[Isa. 50: 4-9a; Ps. 31: 9-16; Philip. 2:5-11; Mk.11: 1-11, 14:1-29]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Palm Sunday: hosanna!
Christ is preparing for His ultimate sacrifice and seems to be in complete control of the preparations for the day’s events, almost like a film director setting up the scene for the coming drama.
He sends out two of His unnamed disciples to fetch Him a donkey to make the journey of about 1 km from Bethphage and Bethany to Jerusalem.
Now this must probably be the most famous donkey in the history of the world.
Had the prophet Zechariah not foretold:
"Behold, your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass." (Zech 9:9).
Christ is on His way to the Jerusalem-Temple, His Father’s House and Sanctuary, for the last time.
He had been brought there forty days after His birth, He had taught the scribes when He was twelve, and He had visited the place many times during His life.
It’s the time of the Passover Festival. The crowds are wildly enthusiastic and ‘smooth’ His path into the city by putting cloaks and branches on the way.
“Hosanna” they cry, which in Hebrew –hosha’na- literally means ‘save us!’, ‘rescue us!’. We say or sing the words at Communion: God saving us in bread and wine.
Jesus’ messianic role of the long-awaited redeemer of Israel couldn’t be any clearer.
But as we know, He hasn’t come to assume any political role or kingship; His redemption will be much greater than that.
He does so as a full human being, fully aware of human frailty and limitations and every possible human struggle. He does so fully understanding and empathising with us.
Can we ever comprehend to the fullest what this means for us: imagine, a god, a divine supernatural omnipotent being, knowing exactly what troubles us as humans, understanding His mortal creation completely and wanting to help us, save us.
It’s absolutely mind-blowing.
Such love! Such compassion! The Creator of the universe… on a donkey… on His way to die… for us.
Our puny little brains can’t comprehend it, can they?! Yet, there He is, doing exactly that. Setting us free so we can better serve Him and serve each other.
All four gospels relate the narrative of Palm Sunday: Matthew chapter 21, Mark 11, Luke chapter 19 and John 12; Christ on his way to set into motion those events that will mean death for Him but eternal life and salvation for all of us.
A king riding on a donkey.
It’s very interesting and very daring, because at the time of Jesus there was only one kingdom, the Roman Empire, and there was only one king, the Roman Emperor.
It was a time of occupation, taxation, discrimination and oppression.
To the Jewish nation hosha’na wasn’t just a word, to them it wasn't just a verse said or sung during a liturgical celebration, it was a political battle-cry for freedom.
Marcus Borg and John D. Crossan, two American New Testament scholars, in their book The Last Week (2006) have underlined this 'clash of civilisations' by drawing a vivid mental picture of the two processions approaching Jerusalem that day: one was Pontius Pilate leading his seasoned troops, marching up from the coast at a swift pace, ready to quash any sign of insurgence during the Passover; the second group was far more chaotic, more spontaneous, more organic, slowly curling down from the Mount of Olives, not military professionals but local civilians of all ages, running to and fro, edged on by the disciples, shouting, waving and cheering, not for a Roman governor but for a Galilean rabbi, perhaps even for a prophet or a king.
A stead versus a colt, a war-horse versus a donkey; the contrast couldn't have been more striking; just like the contrast between the great powers-that-be of our own present-day and the coming Kingdom of our Lord.
Like Jesus we're called to go to the crowds and encounter them, not stamp all over them with our marching boots.
Even if some will only stand by the road enthusiastically waving for a little while, we're still called to meet them in their frailty, in their own humanity, as Christ our God-man met them in their own flesh, at their own level, part of their own lives.
God always takes the first step, or in this case the first donkey.
God always hears our hosannas, which mean 'save me!' but also 'bless you!'
So, when we, like the people in Jesus' time, stand by the roadside, we too are allowed and invited to shout our hosannas to the coming Messiah.
Which processional steps will we then take towards others?
What chaotic and joyous news, waving and shouting, will we share with them?
We too must bring the Good News on an even level, intimate and compassionate, even-paced so no one's left behind, kind and loving, an encounter that truly enters each of our hearts and sets into motion events that transform lives: the Good News of a full human experience on the road to eternal wholeness.
'Hosanna', hosha’na ‘help me!' or 'save me, I pray!'; but it's not just a plea, it's also an expression of praise and joy, because our King comes to us in mercy and with compassion, offering life and life eternal.
God promised to set His people free and in the Palm Sunday service today we commemorate how this great salvation was put into motion; today we commemorate the beginning of the end if you will… but of course we’re blessed to know the end won’t be an end for very long...
And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ our Lord. Amen.