Behold, your King is coming to you, just and victorious. Humble – riding a donkey. (Zak 9, 9)
Today we contemplate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus, like a great victor in glory, enters the city. And this is understandable to us, because we know that he is the King of the universe who came to save us. It can be strange, however, that he rides on a donkey. Yes, it was a popular means of transport in those days, but if Jesus wanted to show people that he was a great King, he should use a horse that, for example, was ridden by important Romans who occupied Jerusalem at that time. So what did he want to show us by riding a donkey? Once again he wanted to say that yes, he is a King, but not as we imagine him to be. His kingdom is a reality alongside this world, or against human mentality. The donkey of the Lord Jesus is a clear message for us that we will find the Kingdom of God where there is simplicity and humility, where, humanly thinking, there is nothing attractive, spectacular, where there is ordinary everyday life and ordinary people. This is the taste of God and His kingdom, and so He saved us. The donkey is one of the many signs of “God’s style”. We are beginning the Holy Week, let us also look for such signs in the following days.
Sr.M. Sybilla Kołtan