of Egypt because it is mighty. But not the colt ... The colt is not the symbol of strength but the symbol of service. 

And this gesture is important. Jesus climbs on the colt and becomes a symbol of the new kingdom that he has come to introduce in the world. It is not a kingdom of chivalry but the kingdom of the one who rides in a colt, of the one who chooses the colt. Two animals appear in the gospels and are very important: the colt and the lamb. These are animals that, by their very nature, reveal the heart of God. 

"Untie it and bring it here.” You can see in the background the painting that I presented to you before in the Franciscan chapel of Bethphage. But it is also interesting something you can observe now: a stone on which another painting can be seen better on the left. It is a stone that was placed in this chapel by the Crusaders and painted, on this stone, the colt and the two disciples who carry the colt to Jesus. And what is interesting is that the Crusaders have placed this stone inside the chapel, saying that Jesus climbed on this stone to ride the colt. Interestingly, the Crusaders put this stone because they had horses. To mount a horse, you can climb on this stone, but to ride a donkey, you do not need to, for if one climbs on this stone, he must descend to mount the colt. It's just a curious detail. 

Let's now reflect on the important meaning of this gesture made by Jesus. The reference is to the prophecy of the prophet Zechariah. What had the prophet Zechariah said? "Rejoice daughter of Zion" (Zec 9:9). Who is this daughter of Zion? Daughter of Zion was the poorest part of the city of Jerusalem. The outskirts, where those who fled from Samaria took refuge, after the destruction of the city by the Assyrians, by Sennacherib. The prophet says: "Jerusalem shout with joy; look at your king who is arriving: just victorious ..." therefore, a situation that demands change because there is poverty and suffering. 

Now comes a king who changes everything. "Fair, victorious, humble ...." This is a surprise because the king promised to the Davidic dynasty is expected that in this city, a triumphant king who had defeated the enemies, but there comes a humble one ... "riding a colt, a baby donkey. He will destroy the chariots of Ephraim and the horses of Jerusalem." It is a strange prophecy because the expectation was that the king would arrive with horses, beating all enemies. Instead, he comes riding a donkey and "will destroy the bows of war, proclaim peace to the nations; it will dominate from sea to sea, from the Great River to the end of the earth" (Zac 9:9-10) to Tarsus—there in the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, all the known world will be controlled by this king, who rides horses. Weapons of war were invincible at that time, but now we have a colt. 

This was the prophecy made at the time immediately after Alexander the Great, when Israel was not an independent nation; Israel was not at war with anyone, but it was an insignificant people on an international scale. Colonized first by the Persians and then by the Greeks, exploited and oppressed by foreign powers. And here we have this surprise of the prophet who announces the arrival of a king who would change everything, but not in the way expected. He would turn things around in a way that people could not imagine. Not with violence or with force. It announces the establishment of a surprising kingdom, different from all expectations. It will not be the weak who will be subjected; it will be ‘the king’ who will serve the weak. 

This colt is tied and released. If you do not let go of this colt, the prophecy cannot be fulfilled, for the king must enter riding a colt and begin this expected kingdom. The colt is tied in the 'village.' 'People' are the ones who hold this colt. In the 'village,' people continue to cultivate a mentality of the old world: the dreams of glory, triumph ... they are the ones who perpetuate the ancient world, the kingdom of the rulers of this world. In effect, Mark notes one detail: nobody had ridden that colt. 

All had imagined the creation of a new world riding by skilled riders. Nobody used a colt. The kingdom that this king wants to initiate is an entirely new world. They had always cultivated dreams of mastery, and if we open the history book we find a list of violence, of the strong against the weak. These were the kingdoms of the horses, not the Colt kingdom. The colt is the symbol of service; a symbol of the one who puts his own life into service of the one who needs work. 

Just imagine those of the ancient kingdom, the kingdom of horses ... if we visit the museum in England where the bas-relief of Sennacherib palace in Nineveh is one can see three kilometers of bas-relief that cover the walls of 21 rooms that later gave access to the throne room of Sennacherib. When you contemplate those bas-reliefs that reproduce scenes only of violence, of massacres of enemies, victory over lions ... Imagine those who visited the great king, passing through these rooms and becoming aware of whom they had to deal with. This is the image of the ancient world. The strong dominate the weak, represented in the horse. Here we have a new king—a peaceful king. The colt of service that should be practiced. 

Let's try to continue seeing the meaning the evangelist gives to this episode's details. Some people do not want this colt to be loose. And says Jesus, some will regret it and they will ask: "Why are you letting go of the colt? They answered, 'The teacher needs it'". The reaction of those who release this colt is attractive because those who complain are not the owners of the colt but people of the village. What does it mean? Let's put it clearly, the colt is the symbol of service, and the horse is the symbol of the strength of the kingdom of the dominators. The colt is the strength, the impulse that is in each one of us and that takes us to help the brother, to serve the brother or sister. 

In each of us are these two forces: that of the 'horse' that would take us to dominate over others. But also, inside us is the 'colt,' that is the compulsion that comes from God and leads us to serve the brother and sister. This second force is the one that releases the colt. The colt inside us breaks loose. 

Note that it is not the owner of the colt who prevents it from being released, as the owner of the colt that is inside us is this compulsion that leads us to love our brothers and sisters. The owner is God. Whoever does not want this colt to be released are the townspeople. They are the ones who cultivate the mentality that tells you not to serve the brother because they tell you 'think of yourself,' 'let others care for themselves.' They are the people of the village. People with an old mentality say they do not get into trouble by serving. Dominate over others if you can. Instead, we must unleash within us this capacity to serve that is within us. 

They go, they find the colt tied, and they respond to those who want to prevent this gesture saying what the Lord had suggested: "The Lord needs it. And they bring the colt to Jesus." And now, we have a very significant scene from the symbolic point of view, and we read them according to references and biblical allusions. The 'cloaks' placed on the colt: the cloak indicates the person in the Bible. 

Let's remember Elijah when he throws Elisha his cloak. It means that he communicates the whole mission he has realized; his very spirit, and his person continues in his disciple Elisha. Putting the cloak on the colt means putting one's person at Jesus’ disposal of his new proposal, which is to choose between the horse or the colt and choose the colt, therefore, the kingdom of the colt. This is the meaning of putting the mantle on the colt. Choose this new kingdom that Jesus is proposing. 

And Jesus mounts on the colt. The colt is practically transformed into the throne of this new sovereign. The throne is not the horse, instead, the colt represents service. He gets on the throne as a server. He sits there. We know that Jesus presents himself in our profession of faith, sitting at the right hand of God. That is his throne. And his throne here on earth, the colt, symbolizes service. 

And then we have a gesture that is often misinterpreted. It is one of those who are with Jesus and came from Galilee. They are not the people who left the city to go to meet Jesus; these are those who have accompanied Jesus and that they have not understood the gesture he has made. They are wrong because they spread their cloaks on the road, not on the colt, but on the road. 

It is a very noticeable gesture in the bible because extending the cloak meant accepting the king of Israel, in front of his horse. For example, when Jehu reveals himself against the dynasty of Ahab (2 Kings 10), all spread their cloaks on the road; they blow the trumpet and shout: Jehu, the king. They are wrong ... why? We know it from what they shout: "Those who went ahead and behind it, they shouted: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!" 

They have not understood. It's not that they sing and proclaim; they scream. They scream because they think that Jesus will introduce the kingdom of his father, David. A kingdom that was according to the criteria of this world. They do not consecrate their lives to the proposal of service but extend it in front of the 'horse,' as did those who received the victor and dominating king. They have not understood Jesus' proposal. Between the old kingdom and the new kingdom that Jesus proposes ... one can continue cultivating the dream of glory and dominion that are what has characterized humanity until the coming of Jesus: the first one who has ridden this colt. That has risen on this throne. 

Therefore, the election of the new kingdom is to donate one's life. It is a choice against two things that contradict each other in life: domination or service. Jesus proposes this new kingdom. They were wrong ... they wanted to capture Jesus to follow their designs, their dreams, and their projects. Says the Gospel text, they had put him in the middle, in front of Jesus and at the back. They wanted Jesus to realize their kingdom, the kingdom they had in mind. They did not understand. A week later, the same people who cheer him now, they will say: 'crucify him' .... Because they have made a mistake, they have the wrong person for their dreams. He was not the king they expected. They imagined that he was the king who would realize their dreams instead, he wanted to put us in his dreams. The dream of those who realize their own life by donating it. 

And Jesus enters Jerusalem, enters the temple concourse, and after having seen everything and as it was already late, he returned to Bethany. He observed everything that happened in the temple, and it will be in the next morning when he returns to the temple esplanade and will make that gesture that will indicate the end of a way of relating to God, and the beginning of the new temple, of the new way of relating to the Lord. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and holy week in preparation for Easter.