Everyone Loves A Parade?

Today we begin our Holy Week pilgrimage with Jesus to the cross. For the season of Lent, we have walked with Jesus through his earthly ministry, as he taught and healed and fed the multitudes. We have walked with Jesus as he was both adored and misunderstood by the crowds, and as he aroused both curiosity and rejection among the religious authorities. Today we begin the Holy Week journey: from the acclamation of the crowds to the plotting of the religious authorities, to a last supper with his followers, the betrayal by Judas, the desertion of the disciples, and the final walk to Golgotha. And as we look on Palm Sunday from our perspective, we see multiple layers of meaning and experience mixed emotions. The week begins with a parade, but we know there’s another type of procession coming on Friday.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-11) had similarities to those of other national figures. The writer Josephus records the Jewish hero Judas Maccabeus riding triumphantly into Jerusalem after battles for Jewish independence. By contrast, foreign rulers also rode into Jerusalem as a way to assert their authority. So Jesus’ entrance would have held political overtones for those watching.

For Jewish viewers, there would have been prophetic overtones as well. Our Old Testament reading this morning was from the prophet Zechariah. The first eight chapters of Zechariah are concerned with the rebuilding and restoration of the Temple in the time of Zerubbabel, after the return from exile. But from the 9th chapter on, the book transitions into a series of prophetic visions about the coming Day of the Lord. It seems that Zechariah saw the rebuilding of the Temple as the beginning of a transformation of the entire world, in which Judah would be saved from her enemies, and those who had formerly battled against Judah would come up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. And the setup for Jesus’ entry echoes Zechariah’s words. Zechariah 14:4 begins with the words, “On that day [the Lord’s] feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem to the east….” Mark tells us that Jesus began his approach from the Mount of Olives. Jesus also rides on a young colt, in accordance to today’s Zechariah reading. The crowds would have known these prophecies of Zechariah, and would have put their hopes in Jesus.

Zechariah’s visions go a good bit further, and explain why the crowds would have look in Jesus as an earthly ruler seeking to free the Jews from Roman rule. Today’s reading also contains these words: “His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” As Christians, we know that God’s kingdom does indeed extend to the ends of the earth, but not in the sense the crowds expected.

The ending of the account of the triumphal entry isn’t what the crowds would have expected either. Having rode in triumph down Jerusalem’s main street, with crowds cheering and shouting “Save us!” – that’s what Hosanna means - and casting their palm branches and clothes in his way – not unlike spectators at a rock concert – Jesus…..went into the Temple, took a look around, and went with the disciples to spend the night with friends in Bethany. His relations with the religious establishment in Jerusalem went straight downhill from there. Far from taking on the Roman oppressors, Jesus took on the Jewish religious leaders, throwing the money changers out of the Temple and speaking harshly against their leadership. By contrast, he gave an ambiguous answer to a question about the propriety of paying taxes to Caesar. What kind of national liberator was this?

As happens so often, in Jesus, God’s promises were being fulfilled, but not in the way people expected. People were eager for a national hero, another Judas Maccabeus fighting against Rome for Jewish independence. What they got was the God of all creation bringing liberation from sin and establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.

This can be a caution for us who read this story from our perspective after the resurrection. We sincerely seek for God’s help and guidance, but we have limited ideas of how God may respond We want something big, something bombastic, some unmistakeable sign that indicates that God is with us. But paradoxically, while God’s plans are always bigger than ours, God’s methods are often small and slow and subtle. We look for God in the earthquake and the windstorm, but find God in the still small voice. Nowhere did Jesus say, “the kingdom of heaven is like unto a sledgehammer.” Rather, Jesus gave us parables about seeds growing in secret, about tiny mustard seeds slowly growing into big giant bushes, about tiny bits of yeast leavening a loaf. We receive teachings that a seed has to go into the ground and die in order to bring forth new life. And in Jesus, we get, not a general leading a mighty army, but God in the form of a humble servant so committed to accomplishing God’s purposes that he was willing to submit to death, even to death on a cross.

Of course, this side of the cross, we know that for Jesus, life, not death, has the last word; that crucifixion gives way to resurrection. We hope that for ourselves as well. But so often in our moments of challenge and loss, hope deserts us. We give in to despair. But God has promised that he will never leave us nor forsake us. Through the darkest night, God is working God’s purpose out, for us and for his kingdom. If we are faithful to God’s call, we’ll find that each of us has a cross to bear. In our most difficult moments, we may get some slight sense of what Jesus went through on Good Friday. But remember, no matter what happens on Friday – Sunday’s coming. Amen.