Triumphal Entry

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Mark 11.9

In the wake of her new rules designed to curb the inconvenience caused by public demonstrations, I wonder what the Home Secretary would make of the incident described in Mark 11. 1-11, let alone the next passage (12-19)?

Palm Sunday not only ushers Jesus into Jerusalem - on a donkey amid chanting crowds and waving palms, it also starts us all on the momentous events of so-called Holy Week. Is it all an accident: starting so promisingly, ending so tragically? Or is this what the Lord had in mind because he knew what he had to do and he knew how people would respond?

One of the hardest things to do in biblical reflection is to take the text on its own terms. And if we cannot altogether clear our minds of the prejudices and assumptions we may not even be aware of, we should at least learn to understand them and therefore make allowance for them.

More positively, the second most important thing we do in biblical reflection is ask: What is God saying to me/ us through this scripture? And the most important thing... is to listen!

"Hosanna anns na h-àrdan!" (Marcas 11.10)