It is the time of the Passover. Hundreds, even thousands of Jews have made pilgrimage to the Holy City, Jerusalem. They will worship in the temple and they will celebrate how the God of their people has saved them over and over. He spared their children, passing over their doors. He led them out of slavery in Egypt. He parted the Red Sea. He fed them in the wilderness and delivered them to the Promised Land.
And so they have come to pay homage: husbands, wives, and children; old and young; strong and weak; rich and poor; all of them faithful. While on their journey to Jerusalem they have sung the psalms of Ascents, preparing themselves to enter the Temple, the place where God lives. They are saying words not unlike those from today's dramatic reading. There they will worship. They will give thanks. They will remember their God. And they will continue to await the coming of the Messiah, the one promised by the God who keeps all promises.
There is one- a teacher of extraordinary wisdom and faith, one who possesses God's healing power and the authority to forgive sins. He speaks the truth in love. They have heard about Him. And He is there as well. He is making His way to Jerusalem, along with those who would follow Him.
They are not sure of who He is. They do have their suspicions, though. Some say He is John the Baptist, others say He is Elijah. Still others say that He is one of the prophets. Some dare to imagine that He is the Messiah; the one who will come to save them.
And so they pray and ponder all that their God has done. They look forward to what their God will do when the Messiah comes. They look forward to the Kingship of David restored to all of it's glory, the time when the people of Israel-God's people-were in control of their own land, of their own government, of their own faith. They look forward to an earthly king who will be ruled by the one true God, YHWH, who will deliver them once again from the oppressions of this world. And as they wait and hope for the Messiah to come, they notice the one-the one who is so different, the one who is unique.
And today, the day after the Sabbath and just a few days before the blessed Passover, they find Him there. He has come to the City of God as they have, to celebrate the Passover, and to change the world forever.
While He is outside the city, He makes preparations for His arrival. He secures a young donkey, telling those who are watching that "the Lord needs it" ensuring that His arrival will be noticed. Choosing to ride on a donkey says something, too, that His arrival is important, that He is of a certain stature, that He is royalty.
Surely, the pilgrims think, this must be the one! Surely the one they have waited for has been sent by God at long last! The bystanders spread the word-the King is coming! They prepare to meet Him. They run outside the gates of the Holy City and welcome the King that has finally revealed Himself to them.
After three years of evading His identity, the unique one-this preacher, teacher and healer-has claimed His kingship. They spread their cloaks on the road. They spread leafy branches, cut from the field. They surround him, front and back and sides as He makes His final approach into Jerusalem. And they shout, "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!"
The Messiah has arrived! He is here, by the grace of God. And they were all there to see it. They are overjoyed at the prospect of this fulfillment of God's prophecy. And for one brief moment, they believe that the time has come, that it will all happen the way that they think. The Messiah has arrived, and all of their earthly problems will be addressed. God will save them from the tyranny of opposing forces, and the land given to them after the exile will belong to them once more.
On that day, the crowd, the people of God, welcome Jesus with open arms. For one brief moment in time, they know and they believe. But as the week progresses, their faith wavers.
The actions of this Messiah-this King-following this triumphal entry, are not what they expect. He does not challenge the governmental authority of Caesar. Instead, He challenges the authority of the religious leaders. In the past, they had only heard rumors of His teaching, miracles, authority and love. Now they hear rumors of unrest and threats that are not addressed. They believed that He would save them from foreign rulers, and declare Himself king. Instead He answers questions with questions and does nothing to better the situation of the Jews in Jerusalem. They have cried, "Hosanna" meaning "save us," telling Him that they needed help and they believed that He was the one to be their Savior. But He makes no attempt to save them from their earthly enemies. He makes no attempt to save even Himself.
And so, as the week goes on, they doubt. How can this one-unique and special as He is-be the one, the Messiah? He speaks in riddles. He turns over the tables in the Temple and predicts its destruction. He seems to challenge everything that they believe about God and about themselves as God's people. It is too difficult to accept and they turn away from Him. They believe the rumors and accusations instead of the feelings that they had as they surrounded Him on that day, acknowledging His Kingship with their cloaks, their branches and their cries. Eventually, they turn on Him, unable to accept a different kind of King.
In the book, Joshua, that our Lenten study group has just finished, there is a point in which Joshua comes to Vatican City. As He enters the vast square, His eyes take in the beautiful artistry that appears. As far as the eye can see, there is splendor-design, color, texture, and sound. He thinks to Himself, "They have done well in portraying God's majesty. But, why do people try so hard to reproduce heaven on earth and have such a difficult time absorbing the message of the stable? They find more meaning in representing God's majesty and find more comfort in being surrounded by power and magnificence than in living the simplicity of the real message. They have missed the whole point of the gospel."
Like the pilgrims in the Holy City on that first Palm Sunday, Joshua felt that the Vatican, beautiful as it was, only represented God's glory and not God's humility. There was no balance in the picture the physical surroundings painted between Christ's power and Christ's obedience. It was only a message of opulence, and not one of service. They, too, were not able to accept a different kind of a king.
On this day, we see Christ accept His rightful place as the King of God's people. He declares Himself to be our Savior, the one to whom we all cry, "Hosanna-Save us!." And save us He will, though it might not be in the way that we think.
Christ challenges us to ponder the true meaning of His Kingship: power and glory, yes, but balanced with humility and obedience. He urges us to model our lives after this well-rounded picture of Kingship, that we may understand His sacrifice on the cross, that we may accept our earthly sufferings, that we may love Him and each other as we were created to do. Amen.
Peace,
Rev. Cynthia Bacon
Minister
You may email at:
cbacon@heritagemadison.org
Return to the top of the page.
Back to the Sermon Archives
Back to the Heritage home page.
Certified Web Author and Publisher: R. Dan Nelson
rnelson@madison.k12.wi.us
This page was last updated on April 14, 2003.