When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near
the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them,
Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it,
you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it
and bring it. If anyone says to you,
They went away and found a colt tied near a
door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the
bystanders said to them, Why are you doing this?
just say this, The Lord needs it and will send it back here
immediately.
What are you doing, untying the colt?
They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take
it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it;
and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and
others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then
those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had
looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to
Bethany with the twelve.
Let's Pray.
All four of the gospels record the triumphal entry into Jerusalem with
cloaks laid on the road in front of Jesus; crowds shouting, palm
branches waving. Understand, these were scenes fit for a king.
Cloaks on the ground were typically something done as a sign of
respect for military rulers or for conquering heroes coming home
victorious in battle. Palms had been a symbol of nationalistic pride
and revolt since the Maccabees almost two centuries earlier. When we
look at these elements of the parade, it would appear that the people
wanted a king who would raise an army and throw Rome out of Jerusalem.
The chants of the crowd quoted the most messianic portion of the
psalms Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
When we look at Palm Sunday from this angle, it's most certainly a
celebration of the coming one, the Messiah.
But sometimes in celebrating Palm Sunday, we can forget the irony of the scene … What might look like a kingly procession with palms and cloaks happens on the back of a borrowed donkey. The whole scene might look a little bit like a mockery and some biblical scholars suggest that's exactly what was going on. They say there were two processions that day. This one, the one we remember as Palm Sunday came from the mount of Olives on the East side of Jerusalem. The other, entered from the West with a completely different message.
The best historical estimates say that Jerusalem tripled in population at least during the Jewish Passover celebration. It was tradition that everyone who could, would make a pilgrimage to the Holy city and to the temple to celebrate that defining moment of God liberating the people from slavery in Egypt. And that's what Passover is, the celebration of liberation. It was also tradition that Rome would make a show of force in Jerusalem during Passover. The busiest times of year were when displays of force were the most effective. Because there were tons of extra people around to be awed by the display and as the pilgrims headed home, they would tell the story in every little town along the way. But the second reason for the display is probably more important … and that was to remind everyone that Rome was in control, there would be no present day liberation to mirror the one they gathered to celebrate during passover …
So, according to Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, the other procession, the one that entered from the West, was precisely that Roman show of force. Pontius Pilate, the governor, entered Jerusalem with all the pomp and circumstance of a state event. Pilate's contingent showcased the glory of Rome's military might. Scholars debate, but if there were two processions into Jerusalem that day, the juxtaposition of the two would have set up quite a contrast. One came as power, an expression of empire and military occupation whose goal was to make sure that the people knew their place in the system. It approached the city with horses and weapons of war; proclaiming the strength of empire. The other came in the midst of a wave of nationalistic hope and expectation but at the same time it came in humility, on a borrowed donkey carrying only cloaks and branches.
The one who comes in the name of the Lord came in a highly symbolic, deliberately provocative manner, making fun of the other procession. He didn't ride a donkey because he was too tired to walk. He didn't ride a donkey because he wanted a good view of the crowd. He rode a donkey because Pilate rode a war horse. He rode a donkey to provide an alternate possibility of reality.
In this procession that we remember as Palm Sunday, Jesus presented a different vision of power. It doesn't rely on force. It doesn't rely on fear. And it doesn't rely on coercion. This vision of power comes in humility, without weapons. Jesus' vision of power relies on people caring about one another and caring for one another so deeply that they will serve each other … even to the point of being willing to lay down their lives for each other. The power of Rome was coercion, based on fear; effected by force. The power Jesus offered was community, based on love; effected by freedom. This is what he called the kingdom of God for the last three years of his life on earth.
Jesus heard the shouts of hosanna, he heard the messianic expectation.
And let me read what our text says happened … He entered Jerusalem
and went into the temple; and when he looked around at everything, as
it was late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
It's pretty
anti-climactic. In Matthew and Luke, Jesus went straight to the
temple and tossed out the money changers … he went right into cleansing
the temple. But in Mark's gospel, Jesus goes to the temple, looks
around at everything and then goes home for the night. It was already
late.
He evaluated the scene and he knew given the circumstances that the
people wouldn't be ready to hear what he had to say. The power of
coercion, the power of force, the power of fear is now as it was then,
immediate and readily apparent, but the power of the kingdom of God,
the power of love, the power Jesus offers takes time to develop.
Coming into the city on a donkey may have been the most public display
up until this point, but it was just one of the many ways that Jesus
offered a different set of rules throughout his life … but it seems the
people of Jerusalem didn't want a different set of rules … they only
wanted a different ruler. When it became apparent that Jesus wasn't
going to be the militaristic messiah; the crowd who shouted hosanna
on Sunday changed their tone. Just four days later they cried
crucify him
on Friday morning. It was already late … everyone else
went to Jerusalem to worship. But Jesus went to Jerusalem to die. It
takes time for the power of love to develop.
You know, Palm Sunday is being pushed out of the Revised Common Lectionary in favor of Passion Sunday because the statistics show that in our culture people simply don't come to church on Thursday or Friday evening. More and more churches are letting go of Palm Sunday in order to focus on the Passion and suffering of Christ on the Sunday before Easter because if Christ. If you go from the triumph of the parade, to the triumph of the resurrection, you miss the story. You miss the development of the power of the love of Christ. On Thursday Jesus is betrayed and deserted. On Friday he's tried, and executed.
Mark Hoffman points out that the message of Holy week is about how
Jesus defeated death, but it's also about how he refused to avoid it.
Jesus understands suffering and death because he's been through it.
Jesus shared the whole of life … real life and yet he chose love in
word and deed. He refused to fight the pain that was inflicted on him
by inflicting pain on others. He refused to forsake others because he
was forsaken. He refused to take care of
the problems of the
marginalized by pretending they didn't exist. And even after all the
pain and suffering, he asked forgiveness for those who tortured him
and welcomed back those who deserted him.
The point of the cross is not suffering and death, but rather that love holds on through suffering and death. There is a love that is stronger than death. There is a love that's stronger than anything.
Jesus proclaimed this love, and Jesus lived this love. The crowd
wasn't ready to hear it, the crowd certainly wasn't ready to live it.
Sometimes I wonder if we're ready. The crowd knew their hosanna meant
save us
but a redeemer who saved by grace, lead by love, and served
the lowly didn't have a place in their vision of what it meant to be
saved. Now, nearly two thousand years later, when we remember and
celebrate Palm Sunday my prayer, my hope is that we say Hosanna, that
we sing hosanna just like on that first Palm Sunday, but that our
hosannas are fully informed. When we're faced with the choice between
fear and love or between coercion and freedom; that we always,
joyfully choose the way of love, which is the way of Jesus Christ.
Hosanna and Amen.
The foregoing sermon was given on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2009, by Rev. Dan Holland at the United Parish of Bowie.
© 2009 Daniel Holland
