Palm/Passion Sunday: Luke 19:28-40; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:56
March 28, 2010
Jesus enters Jerusalem like so many others that week to celebrate the annual festival of Passover. Because Passover is a celebration of freedom from slavery and oppression, Roman rulers would have sent additional troops to monitor the city during this time in order to prevent any public demonstrations from getting out of hand. The Pharisees, for example, who ask Jesus to calm down the excitement of his disciples, are probably afraid that such a public display might cause Roman soldiers to react with force. This was a week filled with both joyous celebration, but also fear and danger.
It was customary in those days to pay homage to a king by having a processional. Everyone would join in the celebration by throwing their cloaks on the ground. The king would ride his horse on this carpet as he passed by the people shouting and cheering along the processional route. In Luke's gospel Jesus enters Jerusalem following this same pattern except that he rides a donkey instead of a horse. That's like riding in a pickup truck rather than an armored tank. But like an earthly king the people also throw their cloaks on the ground as Jesus passes by.
These details reveal that Jesus is welcomed like a king as he rode into Jerusalem. They also reveal that he is a different kind of king than any ruler the people had ever known. As the prophet Zechariah prophesied: 'Rejoice, O Zion and shout aloud O Jerusalem. Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey...'
As the week unfolds it becomes clear that the people in general and even the disciples do not understand the contrast between the earthly kings they knew and the kind of king Jesus represented. The power of earthly kings was based on the size of their weapons and their ability to win great victories by force. In contrast Jesus enters Jerusalem as a king who is victorious through humility and peace. Jesus doesn't use force and violence to build his kingdom. Instead he uses love and non-violence.
The world still does not fully appreciate the difference between how an earthly kingdom operates and how the kingdom of Jesus operates. On a human level it often seems as if force alone is the key to solving a problem or defeating an enemy. This makes war inevitable. But war is not the solution. War is a symptom of sin. What makes it inevitable is the failure to practice justice, mercy and peace. The absence of love makes war possible.
The ways of these two kingdoms collide during holy week. The Romans fear that the popularity of this prophet from Nazareth might undermine their power and control. And it does, albeit not in the way they think. They fear the weapon of the sword, but Jesus uses the weapon of love.
Jesus collides with the religious leaders too. They are expecting a savior who will use the sword against their oppressors, but are disappointed when Jesus brandishes love instead. On Good Friday it looks like the sword wins, but the real winner as time will tell is the cross.
Often in our fallen world the sword seems necessary to contain sin. But in the long term the sword is not the cure. Only the cross can transform the human spirit and save. This is the kingdom Jesus came to establish on earth as it is in heaven. He comes to change the dynamics of the human heart. He comes as the prince of peace, not of war. He comes in humility, not glory. And by surrendering himself on a cross in Jerusalem as another victim of violence, he demonstrates the power of love that overcomes sin and death.
The struggle between the sword and the cross, between violence and love, is still so much a part of our lives today and we must choose whose side we are on. Out of fear the disciples all run away from the cross and abandon Jesus in his last hours. What about us? Each year as we remember this story we ought to ask how we run away from the cross like them? Are we running away from love, quick to judge people we don't like out of fear? How are we running to embrace the cross, to embrace God's gift of love that surrendered everything about self so that all might be saved?
As was written long ago let us renew our vow to strive for same mind that was in Jesus Christ … to be in us. May it be so.