When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
(Matthew 21:1-11)
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Jesus always made Jerusalem nervous. I want to invite you to return with me to the Christmas story for a moment. In the 2nd Chapter of Matthew, we discover that travellers from a distant land have appeared in the city and gone to the court of King Herod, asking where they might find the child who had been born "King of the Jews." As soon as they asked the question, Matthew 2:3 tells us that "when King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him." Now fast forward about thirty years or so and we come to the 21st Chapter of Matthew. Now, the "King of the Jews" has come back to Jerusalem, and what is the city's response? Matthew 21:10 tells us that "when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil ..." The word actually means "shaken." Once again, Jerusalem - confronted by Jesus - is reduced to turmoil by his appearance. Jesus made Jerusalem nervous. People just weren't sure what to make of him. Some were excited; some were afraid; some were angered by him - surely some even tried to ignore him. Excitement and fear and anger and indifference. "Who is this?" "Why is he here?" "Who really cares?" There was no agreement.
I wonder if that isn't why Jesus troubled Jerusalem so much. Once he arrived in their midst, the people divided. They had to choose sides. And I wonder - truth be told - if Jesus doesn't make most of us at least a little bit nervous, too - because once we encounter Jesus, we have to choose sides. Do we believe or not? And what is it that we believe or don't believe? Will we follow him or not? And how far will we go with him? It's like being backed into a corner with no way to escape. We have to make a choice. And, really, most of us probably like to live nice, quiet, peaceful lives. But Jesus causes turmoil - not only in Jerusalem, but sometimes in our own lives as well. He makes us choose. He turns the world upside down. Whatever we learn from the world, Jesus tells us to forget it and to live for God instead. And we have to choose - will we believe in him? Will we follow him? Once we encounter him, sitting on the fence isn't an option. A decision has to be made. It's like that blind man who challenged the Pharisees in the story we read a couple of weeks ago: "Do you want to become his disciples too?" And that's a question that calls for an answer. The Pharisees had to answer it, Herod had to answer it, Jerusalem had to answer it, Peter and James and John and the rest of the twelve had to answer it, Mary Magdalene and even Mary - Jesus' mother - had to answer it. And we have to answer it. "Do you want to become his disciples, too?" And many people would rather not answer. They want to keep quiet and stay out of the way and not be noticed and avoid all trouble. But that doesn't work when Jesus arrives on the scene. He causes turmoil and fear and excitement and anger (and some people try to ignore him) - all because he forces us to choose.
In Jerusalem about 2000 years ago (give or take a decade or two) things fell apart pretty quickly for Jesus. As joyfully and excitedly as the crowd that lined the streets welcomed him, Jesus turned out to be a disappointment; not quite what people were hoping for. Jesus was humble - and the people didn't want a humble king. The people wanted a king who was powerful and magnetic and charismatic and who could rally the people around him by the force of his personality and not by words about love and peace. The people wanted a king who would appear on a warhorse, ready for battle with the hated Romans, but Jesus came riding a donkey - about as far from a beast of war as you could get. The people wanted someone who could start and lead a rebellion against the mighty empire they were oppressed by, but Jesus preached tolerance and patience and even co-operation with the forces of the occupation. Think about France under German occupation in World War II. History celebrates the resistors and condemns the collaborators - but is it entirely clear which group Jesus would have ended up being identified with? In Jerusalem, Jesus didn't encourage rebellion or resistance to the empire - Jesus didn't meet the expectations of the people at all. And so the people turned on him suddenly and mercilessly. Sometimes Jesus doesn't meet our expectations either. We want someone who's going to deal with all the bad people and their evil acts in the world - but instead we get someone who tells us to forgive and forgive and then to forgive again, over and over and over. Whether 2000 years ago or today, we'd really rather have a Messiah who would come in power and make everything right; a Son of God who can't be stopped. Instead, we get the Son of Man who humbled himself and died on a cross.
Yes. Less than a week after arriving in Jerusalem and being hailed by the crowds with shouts of "Hosanna!" Jesus would be dead. Many of the same people who welcomed him so passionately and with such excitement turned against him and became an almost out of control mob demanding his blood. He hadn't given them what they wanted, and they didn't want what he offered them. How much has the world changed over the last 2000 years? Maybe not as much as we think, because all too often it's still the same way. People want God - but they only want God on their own terms. They don't want a God who's going to ask anything of them, they only want a God who going to do things for them. The words get spoken all the time - "I need to be fed." "I don't get anything out of church." "I need to experience the Holy Spirit." "I don't like the music." "I don't like the preacher." There are so many different ways we can use the word "I" in church and most of them are wrong, because the key word in the Christian faith isn't "I" - it's "Him." And it's not about "me." It's about "you." And it's not about those of us who are here today - it's about those who aren't here today. But if we start to think too much about "I" or "me" or "us" - well, we just might find ourselves confronted by Jesus, demanding that we do things in a new and radically different way. Through the prophet Hosea, God said to the people, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings." I wonder if Jesus doesn't say to his church - "I want you to live your faith every day and not just practice it on Sunday." I wonder if Jesus doesn't say to his church "sacraments and sermons and hymns are fine, but what are you doing the rest of the week?" I wonder if Jesus doesn't say to his church - "Putting an envelope in the plate is great, now find a poor person and invite them to dinner." I wonder if Jesus doesn't say to his church - "Live the way God wants you to live and don't just practice a religion."
Today is Palm Sunday. Today we celebrate the recognition of Jesus as a King - "the Son of David ... the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" But as happy a day as Palm Sunday is, there's a tinge of sadness about it as well. When Jesus entered Jerusalem he knew what was ultimately going to happen. He had already told his disciples that he was going to be killed. He knew that this would be the end - or at least it would seem that way. Today, we celebrate Palm Sunday, but the ugly shadow of Good Friday is already on the horizon, hanging over us just a few days away. We aren't really unlike the people of Jerusalem centuries ago. We're about to face a whirlwind of a week that will take from from great joy to utter despair to sheer ecstasy. And like the people of Jerusalem we need to ask ourselves what our expectations of Jesus are. Where would we have stood had we been in Jerusalem on that day? I doubt we'd be much different than they were. We'd have welcomed Jesus and been excited by his arrival, but as the tide turned there's a pretty good chance that we'd have been with the mob demanding his death. After all, as Peter Wood wrote, "Be they political supporters, pop idol followers, or sports fans; crowds are at their best when they are cheering on a winner." If Jesus stops looking like a winner - from a human perspective at least - then the cheering stops, and the jeering starts. It's human nature, I suppose. The good news is that Jesus understands that - and he forgives us for it. From his coronation as a King to his crucifixion as a criminal, Jesus never wavered in his love for those around him. After accepting his welcome to the city on the back of a donkey, he offered forgiveness to those who mocked him as he hung on a cross. In that act, we see that Jesus stands with us - always ready to forgive, always ready to accept us.
Praise be to God! Hosanna to the Son of David! May Jesus reign - forever and ever! Amen!
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