Behold, Your King Comes to You Meek

By Michael McNaught, Assistant Director of Operations and Programming for the CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice.

I've always found Palm Sunday to be underrated.

It's easy to overlook when we get busy making holiday plans for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. And, in fairness, Palm (or Passion) Sunday can be a bit of a 'pastoral' conundrum for many of us - so, are we still in Lent, or what? Do I keep giving up chocolate, or may I eat that Hersey's now? And don't we hear these same readings later in the week?

But if we overlook Palm Sunday, we miss something important - a great opening!

Palm Sunday is like a good research paper or a thoughtful novella - or the first measures of John William's legendary "Star Wars" fanfare - it puts the thesis in right up front. It is a clear declaration what Holy Week, what all of Christianity, is about.

"Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."(Matthew 21:5)

We hear these words, this announcement, in Scripture at the very beginning of Palm Sunday, when the community gathers in Sunken Garden before processing into Sacred Heart Chapel. It's a recollection of Jesus' arrival at the gates of Jerusalem, parading in on a donkey, the people laying palms at his feet. In this simple yet profound, nonviolent act, Jesus and his movement did something transformative: they redefined victory. Throughout history, people were made to gather and witness the parade of people in power, often kings or military commanders, who would march through the gates of the city, draped in fine regalia, riding a magnificent steed or machine, in triumph of some great deed for the glory of the state. Victory was for the strong and powerful, a power often derived from conquest and exploitation. From some, at the gates of Jerusalem watching Jesus' procession, it was a slight subversion of the "messianic king" foretold by the Prophet Zechariah. For others, an outright mockery of their Roman occupiers. Victory was no longer for conquest or exploitation, but for liberation.

Liberation was Jesus' mission - freeing the oppressed, healing the sick, serving the outcast. He challenged societal norms that marginalized. He challenged mindsets that were closed. He taught people to connect with the divine more deeply and authentically. He affirmed the dignity of all people, regardless of class, gender, ethnicity, or faith. His ministry was one of radical inclusion. All people were created in the image of God, thus all people were worthy of God's grace.

This is the declaration of Palm Sunday. It is a reminder that our work is one of liberation, even in small and "meek" ways. This can be a difficult truth to hold to, especially in our present time. Our media is replete with those seeking constant attention. We too often associate good works with celebrity and fortune.

It's easy to overlook or dismiss the good and important work performed by those in humble, hidden ways. The custodian, coming by bus, to clean classrooms at 4 a.m. The advancement director on the road, away from family, soliciting funds for scholarships. The law student and her professor working through the night to release a client, wrongfully convicted, from prison. Ancient Jerusalem had many gates. It was easy to spot the Roman general, parading amid fanfare on a white stallion. Hardly anyone noticed the meek laborer pulling a donkey, carrying tools and supplies. Neither is underrated in God's eyes. Both can change the world.