GOD SAVE THE KING ----- TAKING THE PLUNGE

Planning beforehand, is the key to success. It could be a family dinner, a reunion, a Parish celebration or whatever, one has to sit down, think, consider what is needed, putting priorities in order, choosing helpers who can and may contribute, and you will be on your way to a successful occasion.

I believe that Jesus did consider all these facts before asking two of His friends to: “Go into the town which is over against you, at your entering you will find a colt of an ass tied, which no man has ever sat upon; loose him and bring him here. If any man shall ask you: ‘Why do you loosen the colt? You will answer, ‘because the Lord needs it.’ “

The two disciples went and found just what their Master had said. They told the owner: ‘Because the Lord needs it.’ So that was the ‘password’ which the owner of the colt and Jesus had agreed upon. Yes, this was not a sudden, impulsive action on the side of Jesus, He must have carefully planned it beforehand, He made the arrangements together with the owner of the colt.

Why did Jesus need the colt? Certainly to ride on it, and make the official and triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But why a colt of an ass, and not a horse? Riding a horse, Jesus’ entry would have looked more ‘majestic and formal’, it would have suited Him, the Rabbi of great personality who had thousands of followers. That could be true by western thought.

According to the mentality, the culture of Palestine, and the surrounding countries, the donkey was not considered as a lowly beast, as we in the West consider it. May I remind you of our student days, you might have studied or read the poem called ‘The Donkey’ by G.K.Chesterton. I shall quote it, for those who never read it, to convince you of the ‘social’ standing of the donkey in the ‘animal kingdom’

“When fishes flew and forests walked,    and figs grew upon thorn,   some moment when the moon was blood,   then surely I was born.   With monstrous head and sickening cry,  and ears like errant wings,   the devil’s walking parody,   on all four-footed things. The tattered outlaw of the earth, of ancient crooked will.   Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,   I keep my secret still. Fools! For I also had my hour; one far fierce hour and sweet:   There was a shout about my ears,

   And palms before my feet. “

So much for Chesterton, a real work of art. But coming back to the use of the donkey, the people in those countries were used to seeing their kings entering upon the donkey, and that meant, that the king was officially making his entry in ‘peace’. It follows that the people welcomed their Rabbi riding on a donkey, as the king of peace and love, and not the conquering military hero, who most had expected the promised Messiah.

Another point to consider in this Gospel Text, is the fact that Christ’s decision to enter Jerusalem on a donkey shows how brave, how courageous Christ must have been. The reason is evident; there was a price on His head, the Pharisees had been plotting to arrest Him, they were just waiting for the right moment. And He knew it, and that shows sheer courage. He could have entered Jerusalem from a back door, but only cowards do that, only spineless people do that under the mantle of a black night. No, Jesus, Jesus accepted the Father’s Plan, and with courage embraced His cross. That is why He took the plunge.

When Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals, encountered a donkey who was unhappy with his lot in life, Francis tells him a story that healed. True, long ago God punished the mischievous animal by giving him long ears, a loud bray, and heavy burdens to bear. Yet God gave the donkey something wonderful, too. For who was it that carried Mary to Bethlehem across rugged mountains and burning desert sand? And in the stable, who warmed the Baby Jesus with his breath? Whose love and devotion on the trip from Nazareth outshone even the gifts of the wise men? A story that addresses the inherent good in all of us, each spread of this tour de force is a feast for the eye and for the soul.