Gospel Luke 19: 28-40
TRUE LEADERSHIP IS DISCIPLESHIP
Beloved, we have arrived at a very critical point in the season of Lent. Today, being Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, we make a very important journey of faith and commemoration. Today, with Palms in hand, we shall process from our little 'Mount of Olives' through the streets and enter the House of God, reminiscent of Jesus' triumphal journey into Jerusalem, specifically into the Temple.
The Gospel passage for this tradition this year is from Luke 19: 28-40. This familiar narrative is found in all the Gospels, however, with little but intriguing differences. From Luke's perspective, Jesus goes from Jericho up Jerusalem. This movement makes us recall Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan where a man was travelling down to Jericho from Jerusalem and was attacked by bandits (Lk. 10: 25-37). Jesus' movement reverses that narrative. Unlike the man in the parable who was robbed of his wealth and beaten, Jesus will take up the image of the Lamb of God and reflect the wealth of God's love. Instead of being beaten on the way like the man in the parable, Jesus is handed a colt to sit on and welcomed as a royal. A royal necessarily possesses wealth.
Jesus goes to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, one of the pilgrimage feasts that every male Jew is obliged to attend (Deut. 16:16). This is not his first time going up Jerusalem for that feast. In fact, at age 12, he went with his parents to celebrate and was missing for three days. He was later found in the Temple, listening to the elders and asking them questions (Lk. 2:41-52). Pay attention to the fact that Jesus will enter Jerusalem again and be missing, dead, for three days. After three days, he will rise again, and he will be seen again.
Three other important details are weaved into the narrative, and I suggest we look at that very closely.
The first is that Jesus sent out two of the disciples into the village. The sending of two disciples makes us recall the fact that Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs, thus two by two (Mk. 6:7). The number two is a number of witnessing. In fact, it takes on legal backing because in Deuteronomy 19:15, you actually need two or three people in a lawsuit to establish truth. What Jesus is establishing is that sending two disciples out will not only mean support in time of safety as the road could be dangerous because it is a road from Jericho to Jerusalem, but that they also need each other to establish truth of a matter. One person does not go on a mission. We need each other in various ways. Your truth will be authenticated by another person. Sometimes, it is not a human person but an affirmation of your assertion by your way of life. Your manner of life is a witness to your speech. That is rightly an image of a credible disciple who does not only see but practices.
The second detail is that they are to untie a colt and bring it. In fact, Jesus looks for an animal on which no one has ever sat. Eventually, Jesus will sit on it. Initially, we see an animal that is tied. The word translated as tied is δέω (deō) and it is the same word used to describe Paul's imprisonment in Luke's sequel, the Acts of the Apostles 22:5. The freedom of the animal has been limited. It actually cannot go anywhere. It is meant to do a certain kind of work. However, because it has been imprisoned, it cannot do what it is intended to do by nature. From birth, it has never been put to its proper usage. The Lord tells the two disciples to free it from that imprisonment so that, for the first time, he could use it. Beloved, this is a fascinating image of each one of us as various pressures of life rob us from the proper expression of our freedom. From birth, we have sin with us, burdening us and preventing us from fully living out our freedom as being created in the image and likeness of God. What the Lord will do in this Holy Week is to free us from such burden and imprisonment. When you are freed, let Christ use you. Otherwise, you will be considered too small, too young, like a colt, a young donkey, and you will be sent back into the oppression you lived under. Additionally, the work of a disciple is to untie those under any burden, not to tie them up.
The other image the colt presents to us is quite interesting. The animal for war, especially for a king, is a horse. Sometimes, a king could ride in a chariot to war. The passage recalls Zechariah's prophecy of a humble king coming to Jerusalem riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zech. 9:9). Instead of using a horse or a chariot, Jesus uses a colt. A colt is a young male horse. The image of a donkey is gentleness. Jesus is riding a young horse — a colt. Usually, what a young animal does, due to its inexperience, is to follow the steps of the grown one until it itself grows to be independent. The image of a colt, therefore, is the image of a gentle learner. He does not rush to learn but learns and takes record of every bit of detail in every occurrence. This is yet another lesson of discipleship. In the Holy Week, we are going to encounter the Lord in various trials. Great and lengthy are going to be the narratives, tiring and exhausting are the activities going to be, but pay very close attention to every detail. In those little and seeming insignificant details lies the best practices. A disciple learns the little details.
The final noteworthy piece of information Luke tells us is that the people spread their garments on the road for Jesus. If we were dwelling only on Luke's Gospel to portray and understand the Palm Sunday, then it is surely not to be called "Palm" Sunday. It should rather be "Garment" Sunday. This is because Luke does not mention that the people spread Palm branches. He only mentions garments. We get the use of "Palm" branches from John 12: 13.
What is Luke trying to tell by emphasizing only garments? The word translated as "garment" is ἱμάτιον (himation). The ἱμάτιον (himation) refers to a type of outer garment or cloak worn in ancient Greece and Rome. It usually shows a person's status in a social, political, and religious setting. This outer garment shows one's authority. The disciples laid theirs on the colt for Jesus before he sat on the colt, and the people laid theirs on the road. The two sides laid their authority. They subjected their authority to that of Jesus. They recognised Jesus' authority in every sphere and facet. If we must go through Holy Week as disciples, we have to lay our authority to the authority of Jesus. We have to recognise Jesus' kingship and supremacy over ours, even when others despise him. Submit your status to Jesus' status.
Have a fruitful Holy Week
Pax et Bonum
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