This coming
Palm Sunday the Gospel Reading is set from Matthew and he, more than any of the
other Evangelists, clearly wants to make the point that Jesus fulfilled the
Zechariah prophesy of the Triumphal Entry even to the last detail.
So he includes the idea that Jesus’ disciples requisitioned not simply a donkey but also its foal, and that both (as in Zechariah) were in that first Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem. One commentator I read this week rather playfully describes it as ‘Donkey and Side Car’!
The scene is captured by the French artist Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin, who spent almost all his life in churches painting frescos – he died in 1864 aged just 55 years.
We’ll look at this
painting in church on Sunday and here’s a prayer I’ve written to go with it:So he includes the idea that Jesus’ disciples requisitioned not simply a donkey but also its foal, and that both (as in Zechariah) were in that first Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem. One commentator I read this week rather playfully describes it as ‘Donkey and Side Car’!
The scene is captured by the French artist Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin, who spent almost all his life in churches painting frescos – he died in 1864 aged just 55 years.
What do we expect as you ride on, ride on in majesty?
Did we ever really understand your message of love?
We bow down to gods made in our own image and too often fail to heed your call to embrace sacrificial service.
As once more we hold a palm cross in our hand and Holy Week begins,
as once more we sing Hosanna and welcome you among us,
help us to greet you as The Prince of Peace and The One for Others –
humble and riding on a donkey.
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