April 8, 2001
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on The Cross and Beyond: We begin this Holy Week with a procession and a hint of trouble as Jesus and his disciples celebrate their final Passover together. Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Holy City. Most of know that this week that begins in celebration will end with the arrest and death of Jesus. So a growing number of churches celebrate Passion Sunday today and will concentrate not only on the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem but also the events that will lead to his arrest and crucifixion. In the center of all that Palm and Passion Sunday
celebrates, our Lenten theme, “Love On The Cross And Beyond” finds its
meaning. When the shouting begins and when it is over, love will be exalted, it
will be lifted up not only on Calvary’s cross, but in our hearts as well.
For the next few minutes, put yourself in the mix of the excitement.
Place yourself in the company of the disciples, and among the crowd in the
streets, and with those who were in the Temple courtyard with Jesus. We know that the love that is exalted is Jesus himself who becomes the model of faithfulness and service for us. He was the model for the people who introduced us to the faith we have claimed, and he will be the model for those we will introduce to Jesus. I know, as do you that a full, faithful, exalted
relationship with Jesus happens not in a single event, but through a spiritual
journey that lasts a lifetime. Matthew in his account of the triumphal entry and
the events that follow provides a kind of roadmap for our travels from here into
life eternal. It is as if he is telling us that in order for us to reach the
highest point in our own lives, and in order for us to find the energy to
introduce others to a relationship with Jesus, there are some things we can do. First, we can do as Paul urged the Philippians to do. You heard it in our first reading, and it bears repeating: “Let this same mind
be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he
was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God
as
something to be exploited, but emptied himself,
taking
the form of a slave, being born in human likeness,
and
being found in human form, he humbled himself
and
became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
(Philippians 2.5-8)
This is the week that will lead us to the cross.
What are we to do as we go? We understand that there are
preparations to be made. Jesus and his disciples are on the outskirts of
Jerusalem, the capital city, the seat of government, and the seat of religious
authority. It is the season of Passover, the same season that began for our
Jewish brothers and sisters last night. Passover was a high festival time, it
was a pilgrimage festival, people from all over Israel had made their way to
Jerusalem. While they are on the edge of town, Jesus sends two
unnamed disciples to find an animal for him to ride into the city. They must
have raised their eyebrows at the thought of untying a donkey and a colt that
did not belong to them, so Jesus is careful to tell them what to say. Was there
a prearranged signal with an ally in town? We don’t know. Jesus simply says,
“if anybody asks what you are doing, just say that the Lord has need of it,
and it will be given to you.” Do not take Jesus words to mean that we can take whatever we want whenever we want, and then be excused because “the Lord needs it”. Instead, we can ask ourselves this question. What resources do we have this Palm and Passion Sunday that the Jesus needs? One answer of course is that Jesus needs nothing from us. All things have been placed in his hands, what could he possibly need from us? On the other hand there are some things we have that the church of Jesus Christ needs. It needs our presence in worship on a regular
basis, it needs our devotion, our disciplines of prayer and generosity. It needs
our compassion toward others, our loyalty and accountability. It needs our
ability to take a risk for the sake of the gospel, it needs us to share our
gifts and our talents and to declare that we are indeed the church. When someone asks us, why do you do all that you
do? Can we answer because the Lord needs us to in order for us to truly be the
church that bears his name? We need
for the sake of the good news that is in us to reach out and speak words of hope
and healing, to live ethically, to live faithfully, and to serve willingly all
to the glory of God. Because of God’s great love for us, and because of
God’s goodness to us, we can do no less. Will God be God if we don’t? Yes. Will the good news of Jesus Christ be shared if we
are silent? Yes. This city and this nation are full of churches that live the
gospel daily. But if we do not, then our particular voice will be missing and
that would be a shame because the world needs to hear the voice of congregations
like ours, that are multiracial, multigenerational, hospitable and caring. It
needs to see and hear of congregations that live the good news that Jesus Christ
loves us all. It needs to hear from us that we lift up the love
of God by preparing to share that love and to act out that love in our ministry
to others, especially those who have come to us as strangers. We never know, we
might just make the transition from strangers to guests to friend, to brothers
and sisters in Christ because we are read to greet them. The Lord needs us to. Once we prepare, we can see both promise
and prophesy fulfilled. Here we find a curiosity that can become a
distraction. Matthew says that Jesus comes into town riding both a colt and a
donkey which makes little sense to us. Here is one commentator’s
explanation. “Some interpreters have ridiculed Matthew for suggesting
that Jesus was astride two animals simultaneously. Others have suggested that,
since it was common to sit on a donkey with both legs on the same side, that is
sidesaddle, it is possible that the clothes were thrown over both the donkey and
the foal at her side, so that Jesus was seen as riding the pair.” (Douglas
Hare, Interpretation, Matthew, p.239) What is of primary importance is that the promise
is fulfilled in us not as we try to figure out why Jesus was on two animals, but
as we see God doing what God has said would happen. Matthew’s gospel is
written to confirm that Jesus is the Messiah promised by God in Hebrew
scripture, which we call the Old Testament. So in his book, there are frequent
citations of the Old Testament as if Matthew is proof-texting the Messiahship of
Jesus. So he quotes Zechariah 9.9, where we find there is the promise of a king
entering the city on a colt. The promise to the people was that the Messiah will
come, here he is. But here is a different kind of king. Whatever people expected, Jesus arrives as “the
gentle king who comes with no sword in his hand, vulnerable to whatever his
enemies will choose to do to him. He who taught, “do not resist one who is
evil (Mt. 5.39) is prepared to live and die by his own word.” (Hare,
p. 238) This king who comes in humility and gentleness
will not be a warrior king, but a servant king. There are no soldiers, but
disciples he is not a king who is about earthly rule, but one who comes
empowering people to faithfulness and transformation. Here he is, God’s own son, the one who comes to
us as the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. The question for us is, will
we join in the procession of praise and proclamation? Surely when we
think about the difference that knowing Jesus has made in our lives, we can join
the procession. When we think of how he has kept and held us when we feel
utterly alone, and of how we have been led and lifted up when we have fallen
down, when hope and healing reside when we come face to face with our deepest
need, how can we not join in the joyful, humble shouting? Can we not find a place in the crowd, wave our palm
branches and proclaim, “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of
the Lord?” That particular greeting was common at Temple festivals, and it was
not at all unusual to hear at Passover. This time, though is different. “Hosanna”, they cry. The word means “God
save.” It is as if the crowd knows that this time, only Jesus is fully
authorized and empowered by God to speak for God, only Jesus comes as one sent
by God to deliver and to bring salvation. On this day, only Jesus is worthy of
our Hosanna. While we join in praise and proclamation, let’s put ourselves
among those who help to shake up the city, Matthew says the excitement was so
great that all of Jerusalem was stirred up. It was like an earthquake. Through
our lives of faith, whether we shake quietly or loudly, however we are led, we
are invited to show that the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives has moved us. Then we can join in the answer to the question
asked of those who did not know Jesus, “Who is this”? Swiftly and surely we
can say, “this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” Having proclaimed who he is, the next thing for us
is to let the mind of Christ Jesus help us to get clear on
our priorities. What does it mean for us that Jesus is in Jerusalem?
Priority one means that Jesus knows what he is about. It is about the right use
of the Temple. Jesus goes to the Temple and immediately drives out both sellers
and buyers. This time he quotes parts of Isaiah 56. 7, when he talks about the
Temple as a house of prayer. What upset Jesus so was that the buyers and sellers
were not about stewardship, they were not conducting bake sales, nor were they
fund raising for the mission of the Temple. What they were doing were operating
a for profit business and acting unethically in the process.
They are like pastors and leaders who behave badly
and then look to the church for refuge without accountability; they want the
protection of the church without changing the behavior that damages both their
reputation and the reputation of the church.
Listen to the other half of Jesus statement. It has to do with making the
Temple a den of robbers and is found in Jeremiah 7. 9-11: “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear
falsely,…and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by
my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ only to go on doing all these
abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of
robbers in your eyes?” Priority two understands that those with spiritual,
emotional, and physical needs belong in the Temple. True deliverance was given
to those who because they were disabled were exempt from mandatory attendance at
festivals, but were permitted to attend if they could. The ones who ill-used the
Temple were driven out, those who were there even though they were excused from
the responsibility, found deliverance and are restored so that the exemption was
removed. Those who could not see, those who could not walk to the Temple somehow
got to the Temple and one this day were able to have an encounter with Jesus. Priority three celebrates the ministry of Jesus
with children, a celebration we share in this congregation. Jesus always
welcomed children, now they welcome him in that special way that children can.
They are unrestrained in their excitement. They imitate their parents as they
pick up some palm branches and sing, “Hosanna to the Son David! Hey Jesus, we
know who you are too.” The chief priests and scribes were predictably
annoyed. They were upset with the children, with the crowd, with Jesus, and they
say to him, “do you hear what they are saying?”
Jesus this time quotes Psalm 8.2: “Out of the mouths of babes and
infants, you have founded a bulwark, a protection, because of your foes…” They do indeed know who the shouting is for, and if
we know, then there is one more thing for us to do. We can
ponder and act. In this place, as believers of Jesus Christ, as disciples
of his, we act with bold intentionality and let love find exaltation in us as we
go out from this place and sing hosanna and receive his healing. We will indeed
grieve as he is lifted up on the cross, we will celebrate as he is lifted from
that death. How do we find the strength to prepare, to praise and proclaim, to
focus on our priorities, to ponder and act? We find it as we look past the love
that is on the cross, to the love of God that extends beyond the cross, and pray
that we will continue to bear witness to the amazing thing that God has done in
Christ Jesus. Therefore,
God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so
that in the name of Jesus,
every
knee should bend, in heaven and on earth
that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God.
(Philippians 2.9-11) To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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