Jesus sacrificed his comfort and his body and blood to take the punishment that we deserve for our sins. In this video reflection on Luke 19: 28-40, we ask: Why do you think the Gospel writer spent time explaining how Jesus obtained the colt for his ride into Jerusalem?
The Transcript
There’s a key phrase in the Gospel reading that we hear at the beginning of Catholic Mass on Palm Sunday. Mass starts with a procession with the waving of palm branches while we hear the verses of Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 19, verses 28 through 40. Jesus tells a couple of His disciples, “Go into that village and when you enter it, you’ll find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone should ask you what are you doing, why are you untying it, you will answer, ‘The Master has need of it.'”
Why do you think the Gospel writers spent time explaining how Jesus was going to obtain the colt for His ride into Jerusalem? It’s meant to teach us something in our own current circumstances. We each have a colt of some sort tied up somewhere in our lives. A colt is anything that belongs to us and is not yet being shared with Christ. It could be our possessions, money, talents and skills, creativity, time and energy, and so forth. The Master has need of it. But sometimes we selfishly tie these things up with our own agendas and business. They would be useful to Jesus if we let Him have them. Like the colt that Jesus rode, they could become gifts that glorify our Savior.
Palm Sunday teaches us that Jesus deserves to be glorified for His awesome love which He made visible on the Cross. Who else would die for you with that much suffering? Jesus sacrificed His comfort and His Body and Blood to take the punishment that we deserve for our sins. We should rejoice gratefully for this on Palm Sunday, but every Sunday with hosannas and admiration, and for that matter every day of our lives and at every Mass. For in the Eucharist we reunite ourselves to that tremendous love. In this Communion with Christ, why aren’t we grinning like lovers who have become joined to their beloved? The answer to that is our colts are still tied to the post.
Jesus has sent His disciples to you to ask you to share your colt with Jesus. These disciples are at the altar consecrating the Eucharist for you. Or they are writing the church bulletin – writing help wanted blurbs in the parish in the church you belong to. Or they are interrupting you at work, asking for your prayers, or your counsel, or other assistance. They are the strangers who are in need of your charitable donations. So think about these questions for personal reflection. Make a list of the colts in your life. Which ones would you like Jesus to put to good use? Spend time in prayer imagining that you are untying them and handing them over to Jesus. See how pleased He is. And think a little deeper. What colt in your life is difficult to let go of? Why is it difficult to let go of the reins?