‘Palm Sunday’ by Rev Allister Lane
Luke 19:28-40
Let's imagine ourselves just outside Jerusalem.
We are with Jesus and his crew of disciples, and it is early in the morning.
Jesus has led us on a long journey since he taught us that day on the hillside in Galilee.
He has told many a parable,
answered many a question
and asked even more.
Earlier this morning, he did something really strange (he still surprises us).
He sent two of our crew into a town on the Mount of Olives.
He said they would find a donkey's colt tied to a tree.
The two disciples should untie it and bring it to him, and if anyone asked about it, they should simply say, 'The master needs it.'
That was exactly what happened, and they brought Jesus the colt.
Let’s hear for a moment from The Donkey’s Owner…
Snaffled my donkey, he did --- good luck to him!
Rode him astride, feet dangling, near scraping the ground
Gave me the laugh of my life when I first saw him,
remembering yesterday --- you know, how Pilate come
bouncing the same road, on that horse of his
big as a house and the armour shining
And half of Rome trotting behind him. Tight mouthed he was
Looking as if he owned the world.
Then today,
Him and my little donkey! Ha! Laugh ---?
I thought I’d kill myself when he first started.
So did the rest of them. Gave him a cheer
Like he was Caesar himself, only more hearty:
Tore off some palm twigs and followed shouting,
Whacking the donkey’s behind ........Then suddenly
[I] see his face.
The smile had gone, and somehow the way he sat
Was different --- like he was much older --- you know ---
Didn’t want to laugh no more.
The crowd grew.
Moving with Jesus as he rode (in his awkward way).
Children are shouting. Palm branches are waving.
People are taking their coats and spreading them on the dusty road to make a lavish, multicolour carpet,
as if Jesus were a king being welcomed to the capital city.
More and more people join our parade, and we feel our growing excitement.
We shout and dance and praise God together.
We notice we are very close to the city walls of Jerusalem now.
We get quieter.
And in the quiet of our inner thoughts, we whisper among ourselves about what's happening.
Someone reminds us of the words from the prophet Zechariah:
“9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
A shiver of recognition runs through us.
What comes next?' one of us asks.
'What did the prophet Zechariah say after that…?'
Someone else has the passage memorised:
10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the warhorse from Jerusalem;
and the battle-bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations.
(Zechariah 9:10)
And so, the meaning of this day begins to become clear to us.
Caesar's kingdom, the empire of might, rules by fear with threats of violence, demanding surrender.
God's kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, rules by the faith in our hearts, with a promise of peace;
real and lasting peace.
How will the leaders in the city of Jerusalem respond to what’s happening?
Will they see Jesus and praise God too?
We fear they will respond with what they trust most – violence.
We have come to expect horrific violence from some political leaders.
And this violence is sometimes sanctified by religious leaders in a ‘support role’, providing (so called) ‘orthodoxy’.
But THIS day feels different.
On THIS day,
in the city of Jerusalem,
peace came to town.
Love came to town.
(in the words of U2)
“I've seen love conquer the great divide”
These words are about WHY Jesus came to town.
The words of another song are unambiguous:
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
O Christ, your triumphs now begin
o’er captive death and conquered sin.
Jesus knows what awaits him in Jerusalem.
And he rides on… In lowly pomp rides on to die.
In under a week Jesus is killed on a cross.
His kingdom is too much of a risk for those who are desperate to cling to power.
And they hurl their violence at him,
in jealous and frightened fury.
Remarkably, this man who rides into town on a donkey
submits to the violence.
Not because he is powerless, but because his power is different, from far away.
In his submission, the violence is absorbed by the cross.
The cross breaks the cycle of violence.
Hanging on the cross, Jesus enacts the new way of peace he taught:
· Retaliation ("an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth")
is replaced with the principle of non-resistance
("if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also")
(Matthew 5:38 42)
He broke the vicious cycle of violence by absorbing it, taking it upon himself.
He sucked out the toxicity of revenge,
overcoming evil by doing good - even at the cost of his life.
By suffering violence as an innocent victim, he took upon himself the aggression of persecutors – ALL persecutors.
Violence and death no longer have the power to destroy us.
Death has been put to death.
Jesus’ death subverts violence, and his open arms on the cross embrace us all in new life.
Today, we have a powerful symbol of the peace Jesus brings.
Later, we will all be given a cross made of palm leaves.
This palm cross is a reminder for each of us, and for all of us,
that peace comes to town.
And peace comes now, because it came then –
on the cross (once and for all).
Jesus has robbed the power of violence and death
by the power of God’s love.
In our world, we know we long for peace still.
So may the palm cross be a reminder of our sure hope in the power of God’s love.
The crowds who waved palm branches recognise Jesus is the Saviour.
They cried out in praise for what God is doing.
And Jesus commends their praise:
“if they were silenced, the stones would shout out.”
Despite the apparent power of tyrants and dictators,
the purposes of God are unrelenting – for love is greater.
Then and now.
‘Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!’
Amen