Palm Sunday April 1, 2007
Scripture	Luke 19: 28-40 28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Devotional	In the Gospels, something is always out of place—the rich fool dies; the neighbor is a Samaritan; the publican goes down from the Temple justified—and now the king enters the city riding on a borrowed donkey. 1 This is Palm Sunday but the only Gospel that mentions palms being spread on the road is the Gospel of John, which is not used as a lectionary reading on Palm Sunday. It might be more appropriate to name this Garment or Cloak Sunday. The cloaks thrown on the ground were not expensive garments but well worn, sweat stained garments of peasants and poor. What kind of king was this who enters the city riding on a borrowed donkey? Jesus was a king, but no ordinary one—the king of fishermen, tax collectors, Samaritans, harlots, blind men, demoniacs, and cripples. Those who followed Jesus were a ragtag bunch, pathetically unfit for the grand hopes that danced in their imaginations. There were women who now leaped with joy, a Samaritan leper with a heart full of gratitude, a crippled woman who had been unable to stand straight with dignity for eighteen years, and a blind man who had followed Jesus all the way from Jericho. 2 I find it becomes easy to identify with this crowd who placed all their hope on this king riding a borrowed donkey. The challenge comes with the disciples who go for the donkey. “If anyone asks you, ’Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” Do you have anything that the Lord has need of? Some writers suggest the Jesus made prior arrangements for the use of the donkey. It seems that this is a possibility. Does Jesus approach us out of the blue and say, “I have need of that.” Or has he through prior events or experiences prepared us for this time? The request may come unexpected but I believe most time there has been prior arrangements. Through discernment, we discover what God is doing in our world and what part we play in God’s plan. What is it that the Lord has need of that belongs to you? Has God prepared you for this moment when God says, “I have need of it.” What will be your response concerning your favorite possession when the Lord says, “I have need of it?” Prayer: Lord prepare us for the time when you say, “I have need of it.” 1 R. Alan Culpepper, The Gospel of Luke in The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. IX. P. 370 2 Ibid. p. 370