Hard Change Is A Coming
Luke 19:28–40
After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
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Palms are waving, chants are filling the air, and the people are taking off their cloaks and laying them on the ground as Jesus comes riding into the city of Jerusalem. Can you picture it? If we can place ourselves in the crowd, we'll discover that the waving palms and joyous shouts are symbolic of our emergence from difficult years and the tension that we are experiencing as a result of figuring out how we are to live again. The Spirit of God is moving and is calling us still to shout out songs of praise and loud hosannas. As Jesus rides into the city of Jerusalem, he begins to set into motion an expansion of God's hope and salvation for the past, present, and future age. Amid the waving palms, we ponder if this Jesus, riding on a donkey, can actually shake us from the old ways of doing things and bring us to something new.
This new thing makes an appearance at the very beginning of our passage. Unfortunately, we might miss it because the reading for today is one read so frequently that we've become accustomed to the events that unfold. First off, for an event that Christians describe as a "triumphant entry," Jesus sends his disciples to fetch an unproven colt. Secondly, the owner of the colt appears to be okay with the disciples taking it without any promise of return. And third, the ride into Jerusalem was not what people were expecting. Such a large demonstration or gathering would have worried the Roman guards as these events often turned violent. Yet, no Roman guards ever appear; the only people to confront Jesus are symbols of the "old guard," who pleads with Jesus and asks him to stop what they thought was an embarrassing dramatic display. Unlike the old guard who confronted Jesus, we shouldn't lose sight of these disorienting moments, for they clue us in to the new way of life Christ desires.
The good news of Jesus Christ is good news to the countless individuals throughout history who we have neglected, silenced, taken advantage of, or pushed to the fringes of our communities. It is also good news for us here and now, those of us who are trying to carve a path forward and begin to live in a community once again. For those individuals then and now, the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem is a moment to behold. If we can take a moment to place ourselves in their footsteps, imagine what it would be like to see the one who went out of his way to heal, comfort, and bring justice to all those our society forgot or didn't care to acknowledge. The procession into Jerusalem is a stark reminder that Jesus is a Savior or a Messiah who settles for maintaining the status quo.
This Palm Sunday isn't just about celebrating Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Instead, it sets the stage for a series of events that ends with Jesus hanging on the cross. There was no victory over the Romans; there was no re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel; there was only death. But a death that would lead to resurrection, a death that would radically change the world as we know it and continues to ask the hard questions and pushes us into a direction where we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world. For those of us who are feeling the tension of getting back out into the world and socializing, this means that when we decide to follow Jesus, it isn't just our souls we're opening to change; we are opening up the entirety of our lives to the evolving call of Christ.
As we head into Holy Week, let us continue to join the crowd in raising songs of praise and loud hosannas. As we head into Holy Week, may we also ask the questions that the people in Jerusalem asked, "Who is this Jesus that has come into our midst, and what new thing are we called to do?? Let us pick up the palm branches that we set on the ground and pick them up from the ground as we continue on our pilgrimage to the place where Jesus is calling us. A place that will draw us out from the haze of figuring out what comes next and into the light of God's kin-dom. We might not be quick to embrace the revolutionary vision Christ lays out for us, and that's okay as it takes work supported by those around us. May we continue to follow, continue to persevere, grow, and embody the upcoming Easter hope.