Palm Sunday

Liturgy of the Palms: Psalm 118:1-2,19-29; Matthew 21:1-11

Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew (26:14-27:10)11-54

Sermon preached at Christ Church, Red Hook NY

Hosanna!  

Crucify!

What are we to do with the messages of this day?  Which voice will we align with?

We’ve heard the hosannas.  Now, originally “hosanna” meant “save us!”  And we can hear that in the crowd.  It is the cry of the crowd looking for its Messiah.   But over time, “Hosanna” came to mean “hooray!  Our salvation has come!”  What began as a cry for help has become a cry of hope.

Jesus seems to play into that hope.  He rides in on a donkey, the traditional sign of a king, but it’s a colt, too young for the part.  The crowd is expecting a warrior to liberate them from the Romans.   And Jesus seems to give them what they want.  He is staging a dramatic counter-demonstration against the Roman occupiers who entered the city in grand procession.

Over the coming week, the people of Jerusalem will realize that Jesus is not the one they were looking for.  He staged a demonstration, he mocked the Roman rulers and their processions, but he doesn’t seem to want to kill or conquer.   Like the servant described by Isaiah, he comes only with the power to teach, the power to listen, the power to sustain, and the power to endure.  He is not a warrior.  He is a servant.

The crowd will ask for Barabbas instead.  Barabbas is not simply a thief or murderer.  He is the leader of the violent rebellion.  He looks like the kind of Messiah everyone is expecting.  The people pin their hopes on him and his violence.

The contrast here challenges us:

Do you really believe in the Prince of Peace?

Or do you believe in the warrior Messiah?

We love the Prince of Peace when he’s wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger.  But do you love him when he appears and tells you to conquer violence with non-violence?  

Do you love him when he tells you to serve others without expecting a reward?  

Do you love him when he tells you to leave everything behind and become willing to die?

Over the coming week we will see that Jesus is not the one riding to victory over our enemies.  Jesus is the one calling us to love them.  Jesus is with the poor, the outcast.  He is the servant, calling us to servanthood.

What will you say?

You might say, “Save us!”  Then he’ll turn to you and invite you to follow in his way.

You might say, “I don’t know him!”  Then he’ll turn and look at you with understanding and sadness.

You might say, “Crucify him!”  Then he will pick up his cross and go to his death.

You might mock him and say, “Save yourself!  Come down from that cross!”

You might say with the centurion, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

In our lives we’re likely to say all these things.   I know I’ve said them all.

I’ve said, “Please help me.  I’m lost and afraid.”  And Jesus has been there when I’ve said that.

But I’ve also said, “I don’t know him.”  I’ve hidden my faith when it would make me unpopular.  I haven’t spoken out about issues that might anger others, although the Gospel command seems clear.  And I’ve turned away from people in need.  I didn’t see the Christ in those people, or I pretended not to.

Have I said “Crucify him!” ?  I don’t want to admit to that.  But I have spoken in condemnation, out of my fear, and I have abandoned others to a horrible fate.  I have let others bear the burden of my fear.

I have said, “This man is God’s son.”  I say it each time we say the Creed.  I’m not always sure I know what it means, I have to confess.  But it’s a way to express my wonder and awe at this man’s courage and love.  

It’s not enough, however, to say it about Jesus.  Just as Jesus says that we feed him or clothe him whenever we feed or clothe another person, so too we recognize the divine image in Jesus by honoring it in one another.  I can’t really say that I’ve said this phrase until I look at you and say, “Truly, this person is God’s child.”

We say all these things, usually without thinking.  

At the center of it all, Jesus waits in silence.  He has taught us all he can.  Now he has to listen, and to endure.  Now, it is up to us.

What will you say?

You have the power to choose which voice to listen to, and which voice to speak in.  Whichever voice you choose, it will shape your life.

May you have courage and love this week to walk to the end, and to be able to say next Sunday, “I have seen the Lord!”