Whenever you see a movie or a TV show where one
of the characters is a king or a queen or an emperor or some other
nobility, they often portray the character in a very regal setting.
They stand and sit very tall and proper and have an air of
superiority and loftiness. They show that they consider themselves
above all the commoners that surround them. Most often, any nobility
that don't share those same mannerisms or traits are shown to be
misfits or weaklings. Sometimes the writers do this for comic relief
and other times it's a part of a clever plot twist that will later
prove that the supposed misfit or weakling is really the strongest
and most capable of all. But whatever the plot line is, the point is
pretty clear: people expect nobles and monarchs to act a certain way.
All this can also be said of movie or TV
characters who are supposed to be divine. Whether it is God Himself
or one of hundreds of mythological gods or goddesses who have been
thought up in course of human history, divine characters are often
shown to have the same superiority and loftiness as we see in noble
characters. To be cast out and forced to live among mere mortals or
to become one of them is considered a severe punishment for many
mythical pantheons. Before any of them would even consider listening
to the prayers of one of those pathetic mortals on earth, those
mortals most offer great worship and/or sacrifice before them. Even
our own Almighty God is sometimes portrayed as being so high and
almighty that only the privileged few are allowed the honor of having
their prayers heard and answered by Him.
Fortunately for us, Sacred Scripture proves that
idea to be false. We know that God is not so high and mighty that He
would refuse to stoop down to listen to us. He does not consider
coming as one of us a punishment, as we can see by the fact that
Jesus came to us as one of us. It was a humbling experience for Him
to be a helpless baby and to allow himself to be crucified, but it
wasn't a punishment for the second person of the Trinity. In fact,
Scripture tells us that He did it out of love for all of us;
Scripture tells us that God Himself created us and saw that it was
very good. So why wouldn't He want to listen and answer the prayers
of all of us?
Our first reading from the Book of the Prophet
Zechariah talks about the returning of a king to Jerusalem after many
years of exile in the East. The prophet tells us to rejoice and
shout for joy, because this is to be glad tidings for all of
Jerusalem and Israel. He then goes on to describe this king as he
enters into the Holy City, “See, your king shall come to you; a
just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of
an ass.” Now, to our modern ears riding into the capital city on a
donkey might not sound all that regal, but in the ancient Near East
where horses were few and far between this was as grand a steed as
any royalty could hope for. This is a royal entrance being described
here. Notice as well that he is being described as a “just savior”
and “meek”. So there is this royal entrance, but the tone is
different than we might expect: this king is meek and humble and
willing to server others as their savior. This is not the typical
“conquering hero” that we are used to seeing with kings and all
their royal fanfare. This humble tone comes all the more into play
when we consider that Christians have long interpreted this passage
as referring to Jesus Christ. You may remember from Palm Sunday that
this same passage is quoted as Jesus rides a donkey into Jerusalem as
the people wave palms branches in celebration. Not only does this
show that Jesus is that meek and humble King, but since Jesus is God,
that means that God is meek and humble. If you ask me, that sounds
like a wonderful person to have as our God and King!
So what does this mean for us? For one thing, it
means that we can fully trust and rely on God because of His love in
sending His Son to save us. It also means that we too are called to
be meek and humble of heart before God. We can see this in today's
Gospel reading. Jesus has been speaking to His Twelve Apostles, when
He stops to give praise to God. He says, “I give praise to you,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these
things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little
ones.” The term “little ones” at the end is sometimes
translated as “the childlike”. It is important to point out that
Jesus isn't praising those who are childish or those who act like
little ones who act immature. Rather, Jesus is making a distinction
between the “childlike” and the “wise and learned”. The wise
and the learned think they know it all. Jesus probably had the
Scribes and Pharisees in mind when He said this. They constantly
question everything that Jesus says and does. Those who are
childlike, however, are meek and humble. Like a child who still has
that innocence that allows him or her to believe parents and teachers
without questioning every single word, Jesus is referring to those
who follow His teachings and His words. And since it is the Son who
reveals the Father to those who seek Him, it is only the childlike
who will come to know the Son and the Father.
Jesus then gives a famous line that has given
comfort to many who are sick or suffering in some way: “Come to me,
all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of
heart”. Jesus calls Himself meek and humble, just as He is
referred to in the First Reading and just as we are called to be as
“little ones”. He continues, “and you will find rest for
yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Those who
refuse to be childlike or humble will only find a heavy burden in
trying to follow Christ. This can apply as well when we try to solve
things on our own without God's help, or when we try to break free of
a sinful habit without relying on God's grace. But when we do humble
ourselves and innocently follow Christ's words as children of God, we
will find rest. Let us humbly approach our King and Savior!
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