Reflection for Palm Sunday

"Jesus is indeed making a royal claim. He wants his path and his actions to be understood in terms of Old Testament promises that are fulfilled in his person [cf. Gen. 49:10-11; Zech. 9:9]. The Old Testament speaks of him--and vice versa: he acts and lives within the Word of God, not according to projects and wishes of his own. His claim is based on obedience to the mission received from his Father. His path is a path into the heart of God's word. At the same time, through this anchoring of the text in Zechariah 9:9, a "Zealot" exegesis of the kingdom is excluded: Jesus is not building on violence; he is not instigating a military revolt against Rome. His power is of another kind: it is in God's poverty, God's peace, that he identifies the only power that can redeem."

--Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth--Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection (Ignatius Press, 2011), p. 5