When President Trump visited France a few years ago, he was greatly impressed with the military parade celebrating Bastille Day. He came home wanting our own military to stage something similar—as a sign of national power and prestige.
Unfortunately, in Ukraine and other places we’ve seen lately a lot of military armor riding down city streets, and not in parade formation, but in battle readiness.
Today our first reading gives us a similar scene—but in reverse, as a demonstration against the usual display. Not horse and chariot—the military vehicles of the day, but the king riding on a farm animal. It’s a peace protest—a very different kind of parade.
The reading should be familiar to us. It’s the reading that’s used in the liturgy to introduce the Palm Sunday procession, marking the beginning of Holy Week. The gospel writers invoke this Old Testament prophecy to describe Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
It’s a symbol of Jesus’ opposition to the ways of the world—the same opposition Jesus expresses in today’s gospel, perhaps the most tender expression of Jesus’ affection for people who are hurting and in need.
In our second reading, St. Paul expresses this same contrast between the two sides, two value systems. He calls it the world of the flesh, and the world of the spirit. Ultimately, it’s the contrast between life and death—our choice, Paul warns us
—Walter Modrys SJ
This Sunday’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
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