Wandering Heart: Songs of Loudest Praise
Palm Sunday
Gospel Reading: Matthew 18:15-35
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Today marks the beginning of Holy Week. The final week of Jesus’ life. It begins here, on what we call Palm Sunday—the Sunday we hear about Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey and crowds shouting their hosannas. Some of you may celebrate Palm Sunday every year so this story is familiar but for some of you, you are hearing this story for the first time. So, maybe some context will be helpful.
The big event on the Jewish calendar was the celebration of the Passover. So, many Jewish people were making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Jesus and his disciples---and a growing crowd that was following him were on their way too.
There is a crowd walking with Jesus down the Mount of Olives, and up into the city gates. He’s been gaining followers. Then there are people already in Jerusalem who wanted to see Jesus—they may have heard about Jesus or saw Jesus perform miracles in Galilee—and we read that they all spread their cloaks before him and shout “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” But it is also important for us to understand that they aren’t the only people in town. And this crowd coming with Jesus isn’t the only crowd in town.
In the book, The Last Week, by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg they start with this powerful image that I’d like us to think about this morning:
“Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30. . . One was a peasant procession, the other an imperial procession. From the east, Jesus rode a donkey down the Mouth of Olives, cheered by his followers. . . On the opposite side of the city, from the west, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria, entered Jerusalem at the head of a column of imperial calvary and soldiers. Jesus’s procession proclaimed the kingdom of God; Pilate’s proclaimed the power of empire.”
Two very different groups of people.
Jesus’ procession carries no weapons. They wave branches in the air, signs of peace, and yet they appear to proclaim a revolution. “Blessed is the king! Hosanna!” Those words sound nice to our ears. They certainly don’t sound very revolutionary. But the really were. They really are. They are calling Jesus, King! There was already a King. And that King-King Herod. And Jesus was associated with John the Baptist, whom Herod had imprisoned and eventually executed because of John's criticisms of his illegal marriage to Herodias. Tensions are high. Can you start to understand the complexity of the political climate?
I wanted to start our scripture passage this morning with a scene right before the traditional Palm Sunday reading because I think it is important to hear about Lazarus and Mary.
Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead, which intensifies the plots to arrest and kill him—to the point that he retreats into the wilderness with his disciples (John 11:54). The crowds begin to question if Jesus will attend the Passover festival and then, as it draws near, Jesus comes out of the wilderness and travels to Bethany. He stays in the home of Lazarus where he is lavishly anointed and cared for by Mary, an act that Judas questions. Plots to kill Lazarus as well begin to stir. (Karoline Lewis, Commentary for Palm Sunday, A Sanctified Art)
And as the week unfolds Jesus isn’t making any friends. We will hear about Jesus driving out the merchants who were selling and buying in the temple, overturning the money changers' tables, and said, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers'". He isn’t arrested because the authorities fear the normal Passover crowd. The authorities feared Jesus’ crowd. The crowd calling Jesus, King. Those who were shouting “Hosanna” knew they were making a risky scene. See, Hosanna is often thought of as a declaration of praise, similar to hallelujah, but it is actually a plea for salvation. The Hebrew root words are found in Psalm 118:25, which says, “Please, Lord, please save us!” The Hebrew words yasha (“deliver, save”) and anna (“beg, beseech”) combine to form the word that, in English, is “hosanna.” Literally, hosanna means “I beg you to save!” or “please deliver us!” (https://www.bethlehemhampden.org/blog/hosanna)
Between calling Jesus, King—and then asking him to save them was brave and courageous.
And WHERE IS PETER!!??
Given the swelling emotional intensity of these events, how do you imagine Peter feels as he stands among the crowds? Does he feel exuberant to witness their praise? Does he feel skeptical and scared of anyone who might be trying to arrest Jesus? Is he thinking about when Jesus rebuked him (Matthew 16:13-20), still wishing that Jesus’ words will not come true? (Karoline Lewis)
Throughout the last 5 weeks we have been figuring out faith with Peter—one of Jesus’ disciples. I don’t know about you but this Palm Sunday story leaves me imagining where Peter might be and how he is participating as part of the crowd.
I think it is important for us to remember all the events that have led up to this point. Let us take a moment to look back on Peter’s journey before we move forward into the next few days when his faith will be tested and stretched—and then restored. Let us remember how this all began: with an abundant catch, and a calling to drop everything and follow. Peter has walked on water and clung to Jesus for rescue. He has pronounced his faith confidently and been told to get out of Jesus’ way. He has asked questions and learned about the expansiveness of grace. And now, the end is near. He stands among the crowds as they sing songs of loudest praise.
I imagine him to be caught up in the midst of the celebration. Singing praises with everyone else. Did he…did they…fully understand all that was happening at the moment? Probably not. We barely do and we know the whole story. They were in the thick of it. At the end of the scripture reading today we hear: "His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him."
“Then they remembered.” When they look back on this experience, perhaps they will remember the songs. Their singing is courageous.
For many years, I’ve preached this passage as a tragic story: look at all those people who misunderstand… they just don’t get it: their hosanna is fickle, and soon will turn into crucify him. They eventually remembered (and understood) what they had gotten all wrong here.
But what if we read this “remembering”, as a positive: they remembered this moment in time when they got it really, really right! They remembered how good it felt to join the cry for liberation. Their soul was able to breathe, and they were not afraid.
I think it’s so tempting, to disregard or even ridicule our failed beginnings, or our own well-meaning attempts in this liberating work. This was the beginning of a week of many wrongs---specifically by Peter. And even if he didn’t understand fully everything that was going on—in the singing, in the praising, at least in that moment he got it right, he is brave, he is courageous. What about us?
Two processions entered Jerusalem on that day.
The same question, the same alternative, faces those who would be faithful to Jesus today.
Which procession are we in? Which procession do we want to be in?
This is the question of Palm Sunday and of the week that is about to unfold.
— John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, The Last Week
Courage
We summon every ounce of courage.
We give ourselves pep talks
and we call our friends.
We dig deep within.
We practice the words out loud,
rolling them around in our mouths,
imagining the response.
We deal out every “what if” card our brain holds on to
and spend absurd amounts of time
imagining all the ways it could go wrong.
And then finally, blessedly, we say it:
I love you.
To speak the truth of your heart takes courage.
It always has.
But please,
summon your courage,
join the parade,
and speak with conviction.
For God has been saying to the world since day one:
I love you.
What is your response?
Overall Series and Poem from : A Sanctified Art