All Things Borrowed…

It was recently pointed out to me, that all things having to do with Jesus and his entry into the city on that blessed day that we now celebrate as Palm Sunday, were borrowed – nothing personally owned or ceremoniously presented to Jesus, simply borrowed. I have given this simple fact pause over the past few days as we enter communally into this sacred time. 

As we all know, Palm Sunday isn’t just the beginning of Holy Week—it’s the beginning of the end and the beginning of the beginning. A strange hinge in time – so much of this moment is borrowed.

When Jesus approaches Jerusalem in Luke 19:28–40, he doesn’t ride in with the grandeur of a king. Instead, he borrows a colt – not a full-grown donkey, but a colt. Not a war horse; not a chariot; but a colt – A young donkey. Humble, unridden, and unremarkable—except for the One riding it. It’s as if Jesus is saying: Even the smallest, the least-used, the borrowed, can carry weight – metaphorically and literally.

And then the cloaks – No saddle; No regalia; Just cloaks—borrowed layers from the backs of people who probably didn’t have many to spare. They lined the colt, then the road. Their personal covering became the path for their Savior. It’s a quiet surrender. The people give what they have, not knowing how quickly crowds can change their cries from 

“Hosanna” to “Crucify.”

Though Luke 19 ends in triumph, we know what lies ahead – we know where this story goes. And let us not forget that the most borrowed thing of all is the cross. Jesus carries it and he dies on it.

A borrowed colt and borrowed cloaks and a borrowed cross. And somewhere in that tangled web of humility, surrender, and sacrifice—we are each invited in. To lay down what we carry. To offer all we have. To remember that the most eternal moments often begin with something borrowed.

This Palm Sunday, may we not only wave our branches but also surrender our cloaks. May we remember the borrowed cross and celebrate this humble beginning.

Blessings to you on this journey,

Rev. Dr. Kelly Jackson Brooks, LPCC

Executive Director