May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of
all our hearts, be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our
redeemer. Amen.
Today
is of course the most confusing of all days in the Church year. Is it Palm Sunday,
or is it Passion Sunday? Yes, is the answer. And as I say every Palm Sunday, it’s
a travesty that we’ve combined the two liturgies into one. The combining of
these two distinct movements in Jesus’ life is an error of convenience, and the
Passion is certainly not about what is convenient. The assumption is that
people won’t be coming to Maundy Thursday or Good Friday services, so we give
you the back story today, lest you show up on Easter Sunday, forgetting that
there had been a crucifixion. Much of Palm Sunday’s significance is lost in the
face of the Passion reading, and that is a shame because there is a lot of
material worthy of our attention. On Christmas, we don’t give you the story of
the Epiphany and the entire Lenten season; and it makes no more sense to dilute
all of Holy Week into one service on Palm Sunday. If you’re looking for a
sermon on the Passion, I’d recommend coming back on Good Friday. Today, we’ll
celebrate and honor Palm Sunday and the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.
That
Palm Sunday nearly 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem would have been a tense one. It
was Passover, the highest of the holy days in the Judaism. Scholars tell us
that Jerusalem usually had a population of around 40,000, but for Passover it
swelled to over 250,000. And as the crowds filled the city, they had salvation
on their minds- salvation from Rome. You’ll recall that Jerusalem was under
Roman authority and oppression. Each Passover, the Jews would gather at the
Temple to recall the events of Exodus, that victorious event where God led the
Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. And the
people each year would wonder “if God overthrew Egypt, why not Rome?” Messianic
figures would pop up from time to time, promising to lead that effort, but Rome
always crushed them.
And
so at the beginning of Passover, the Roman governor Pilate would always be sure
to quell any rumors of an insurrection. From the west, a large procession came
for Pilate’s headquarters in Caesarea Maritima. And it was a procession of
power- soldiers clad in gilded armor, mounted on their horses, swords blazing.
They marched with the fanfare of drums and trumpets, declaring the supremacy of
the Emperor of Rome, with titles such as “son of God,” “prince of peace,” and “savior
of the world.” And the procession also included prisoners being dragged in
shackles, reminding everyone of what happens to those who dare stand against
Rome.
In
the same way that the United States has been flying B52 bombers over South
Korea this week as a reminder to the North Koreans what awaits them if they get
out of line, Rome was sending a clear message to all those gathered for the
Passover- “have your religious ceremonies, but don’t do anything stupid.”
So
that parade of Rome is coming from the west. And on the other side of the city,
coming from the Mount of Olives, is a rag-tag bunch of people who are also
taking part in another parade. That parade, of course, is the Palm Sunday procession,
being led by Jesus riding on a lowly donkey. There are three movements to this Palm
Sunday narrative- preparation, procession, and prophecy.
Preparation
was a big part of what Jesus was doing in this passage. Let’s be clear, Jesus,
several times, has told his disciples that he would be killed soon after
entering the holy city. Jesus knows that this parade is a foreshadowing of his
walking the way of the cross later in the week, and he is preparing for that.
Jesus makes preparations for a counter-protest. He knows that Pilate will be
leading a parade from the west, so he tells two of his disciples to go into the
city and bring him a colt. Jesus is preparing for a political protest, his own
sort of “March on Jerusalem.” But he is very clear, this is a counter-protest.
Everything that the Roman parade stands for, his claims the opposite. So instead
of signs of military strength, his parade involves palm branches and people
spreading their cloaks on the road. Palms were the Roman symbol of victory, and
so this procession mockingly declares triumph against the Roman parade.
Jesus
is preparing for what he will be doing all week- speaking out against Rome and
the Temple. He will be refuting the oligarchy of the Temple and Rome, the
economic domination system that keeps the rich, rich and the poor, poor. And he
is rejecting the idea that the evils done by Rome and the Temple are legitimized
by God. That is the story of Holy Week, and in this parade, Jesus sets the tone
by having peasants peacefully participate in this protest. Jesus offer the pax Christi in the face of the pax Romana.
This
was not an accidental parade, Jesus planned it out and seized the perfect
opportunity to stage a counter protest against Rome and its strange bedfellow,
the Temple. At this point in the narrative, we ask ourselves what we are
preparing for? There are a lot of things that, as people of faith, are worthy
of our protest. It might be the use of drones by our government, and epidemic
of rapes of female officers in the military, the exploitation of the poor, the
inability of Washington to function. Where ever you might see injustice, how are
you preparing to face it?
Next,
Jesus makes the procession that he has been preparing for. It was just about a
year ago to the day that I was standing on the Mount of Olives, looking towards
the city of Jerusalem and where the Temple used to stand. And there was
something that becomes clear from that vantage point- Jesus’ procession had a
destination. Looking towards Jerusalem, there would have been two major
landmarks in Jesus’ day. The first was the Temple in all its splendor. And right
next to the Temple was the Roman military headquarters in Jerusalem called the Antonia
Fortress. It gave Rome the ability to keep an eye on troublemakers in the Temple
and make a quick deployment, should the need arise.
Now
remember, everyone was awaiting a Messiah to lead them against Rome. So as
Jesus approaches the gate of the city, they all expected him to make a right
turn towards the Antonia Fortress. That is where the Messiah would lead the
charge against Rome, where the second Exodus would begin. But Jesus didn’t make
a right turn; instead, he turned left and entered the Temple. Instead of
reading the Passion today, we really should have some readings that describe
what happens after Jesus enters Jerusalem, because that would enable us to
better understand the events of Holy Week.
Jesus
enters the Temple to cleanse it and says “My house [should] be a house of
prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.” He then begins a series of
confrontations with the Scribes and Pharisees. He tells the parable of the
wicked tenants, reminding the Temple leaders that they are the wicked ones, who
have rejected the stone that has become the chief cornerstone. After some more
scathing remarks, then predicts the destruction of the Temple and the city of
Jerusalem, which was certainly blasphemy. Jesus didn’t pull any punches in
stirring up the hornets’ nest. Jesus always delivers the telling blow if the
telling blow will tell. And so after entering Jerusalem on Sunday, by Thursday
evening he has told enough parables to make people want to kill him, so they start
plotting.
This
procession has a purpose, and it is to challenge the corrupt religious regime
of the day. Jesus’ procession reminds us that we are a part of the problem, not
those other people. Everyone wanted Jesus to go to them, to the Antonia Fortress.
But he cut right to their hearts instead and challenged them in their complacent
and idolatrous religion. His procession wasn’t just a parade; it was the
beginning of a movement.
As
St. Paul wrote it our reading from Philippians this morning- “[Jesus] humbled
himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore
God also highly exalted him.” How often though does religion do the opposite?
The Temple was certainly guilty of many sins, and I wonder where we are just as
guilty? Where are we obedient to the Gospel? And where do we ignore Gospel
living in favor of safe living? Are we willing to die for God’s mission?
Because if we aren’t, it’s awfully hard to live for it if it isn’t important
enough to die for. Are we humble in
following Jesus? Or do we tend to use religion for our own purposes instead of
God’s? As we see in this text, exalting comes through obedience and lowliness.
And
so considering Jesus’ procession this morning, we are invited to ask ourselves
which parade we march in? Is it the parade of Pilate- of wealth, of power, of
self-preservation? Or do we instead join the procession of Jesus- of humility,
of challenging the status quo? And let us not forget, Jesus procession first
stops at the Temple, but it will eventually lead to the cross. Marching in that
procession is not easy. Before us this morning there are two kingdoms, two
visions of what life looks like, two parades. Which will you join?
And
so after the preparation and procession comes the prophecy. The Pharisees don’t
like the ruckus being caused by Jesus and his disciples. They don’t want the
Roman authorities to know that there is a counter-parade going on; they don’t want
any trouble. So they say “order your disciples to be silent.” And Jesus
responds “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” The prophetic
shout of “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in
heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” must be heard. It cannot be silenced,
though people will try. What a surprise it must have been to Rome and the
Temple that the very movement that they sought to silence ended up becoming the
largest movement in the history of the world. Indeed, all of Creation shouts
out with this message.
The
question put to us is- are you shouting, or are you silent? Over the years,
people have tried to silence this message in many ways. Today if you go to the
Mount of Olives and look at the city of Jerusalem, you’ll of course notice that
both the Temple and the Antonia Fortress are gone, and the gate leading into
the city on that wall is gone. In 1541, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman sealed off
the entrance and put a cemetery in front of it, working off the myth that a
prophet is not allowed to walk through a cemetery. Thus, he sought to prevent
Elijah, the forerunner of the Messiah, from ever entering that gate again. And
though we might not go to such lengths to try to silence the message, sometimes
the shouting isn’t quite as vociferous as it could be. In our practices of
stewardship, is our witness to Christ strong or silent? How about in our prayer
lives? In our relationships with others? In our stand with those in need?
Earlier
in the story, when Jesus tells the disciples to get the colt for him, he tells
him to say to the owner of the colt “the Lord needs it.” Today, in Jesus’
preparation for the furthering of the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven,
what does the Lord need?
Perhaps
one thing that we can offer that the Lord needs is our voices. Our shouts to
the Romes and Temples of our day that cry for justice, reconciliation, and
peace are something that our world needs more of. Silence in the face of
prejudice, discrimination, violence, abuse, and greed is apathetic complicity. Are
you prophetic? We are all called to be prophets and truth-tellers who shout
out. That day in Jerusalem, a donkey was the vehicle for God’s message; today,
we are that vehicle, we are the donkey. And the Lord needs us to shout out and
carry the message.
Palm
Sunday is a truly proleptic event. Jesus prepares for a counter-parade against
Rome. His procession leads him not against Rome, but the thing that lies deepest
in our heart, our faith. We must choose which procession we will join, the
parade of Suffering Servant, or of the imperial power. And Jesus invites us to
carry his message of prophecy, along with the stones that shout out, to all
corners of Creation. May God bless you this Holy Week, that it might be a time
of walking with Christ in his counter-cultural kingship, in his Passion, and, come
next Sunday, in his glorious Resurrection. Amen.
