Palm Sunday (April 1^st 2012)   

Processional Gospel: Mark 11:1-10

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Questions raised by this passage from the Gospel

1 Jesus enters Jerusalem on an ass, instead of using a more glorious means of transport. What does this tell us about the way that the Lord wishes to be carried to the world?

2. The ass is originally tied, and is then untied in order to carry Jesus. What are the ties that prevent us from carrying Jesus to others?

3. In the Gospel, a humble beast of burden carries Jesus into Jerusalem. In what way might I, humble though I am, be a bearer of the beauty of Christ to the world?

4. Don Fabio asks us to contemplate the fact that "Jesus saves the world and he does it through our humble service". Do I really believe that my humble service can carry the glory of Christ into the world?

"The glory and kingship of Christ is borne by poorly qualified subjects who often start out in the state of being tethered. Every human being has the possibility of carrying in himself the King of Kings. Everyone can become the instrument by which this King, who is the most beautiful of the sons of men, is brought into the world. The Lord makes use of our lowly state, but he first needs to free us from that which tethers us."

Jesus needs humble beasts of burden to bear him to the world

The powerful liturgy of the Passion of Our Lord requires little discussion and speaks for itself. This year the readings are from Mark's Gospel. The Gospel passage that accompanies the processional part of the Mass recounts the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. It is an unusual kind of triumphalism with a lot of contradictory elements in it. But the Gospel is also full of biblical resonances with prophetic texts that speak of the coming of the Messiah.

            From our point of view it is important to note that this entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is something that must be prepared for properly. The Lord does not come without preparing the way first, and without making use of means of a very particular sort. Bethphage was the traditional place where pilgrims used to purify themselves before arriving in Jerusalem. As Jesus approaches Bethphage, he gets things ready for his entry into Jerusalem by sending two of his disciples to a nearby village where they will find a tethered colt. These references to an ass's colt, tied up, that no-one had yet ridden, seem to be irrelevant details, and of little importance to the story. But these details are in fact of the utmost importance for a proper understanding of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The Lord, as we know, took on human flesh. Through signs of the sort that we find in this Gospel story, he continues to express the incarnate nature of redemption. Jesus needs this humble beast of burden, and the disciples are to make this fact known to anyone who tries to stop them taking it. Jesus wants to make use of things and people - not in order to possess these things - but to give them liberty. If Jesus asks something of us (and we have experienced this many times), it is not to take something away from our existence, but to give our existence illumination and greater meaning.

In order to bear the Lord to others, we must be freed from our ties to the masters of this world

The colt is tethered when the disciples take it for the purpose of bearing Jesus to Jerusalem. In the same way, the proclamation of the Gospel needs humble beasts of burden. The Lord uses weak instruments to advance his message and kingdom. The glory and kingship of Christ is borne by poorly qualified subjects who often start out in the state of being tethered. Every human being has the possibility of carrying in himself the King of Kings. Everyone can become the instrument by which this King, who is the most beautiful of the sons of men, is brought into the world. The Lord needs our state of humility, but he also needs to untie us from that which tethers us. And we need to be freed from the masters that dominate us. In the Gospel the masters of the colt ask the disciples why they are trying to free it, and the disciples reply, "The Master needs it". All of us are tied to various masters who own us and keep us obedient to their will. In order to be able to serve the Lord and to be able to bear the glory of God in us, we must learn to disobey these masters. Our priorities must be turned upside down. We must be freed, and we must keep in mind that we have a desperate need to be freed. We must learn to appreciate that the worldly obligations that appear to us to be absolute are not absolute in the least.

            When we spread the Gospel we must be willing to tell people that the master that they usually serve is not their real master at all. Someone greater needs their service. Where once they bore the meaningless weights of the masters of this world, now they can be bearers of light, of joy, of beauty, of the One who comes in the name of the Lord. The One who comes in the name of the Lord cannot come at all if he is not carried by this humble ass's colt, by this poor animal who – however - has been freed, and who finally can be himself and perform the task for which he was created.

Any glory that comes as a result of proclaiming the Gospel is glory that belongs to Christ and not to the humble instrument that bears him

The colt bears the Lord and finds himself in a glorious procession, stepping on fine garments and hearing the acclamation of the crowd. It sometimes happens that people applaud us and acclaim us, but we must keep in mind that it is not us that they are applauding. Those who have the joy of being ministers in the church should not overestimate their own value in this regard. Those of us who announce the Gospel should realize that we are ass's colts and nothing more. If our message has efficacy, it is only because Jesus is borne by it. We should not think that the applause and the cries of "Hosanna!" have anything to do with us. However, it is beautiful to be involved in proclaiming the Gospel and to be instruments of the Lord's glory. This Palm Sunday let us contemplate this truth that Jesus has need of our service. Jesus saves the world and he does it through us. What a marvellous fact!