Today we celebrate the beginning of the key moments of Jesus’ life. The reading for the beginning of Mass that precedes the procession with Palms tells the story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem. As Jesus approached Jerusalem, He sent His disciples to get a donkey. In Jesus’ time, as it is today, a donkey was a very humble, very “low” animal, used only for labor. Jesus instructed His disciples that if anyone challenged them about taking the donkey, that they should reply “The Master has a need of it”.
They got a young donkey, one that no one had sat on before. At that moment, the most humble of creatures became the bearer of Christ. The rich and the powerful rode horses, but the King of the World rode a donkey. Jesus resisted many times to be called the "Messiah", but at the climax of His life, when He allowed people to call Him "Messiah", as He entered Jerusalem, it was in this manner.
The donkey has great significance in our lives and our understanding of Jesus’ mission. He denied the traditional view of a Messiah, one of power and domination, but instead preached love and humility. At Jesus' entrance, probably no one payed any attention to the donkey, but his mission was very significant. The donkey brought Jesus to Jerusalem to fulfill all the prophecies and bring Salvation to the world.
Happiness can come to us when we discover the mission that God has for us, when instead of looking for completeness through self-sufficiency and self-determination, we humble ourselves and realize that our life is not about us, it’s about surrendering our lives to Christ. When we let Him do great things in us and through us, we realize that the Master has a need for us too.
Reflection by Flor Delgado
A member of the Young Adult Board and the Faith Formation Commission
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