Palm Sunday - Day 42
And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt!” His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of Him and had been done to Him. John 12:14-16 (Gospel of the Divine Liturgy on Palm Sunday)
One of the most perplexing things about The Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem was that he came into the city in an unexpected way. As we see in today’s reading, the image of a King is not someone who rides into a city on a donkey. But the actions of Jesus as he enters the city begin to teach us what it means to be a real king, not of a country or over a large army, but a king of our spiritual lives. And the path to that kingship is simple…it is humility.
Palm Sunday, and the actions of Jesus, marks the beginning of His Passion, the events that will ultimately lead to His crucifixion and death. SO how does He begin this journey? He begins it in humility.
We see humility at every single point in the Passion of our Lord:
- Entering Jerusalem on a donkey
- Washing His disciples feet
- Accepting God’s Will in the garden
- Willingly being betrayed
- Remaining silent before the high priest
- Not responding to jeers, slaps and lies
- Remaining silent before Pilate
- Enduring scourging and mocking by soldiers
- Being forced to carry the instrument of His death
- Asking God to forgive those who have done this to Him
It is almost unfathomable all that Jesus went through to make salvation possible.
One of the beautiful Icons that we use during Lent and Holy Week is the Icon of Extreme Humility. In it we see Jesus with His arms folded, as in burial. He is shown half in a box that represents the tomb with an image of the Cross is behind Him. What makes this Icon so powerful is the pure and beautiful image of humility that it represents to us. All of the moments listed above are captured in the Icon.
The path of salvation is upon us here in Holy Week. It begins, and is encompassed by, the ultimate humility of Christ. As you follow Christ through His Passion, let His humility become your humility:
“At the arrival of unjust persecution, bow your head. At the jeers of false accusations, cross your arms over your heart, whether physically or interiorly, and gratefully receive what is spitefully offered. And when faced with the question, ‘How far, how far do I tolerate this shame, this injustice’, remember that the answer is the grave. This is what the icon labels ‘Extreme Humility’, and it is humility that we must strive to emulate each day.”
-Hieromonk Irenaeus
A Blessed Holy Week to you!
In Christ
Fr. David