This is a very
special time of year, when we look forward to the warmer weather
and the newness of nature that comes with spring. It is also a
special time in the church, when we celebrate that very special
time in which the Lord entered Jerusalem riding on the colt of an
ass. We celebrate the fact that the Lord's ride from Bethany to
Jerusalem was to declare His Kingship.
We are also
reminded that this day marks the beginning of the Lord's last week
on earth, his last week of trial and temptation. We should never
forget that the joy of Palm Sunday stands in the shadow of the
crucifixion, just as that fateful day stands in the light of a
more glorious one, the Resurrection.
The incidents that
occurred during the Lord's ride from Bethany to Jerusalem, and
what followed during the rest of that last week, have a deep
spiritual significance, as indeed does all of the Word. In part
this is why we are here today. We are to learn how we too share in
that experience of the Lord's triumphal ride, and more important,
to openly declare Jesus Christ as our King and our God.
We learn in the Word
that Jesus and His disciples went up to Jerusalem for various
religious functions at the temple. This particular occasion it was
the Passover feast. The Passover festival celebrates the freeing
of the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. People from
all over the Holy Land made a special effort to be in Jerusalem
for that festival, so there were a great many more people there
than usual.
For Jesus, this
was for more than keeping the tradition of the holy festival. He
had already indicated to His disciples that He as the Son of Man
must complete the work which He had come into the world to do,
that He would allow Himself to be taken, killed, and on the third
day rise again from the dead.
It has been
thought that for Jesus to ride on a colt of an ass was to indicate
his humbleness. That Jesus was humble is without question. He did
not have to ride a donkey to prove that. He rode the colt of an
ass to openly declare who He was and to openly declare His
Kingship. It was customary for kings and judges of biblical times
to ride such animals, especially when they were to be anointed as
king. We can see why then the Scribes and Pharisees were angered and
threatened when they saw Jesus enter Jerusalem in such a fashion.
For such an
arrival, the people would place their garments in the roadway, and
go before and follow after their king making a joyful noise, and
they would wave palm branches. It was because so many of the
people cut and waved these palm branches on Jesus' approach that
in the Christian Church the celebration of the Lord's triumphal
ride into Jerusalem came to be called Palm Sunday.
When we recognize
this ride into Jerusalem as a regal act, we can also see why many
of the people there began to get excited. The people had long
yearned for a Messiah, someone who would break the rule of the
Romans and restore Israel to a place of power and recognition.
Those who knew of Jesus, and even those who didn't, would
recognize that this kind of entry into Jerusalem was an open
declaration of a king. We can also understand to some extent why
many of that crowd who were shouting "Hosanna to the son of
David." would later in the week join the mobs calling for the
Lord's crucifixion. You see, they were not looking for a spiritual
savior; they were not looking for a heavenly king. They were
looking for a ruler who would solve their worldly problems. It is
much the same today, wouldn't you say? When the people discovered
that Jesus' intent was not to establish a limited earthly rule,
but to provide the means of salvation for all people, a purpose
that many of them did not understand, a great many of them
withdrew their support and later in the week turned on Him.
Today we have come
to this worship, and we join with Christians all over the world,
to commemorate and celebrate this ride and this declaration that
the Lord Jesus Christ is the one only King. This even is of
monumental importance. It is said that the Lord's purpose was to
fulfill the Scriptures. It was from this that the people
recognized the Lord's declared kingship. This was in fulfillment
of the Scripture. The prophet Zechariah had proclaimed,
"Behold! Your king is coming to you: He is just and having
salvation, riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey."
What the people did not understand was the meaning beyond their
natural lives. They could not or would not recognize any
importance beyond the moment. The Lord's purpose was, is, and is
always for people's eternal well-being. In every act, in every
deed, the Lord's purpose was to insure that through Him, all
people would have the means to eternal life. Jesus came into the
world for two reasons: He came to restore spiritual freedom, and
to glorify his human, so that He Himself could always be present
to aid us in our own spiritual development.
In the Daily
Guideposts a woman writes of Jesus' arrival on the colt that one
phrase jumped out at her: "Whereon never man sat." She
said, "I have seen enough western movies and read enough
books on animals to know that breaking a horse can be a tedious
job. The animal who has never been ridden will buck and pitch and
make every effort to throw a person from its back. Yet this
unbroken colt was submissive and accepted the Master with no
struggle when the Lord had need of him. How wildly I struggle
sometimes when my Lord has need of me! Too busy. I argue when
asked to serve on a committee at church. I have no talent for
that. Or I don't know how to do it. Get someone younger is always
a good out. Or I did it last time, it's someone else's turn, and
on I go like the stubborn animals that refuse to be broken. Why
can't I humbly submit to Him and let Him use me as He needs?
That ties in
pretty well with our own teachings. The ass or donkey corresponds
to the faculty that we call the rational mind. The part of the
mind which helps us to separate fact from fiction. It helps us to
determine what is true and what is false. This part of our mind,
however, can be influenced in two directions. It can be influenced
by the sense, and it can be influenced by inner dictates which we
call the spiritual. When our minds become overly influenced by the
natural senses, then we are prone to make many mistakes about
spiritual life. We will buck and pitch and resist - instead of
allowing our minds to become submissive to the Lord.
The Lord choosing
a colt that had never been ridden was to teach us that He alone
brought this natural rational under Divine control. The acts of
the disciples and the people symbolize our own need to put all
that we are in the care of the Lord. This is the way in which we
recognize and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our King and God.
The purpose of all
this explanation is to help us during this holy week as we look
forward to the celebration of the Lord's Resurrection. What is
needful is that we recognize that the Lord does not seek only an
earthly rule in our lives, but that he is seeking to open the way
for us, for life eternal. If we seek only an earthly king, then we
will have missed the point of Palm Sunday and Easter. If we look
to the Lord as our Eternal Kung then not only will He be the ruler
of our spiritual lives, but we will begin to see how active He is
here and now. The Lord does care about us in this life, even
though we are sometimes slow to see that. He does care what
happens to you, to all of us, but more important, through his
presence regardless of what happens in the world. He does provide
for our eternal well-being.
Through this day
stands in the shadow of the crucifixion, let it strengthen us so
that we rejoice again with the Lord in Resurrection. As we
consider the events of this week between Palm Sunday and
Resurrection, explore with the Lord your deepest thoughts and
intentions, and then let us return to this sanctuary not only to
commemorate, but to celebrate with the Lord the institution of the
Holy Sacrament of the Last Supper that the Lord shared with His
disciples.
Scripture:
When He had come
near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of
Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, "Go into the
village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there
a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If
anyone asks you, "Why are you untying it?" just say
this, "The Lord needs it." So those who were sent
departed and found it as He had told them. As they were untying
the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the
colt?" They said, "The Lord needs it." Then they
brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt,
they set Jesus on it. As He rode along, people kept spreading
their cloaks on the road. As He was now approaching the path down
from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples
began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds
of power that they had seen, saying,
"Blessed
is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"
Some of the
Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your
disciples to stop." He answered, I tell you if these were
silent, the stones would shout out."
As He came near
and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, "If you, even you,
had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!
But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come
upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and
surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to
the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not
leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not
recognize the time of your visitation from God."
Then He entered
the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things
there; and He said, "It is written,
'My house
shall be a house of prayer': but you have made it a den or
robbers." |
Luke 19:29-48
Reading from
Swedenborg:
By the disciples putting
their garments on the ass and her colt, was represented that
truths in the whole complex were submitted to the Lord as the
Highest Judge and King; for the disciples represented the church
of the Lord in respect to its truths and good sand their garments
represented the truths themselves. The like was represented by the
multitude strewing their garments in the way, and also branches of
trees. The reason why they strewed them in the way was that by
"a way" is signified the truth whereby the person of the
church is led. The reason why they strewed branches of trees, was
that trees signified the perceptions and also the knowledge of
truth and good, consequently "the branches" denote the
truths themselves. This was done also in conformity with a
customary rite; for when the highest judges and kings rode in
their solemn procession, the princes of the people then put their
garments on the asses and mules, and the people themselves strewed
their garments on the way, or in their place the branches of
trees; for the judicial function in heaven is the Divine truth
from the Divine good, and the regal one is the Divine truth.
Arcana Coelestia
(Heavenly Secrets), #9212
Music is Shout
to the Lord