The prophet Zechariah speaks today of a hope that strongly animated Israel: God would fulfil all His promises and send a Messiah, a king. This king, however, would not be like any human king. We must see things differently, for this king would be humble, riding on a donkey. For us, of course, this prophecy was fulfilled on Palm Sunday. Yet, the prophecy still holds true each day: God continually comes to us. While we may not be very attracted by the title "king", behind the title is a doctrine, a truth that we ought to live out each day: God must be important in our lives. Indeed, God must be more important than all our merely human plans and desires.

Paul translates this doctrine into other terms. The flesh is the realm of merely human desires and plans, merely human ideas and attractions. We are "in the spirit": we are within the divine sphere, for we have been baptized in Christ. We accept this doctrine as a principle, but the challenge is to live accordingly.