It was a spring day, in the year 33 AD – the beginning of the week of Passover – what was and continues to be recognized as the most sacred week of the Jewish year. Members of the Jewish faithful from all over the Roman world made their way to Jerusalem – the capital city of ancient Israel… to the temple – the center of sacred imagination for the Jewish people, believed to be God’s dwelling place on earth. Roughly a quarter million travelling from their homes, some for days on end, for a time of worship and celebration. Coming together to remember – to thank God, for God’s deliverance of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt.
Though, as it was, those celebrating this freedom of the past, were themselves far from free. No longer enslaved by Pharoah, but occupied by Rome. Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place on earth, a place of domination – of political oppression and economic exploitation. A place where the few – the powerful and elite – ruled over the ordinary. The average person living in the region – no voice, no hope for better days. A place, out of Romes’s belief that the Emperor himself was divine, where all other religious traditions of the day were seen, at best, as a nuisance… at times as a threat…
With all of this, one can imagine the tension in Jerusalem throughout the week of Passover, under Roman rule, as thousands of Jews lined the streets in occupied territory, to celebrate the freedom they didn’t have… As Jesus, this self-proclaimed Messiah, who has spent the past three years stirring the pot, challenging those in positions of authority… rides into town, seeking to fulfill the prophesies of old…
As the scene unfolds, while we focus our attention this morning on Jesus’ Triumphal Procession of Palms, the history books remind us, that this wasn’t the only parade in Jerusalem on that spring day. As Jesus entered the city from the East, in what New Testament scholar Marcus Borg deemed as the peasant procession – humble… sitting on a donkey barely large enough to carry him… a few fishermen, a tax collector, and a group of women by his side… from the West, the parade less know – what Borg deemed as the imperial procession. The procession of Pontious Pilate, Roman Governor of Judea… marching into Jerusalem in full military might – calvary on horses, foot soldiers adorned with armor from head to toe, bearing swords and spears, the sounds of marching hooves and boots against the stone streets… the clanging of weapons and the beating of drums echoing throughout…
Two processions. Two very different goals in mind. The Parade of Palms – a command of peace to the nations… to end violence and oppression… About leveling the playing field between peasant and elite… the hope for life renewed… Pilate’s parade – the embodiment of power and control … a reduction of life for those outside the Roman elite…
So, here we are, nearly two thousand years later, and in the centuries since, Christians have celebrated this day as Palm Sunday – the first day of Holy Week. As the time of Passover is for the Jewish faithful, with its climax of Good Friday and Easter, the most sacred week of the Christian year.
And while hundreds of thousands of Christians aren’t journeying to Jerusalem in celebration – today, across the world, those who place their faith in Christ stand side by side the first disciples as Jesus enters the city, knowing exactly what fate awaits him. Their emotions, ours – the fears and anxieties of what lay ahead. Their hopes, ours as well – that, the one who comes in the name of the Lord would set us free from whatever it is that holds us in bondage… would bring peace… would bring new life…
So, we wave our Palms for all to see. We gather to worship. We hear the words of scripture. We sing songs of praise and thanksgiving for the long-awaited Messiah. And weshout Hosanna! O Lord, save! In all of it – reflecting on what it is we are looking for Jesus to save us from? On what is it we are looking for Him to save us for?
By the end of the week, those who shouted for Jesus to free them from Roman rule will call for his head. From hosanna to crucify… From save to kill… And Pilate – he will conclude his imperial parade by giving the crowd exactly what they have asked for… exchanging a known criminal for the Prince of Peace… The corrupt, oppressive, system of power will appear to have won the battle… Darkness will appear to have won over light. Death will have defeated life, as the Kingdom of God come near is hung upon a tree by the kingdom of the world. And the world will weep…
Yet as we know, the events of today and those of the week ahead aren’t the end. The conclusion has yet to unfold. The story is far from over. Through Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we travel through the East Gate, into Holy Week – from the Upper Room to the Garden… from Pilate’s quarters to the cross… And in this journey, we witness for ourselves the Good News that Jesus has preached – the Kingdom of God come near… by way of sacrificial love… As it was for Jesus, the way for us…
So, let us follow – confronting injustice and oppression as we go. Let us march together for those Jesus came to serve – the blind and the crippled, the less fortunate, the outcast, the marginalized, and the stranger in our midst. Hailing Jesus – the Prince of Peace – as King and ruler of our lives, over, and when necessary against, the powers of this world. For regardless of what we are in need of being saved from, this is the work we have been saved for.
The procession has begun. The King has arrived. Not dripping with signs of royalty, not bearing the things of military might, but meek and riding on a colt. Not to reign from the throne, but from the cross. Giving his life for the life of the world – to make his dwelling within each of us – that we would be of the same mind. That we would empty ourselves… that we would humble ourselves… confessing our faith in Jesus by giving of ourselves for our neighbor in need. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord – the coming kingdom! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Amen.
~Pastor Andrew Geib
Sermons at St. James Gettysburg 