Journey

Charlotte Collins Reed

Christ Church Episcopal

March 25, 2018

                                                                 Palm Sunday

When Slocomb and Caldwell, our two sons, were in high school, I took them to a political rally.  Several hours before the rally began, a long line had formed in front of the security entrance, where guards were stationed with security wands and all bags had to be checked.  Once we finally cleared security after about two hours in line, we had to find our assigned area in the crowd.  The challenge was to find a place to stand with no one holding a large sign in front of us.  This was an almost impossible task, especially since some of the signs were taller than I am.  The roar of the crowd was so loud that the only way the kids and I could communicate was by text message.  Once the speakers arrived, everyone pretty much quieted on cue, anxious to hear what the speakers had to say, and hear their promises about how tomorrow might be different.  Some people were there to hear the speeches; others were there to experience the excitement.  Still others probably came just to witness the sheer spectacle of the event or to sell their various political buttons and banners. 

This morning, we witness yet another political rally. This one, however, appears a little more spontaneous.  The only preparation was Jesus sending two disciples into the village to find a colt for Jesus to ride.  A very large crowd appears to form out of nowhere, clocks are spread on the ground, and branches are cut from the trees. As if on cue, the crowd erupts with shouts of Hosanna: “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!”

One of the most curious things about this event is that Jesus allows it to happen at all.  In fact, the procession appears to be his idea.  He is the one who sends the disciples to fetch the colt in the first place.  This is the same Jesus who was tempted in the wilderness after his baptism.  In Mark’s gospel, we are not about the specific temptations, but in Matthew and Luke, Jesus is tempted with glory and authority over all the kingdoms of the world.  Jesus replies with the words from Deuteronomy “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”  In all the gospels, Jesus declined to draw attention to himself and pointed the attention to the Kingdom of God.  Just a few verses before our gospel story this morning, Jesus said “I have come not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for all.”  How odd that Jesus, who has resisted power and glory throughout the gospel, will now allow himself to be the center of so much attention, the object of the disciples’ praise, and to move toward Jerusalem in seeming triumph.  

“I have come not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for all.”  When the disciples and the crowds rally around Jesus on the road to Jerusalem with shouts of praise, the words that Jesus spoke just a few verses ago are the last thing on their minds.  They are moving with Jesus toward Jerusalem where they have every hope that Jesus will do what King David did and make Israel a great and mighty kingdom again.  They are filled with hope that a better future is at hand.  Why, then, will we soon hear the “Hosannas” replaced with “crucify him!”

The reason, perhaps, is that the people who treat Jesus like a king want Jesus to go on their journey with them, rather than going with Jesus on his journey.  And perhaps the reason Jesus allows this procession to happen is because joining a parade is the only way people will follow him on his journey.

Palm Sunday calls us to go with Jesus on his journey, to make his journey our own, rather than to try to take Jesus where we want to go, even when the places we want to go are good and noble places.  Palm Sunday calls us to walk with Jesus on the journey through the last supper, his arrest and trial, his crucifixion and burial in the tomb, not because this path is easy, powerful, or glorious, but because Jesus’ path is the only way to resurrection.  There are no short cuts.  Jesus wanted the disciples and the crowds to follow, and Jesus wants us to follow, so that we will know and understand the king who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for all.

Amen.