Sermon 03-28-2010

Psalm 118:19-26a.                                                                Luke 19:28-42

Triumphant Entry?

Parades, parades!! That is the picture I imagine every time I read this story. The excitement, the waiting, the joy, just to be part of something big and different… What about you? Are you a parade kind of person?

What a joyous moment it must have been, welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem!

It was the feast of the Passover, a pilgrimage into Jerusalem. It is believed that “as many as 100,000 pilgrims came to the solemn feast. The Passover feast of the unleavened bread was the historical celebration of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.”                      (Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, K-Q, 664)

Prayer

We read in the gospel that “the disciples do as they are commanded, and the events unfold (one by one) exactly as Jesus said they would. Like other prophets, Jesus seems to have the power to predict future events. After the disciples return with the colt, they place blankets on it, and Jesus rides into Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 (“Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt…”) while “the multitude of the followers” sing the words of Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of (our God).”

                                                  (Feasting on the Word, Year C, 152, George W. Stroup)

Here we have the parade – the branches and cloaks on the road, the excitement, the hosannas – this king is different from other kings.

What was significant and life changing in this event?

Jesus is entering into the Holy City, about which great promises are made, and Jesus, the promised Messiah, enters the gates amid pomp and circumstance. The parade was happening in the midst of a city in turmoil. Many did not know what was going on at the entrance of Jerusalem, but sounds of joy and welcoming, brought the attention of many. “Who is this? This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Mt. 21:11)

                                          (Walter Brueggemann, Texts for Preaching, Year A, 235-236)

This triumphant entry was a messianic proclamation… the procession was followed by those who knew Jesus as well as some curious comers to the festivities. “The disciples and the followers of Jesus caught up in the Jubilation of the moment, honoring him as a prophet who might usher in the expected Reign of God, but it is clear that the procession represent a mass movement. Jerusalem at large was quite indifferent. Some hoped Christ might be an earthly Messiah, others witnessed him perform a miracle or two, a few more were healed by his power and in gratitude they spread their garments on the road before him.”(IBC, idem)

“Jesus did not draw attention to himself. It was the people who drew attention to him, laying their garment in his path, waving palm branches, and shouting Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! The Romans felt overwhelmed by the frenzy of the crowds of Jews entering Jerusalem from many near and distant lands. The parade itself was a threat to the religious Jewish authorities who felt harassed by the military and political overtones that this new movement was bringing.” (IBC, idem)

“Look your king is coming to you humble and mounted on a donkey.” (v.5a.)

“Jesus acts out this prophetic moment, he enters Jerusalem as a royal king, as the king that Israel long-awaited and hoped for, only that as the Messiah he entered as a humbler king coming to claim his kingship on a noble beast as was the custom of kings. Only in war did kings ride upon a horse; when they come in peace they came upon a donkey.” (William Barclay, Luke, 239-240)

Here is “a city face to face with its Messiah… Jerusalem is a city confronted with a decision. What will it do with a Messiah who ushers in a reign of peace, not warfare? What will a city do with a prophet who cares deeply for it, as a mother hen cares for her brood? (Lk.23:37-39) How will it respond? 

We have already been in Jerusalem, “we have already been told that Jerusalem is a place of rejection, suffering and death. (Lk.16:21;20:18-19). But for the moment Jerusalem has a chance.

Will the killing and stoning of prophets cease?                   (Brueggmann, 236)

“By Jesus entering Jerusalem in a deliberate way he sets himself at center stage and every eye focuses upon him. Certainly it shows us his claim to be God’s Messiah… equally it shows us his appeal. It was not the kingship of the throne which he claimed; it was the kingship of the heart.

He came humbly as a sign that he came in peace… So when he claimed to be king, he claimed to be the king of peace. He showed that he came, not to destroy, but to help; not with strength of arms, but in the strength of love.”                                                                                     (Barclay, 242-243)

“For all its joyful hosannas, Palm Sunday is a day of contrast. We hear in the hymns, pivoting as they do between happy triumph and inevitable crucifixion. We see it in Jesus, as the ruler of the universe chooses to ride a borrowed colt. The contrast is clear in the destination, as the city that welcomes him will later scream for his blood. For now, at least, the greatest hopes for peace are hidden from those who wish for it.”

                                                  (Feasting on the Word, Year C, 154, William G. Carter) 

In the gospel of Luke “The multitude’s praise and joy suddenly turn to great sorrow when Jesus weeps for Jerusalem, because even though the multitude sings of peace and glory in heaven, it fails to recognize the price of true peace, “the things that make for peace!” they sing without recognizing that Jesus is not an example of some… notion of peace. He is their peace. Indeed he is the peace of the world – not any peace, but the peace that only he can give and that peace cannot be found apart from the journey that leads unyielding to Golgotha, both for him and for those that would be his disciples.”                                 (Feasting on the Word, Year C, 156, George W. Stroup)

                                                                                                          (Mt.27:40-44)

“Jesus rides no high horse, just a lowly colt. He chooses to enter a deadly situation without force or protection. He gives himself freely and without reservation. This is a prophetic act, a sign of God’s vulnerable love, which risks everything and promises to gain all, (in his Son Jesus).”  (Brueggemann, 236)

“What happens in the days ahead – Jesus shows his humbleness, as he faces his arrest, betrayal, denial, trial, mocking, and finally death. He proves his vocation to be the Son of God, refusing to come down from the cross, saving others and not himself, trusting only in God.

                                                  (Feasting on the Word, Year C, 154, William G. Carter)

A triumphant entry?

Only as the triumph of the meek, the victory of the humble.” Amen!                                                                                           (Brueggemann, 236)

BENEDICTION

Sisters and brothers, let us claim the freedom

Christ gives us by his self-giving on the cross.

May he enable us to serve together in faith, hope and love.

Go out in peace in the service of our God! Amen!