April 4, 2004
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We know
that shadows are the rough image cast by our object blocking light; another
definition of shadow is that it is a mirrored image or reflection.
Our Good Friday service will be lit so as to cast a clear shadow on the
cross. We have been considering these last few weeks what it means to live “In
The Shadow of the Cross” which speaks to our understanding of these almost
concluded six weeks. Jesus
lived for three years in the shadow of the cross, as he makes his way from
Nazareth to Jerusalem to Calvary. He has been on this road for a while. Luke
9.51 tells us “when the days drew near for him to be
taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” To say he set his face
is to say that he is determined; he is past the point of no return. ”The
road behind me, the cross before me, no turning back” (“I
Have Decided to Follow Jesus” – author unknown).
As he goes he will continue to offer ministry to the people around him. On the
way to Jerusalem, he has his disciples go to prepare a place for him as he will
go to prepare a place for us (John
14). When a
lawyer asks him what is necessary for eternal life, Jesus tells the young man
what he already knows, that the key to eternal life is our relationship with God
and others. We are to love with our whole being – heart, soul, strength, mind,
and our neighbors as ourselves. When the same lawyer asks who is my neighbor,
whom shall I love that much, who is worthy of my love? Jesus tells the story of
the Good Samaritan (Luke
15). On the
way to Jerusalem, Jesus has dinner with Mary and Martha (10),
casts out demons, and promises that if God takes care of the birds of the air,
God will take care of us more (12).
He will deliver his sermon on the plain and teach the disciples how to pray. Jesus
will take time, while he is on the way to Jerusalem to do some more teaching. He
will teach gratitude through the story of the ten lepers healed, nine go on
about their business, only one returns to say thank you. He will tell a story
about a widow and an uncaring, unjust judge when he wants his disciples to learn
about persistence and prayer (18).
He will teach forgiveness and redemption when he calls Zaccheus out of this tree
and into a relationship with God and his neighbors and he will tell the parable
of the pounds which we read in Matthew as the parable of the talents in order to
talk about the gifts we each can bring to ministry (19).
Finally, in the verse that comes before our reading today, we read, “After he
said this, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem” (19.28),
all in the shadow of the cross, and we are invited in Luke and in the other
gospels to make this last week’s journey with him. When
something special is going to happen, we make special preparations. We clean the
house, we buy new clothes, we plan with extra care, we want the occasion to be
special, so we get ready in special ways. In the shadow of the cross, we prepare
for his arrival. What do we know about his coming to Jerusalem for the Passover?
Jesus has prepared by sending two of his disciples into town to find an animal,
a donkey that has never been ridden before and to make preparation for them to
have a place to celebrate the Passover meal. They do as he asks, and now here we
are, the moment is almost here. We hear that he is on the way. How shall he come
down this road? First understand that “the choice of a donkey rather than a
horse probably signals Jesus’ humility. In contrast to a typical processional
entrance, Jesus rides a donkey rather than a warhorse. He will also be hailed as
the bringer of peace” (New
Interpreters Bible, volume IX. Luke-John. Nashville. Abingdon, 1995, p.
367). A
procession into the city could be quite elaborate. Jesus by contrast comes in a
noticeable, but less flashy way. “Numerous kings and conquering generals had
entered Jerusalem over the years. Jesus comes neither as a conqueror nor as a
victorious general. His rule and his victory are different than theirs, and he
is welcomed in a way that changed the lives of his disciples then and now
forever. The
conqueror-ruler is escorted into the city by the citizens or by the army of the
conqueror. Jesus is escorted into Jerusalem by his disciples, the twelve he
chose as apostles and the scores more who followed him. They showed their love
and respect for him by spreading their cloaks on the road (the
palms we wear and wave are from John 12.13).
The
entrance procession is accompanied by hymn and acclamations. The disciples
gathered on the road sing part of Psalm 118.26, ‘Blessed
is the one who comes in the name of the Lord’. The
procession is designed to show the authority of the ruler. ‘Various elements
of the procession depict the authority of Jesus; his divine knowledge is
illustrated by his commanding the disciples to bring the colt, the spreading of
cloaks on the road, praise of God for his ‘deeds of power’ and praise of
Jesus as the bringer of peace and glory in heaven’ The
entrance is followed by an act of appropriation, by doing something that says
this moment is special and unlike any other. A sacrifice might take place in the
temple, for example. Jesus will make his appropriation. He will weep over the
city, he will lament what might have been, and he will be the sacrifice for the
people” (adapted form New
Interpreter’s Bible, p. 366-367). Is your
excitement building as he comes near where you can really see him? Are you
standing with the disciples in tiptoe anticipation, craning necks, wanting more
than anything to see him enter the city? The scene reminds me of the way it was
back in the old days, about two and a half years ago when people could wait at
the gate for an arriving passenger at the airport. Back before we had to wait in
the baggage claim area or in our cars, it was possible to be at the gate and to
share the joy of a safe arrival. Didn’t you love standing there, watching
people come out of the little tube looking for their friend, or business
associate, or loved one? When
Jesus comes into view, we can put ourselves in that crowd and shout our praises
for every good thing knowing Jesus has done for us and in us. We can stand with
the leper and thank him for healing us. We can shout with the women with the
issue of blood, who is freed from cramps and isolation, who can now take her
place in the crowd and stand unafraid. Maybe we are in there with the young man
who was blind, but whom Jesus cured, and who when his sight was restored, found
hope and courage and new vision with which to see with his restored eyes.
Zaccheus is there having been delivered of his greed. Mary Magdalene is there,
having been delivered of seven demons.
As your
heard the reading, you probably noticed that not only were there no Palms, but
that Luke also has no Hosannas; that word is found in Matthew, Mark, and John.
But he still has praise on the lips of the disciples who greet Jesus as he
enters Jerusalem. And so in our hearts we say hosanna anyhow because we are
there, prepared, and joyful, celebrating who Jesus is and what he means to us. “With
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the disciples acknowledge that he indeed is the
king whose coming has been awaited” (Texts
for Preaching – Year C. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1994, p.246),
and Luke gives us words that echo those sung at the birth of Jesus: Blessing!
Glory! Peace! And we
bring our own words of thanksgiving, of praise, of blessing, or hope to his
arrival in our lives. we see him, we are loud, we are enthusiastic, which
literally means we are possessed by God, we are carrying on so much that we
barely notice the other people in the crowd, but there they are. They are the
Pharisees, the ones who understand how things should be and what they are seeing
isn’t it. “Tell
your followers to be quiet. They are too loud, they are praising God to much, no
telling what they might do or what it might mean for us. “Tell them to stop”
(v.39).
One
writer tells us that “we cannot, of course, know in what tone of voice or with
what motivation the Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke his disciples. Perhaps they
feared that calling Jesus King would be misinterpreted and create political
repercussions. If so, their reason might have been from self-interest; that is,
let us not upset the Romans and lose what few benefits we now have. Or their
reason might have been concern for Jesus’ safety. After all they had warned
Jesus earlier about the threat of Herod against him (13.31).
Of course, the Pharisees could simply be registering their own disagreement or
disbelief. But whatever their problem with the activity, Jesus simply responds
in a vivid image to affirm the rightness and appropriateness of his disciples’
praise. ‘If these were silent, the very stones would cry
out’. In other words, some things must be said” (Interpretation
series. Luke. Fred Craddock. Louisville. John Knox Press, 1990, p.227). We
can’t stop. The spiritual says, “ if I don’t praise him, the rocks are
gonna cry out glory and honor”! Fred
Craddock says, “That stones would shout is, of course, a figure of speech, but
the expression does remind us that in biblical understanding, the creation is
involved in events that we tend to think affect humans alone. Genesis says that
the sin of Adam and Eve caused the earth to produce thorns and thistles; Isaiah
sings of a reign of peace on earth when cows and bears will graze together and
the lion and the lamb will lie down side by side; Matthew says a special star
appeared to announce Jesus’ birth, and that the earth shuddered, cracking
rocks when he died and Matthew, Mark, and Luke agree that when Jesus was put on
the cross, for three hours there was an eclipse of the sun. All this dramatic
language reminds us of that which we sometimes forget; all life is from God, the
whole universe shares together bane and blessing, life and death, and in the
final reign of God ‘the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to
decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God’ (Romans
8.21). Of course,
if we are silent, the stones will cry out” (Craddock,
p. 228). Stones
may speak, but they won’t have to if we will. In the shadow of the cross, know
that there will be people wanting to silence us. Don’t let stones and rocks
speak for you. There are people in our world who are not only indifferent to the
church but hostile to it – they seek to hush its witness by hushing its
spokespeople. Shout your thanks and praise anyway. When they say too many wars
have been fought in the name of Jesus Christ, acknowledge the truth of that sin,
and then remind them that in every war Christians have offered ministry to
combatants and their families. Tell them that in the name of the same Jesus
whose entry into Jerusalem we celebrate today, justice has been secured, schools
have been built to free the mind, hospitals have been built to heal the sick,
lives have been redeemed, reclaimed, and renewed. Jesus is praised by our good
and faithful actions done in his name. When
they say that the church has never really helped anyone, tell them about the
ministries that stretch around the world. Tell them your story. Let’s tell
them that you and I are in the church because Jesus Christ meets us here, and
when he does we remember that we are delivered people too. We remember how Jesus
has kept us, and saved us, healed us, and forgiven us, encouraged us and
strengthened us. We remember how much he loves us. As we remember we can shout
our praise and thanks for ourselves. Make sure you say there will be no stones
crying out in your name, you’ll do it yourself. Let them know by your life and
your testimony whose praises we sing. Yea,
but how can you shout any kind of praise in the shadow of the cross? We can
because we know how this parade will end. In this week, Jesus will defend his
authority, answer questions about paying taxes and whether there will be
marriage in heaven (20).
He will praise a widow giving her last penny to the Temple treasury; he will
have final words of advice for his disciples (21).
Jesus will celebrate a last Passover meal with his closest followers. He will be
betrayed, denied, tried, and beaten, condemned and then his own body will cast a
shadow on the cross. We can because we know that it may be over, but God is not
finished. There are a few more things for God to do. But
today, knowing that we stand in the shadow of the cross and beyond the cross and
shout our praises for ourselves. We heard the words as Elizabeth sang them this
morning: “Hosanna! Hail to the Lord! Holy is he who
comes to the world to save.” That we can shout, even in the shadow of
the cross. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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