Tag Archives: Follow

The Victory Ride

Triumphal entryLent
March 25, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
   We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God,
   and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
   you are my God, I will extol you.  

 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. — Psalm 118: 26-29

 All four gospels* record the story of what we now call the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and all four gospels quote the line from this Psalm: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. The quotes are exact except in Luke where the word “king” is substituted for “one”. All four surely intended the connection between this poem of victory and Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. All four most likely recognized the reference back to King David. Most of the participants and onlookers were acquainted with the Psalms, perhaps even the Roman soldiers, whose security alert level might have been raised when one entered the city like returning Roman troops. They might even have been offended by the caricature of a victorious king riding on a donkey.

Up to this point as we have journeyed through the gospels, we have seen a man who wished to remain in the shadows: “tell no one”, “he withdrew”, “Let us go to the other side.” On this day, he takes his victory ride straight into the arms of danger. Who is this man called Jesus anyway?

Prayer: Lord as we prepare to follow you from your victory ride to Golgotha open our hearts and minds to know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly**. Amen.

*Matthew 21-22, Mark 11-12, Luke 19-20, John 12
**from prayer of Richard, Bishop of Chichester  –1283
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.