INTRODUCTION: Today’s Scripture reading is from the 21st chapter of the Gospel of Matthew—verses 1-11. It is the story of Jesus’ “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem nearly a week week before his death and resurrection. He is greeted by the crowds as Prophet, King, and Messiah--yet the people of Jerusalem do not recognize him. Their question at the end of the reading invites us to ask ourselves the same thing: “Who is this?” And why does it matter? … May God’s Spirit speak to us through these words.
Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11
21When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Sermon: “Picking up after a Parade”
[My sermon today is going to be a story, a fictional account written by myself and my husband, based on today’s Scripture Reading. It’s told from the perspective of someone in Jerusalem who watched Jesus ride into town on a donkey. I’m going to invite you to participate, if you wish. Whenever I say, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” I invite you to raise your hands--or if you have a palm branch, you can raise it and say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.]
So, the witness to Jesus’ Palm Sunday Parade speaks:
I’ve seen a lot in my day, but what happened this last week takes the cake.
You see, I’m a city employee in Jerusalem. I’m the one that cleans up after all the political parades when the governor, Pontius Pilate, and other Roman officials come into town.
But, I gotta tell you, the parade that happened last week was the biggest I’d ever seen. People lined the streets, 6 or 7 people deep. People stood on roof-tops, porches, camels, even climbed trees to see the man who was coming into town, and everybody was so happy! They were waving palm branches and singing and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
When I came toward town that day from my house on the outskirts of the city, the crowds were already gathering. Judging from their accents—and the way they were dressed--they had come from the countryside—not from inside the city. “What’s going on?” I asked. I knew there was no official visit expected. The word that spread through the crowd was that the Messiah was going to be riding into town—the Messiah who was predicted by the prophets of old. The Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, whom everybody said was going to save us from the oppressive Roman rule.
So, of course, I’m excited. I’m wondering, “What’s this Jesus going to be like? I found a place along the parade route, like everybody else. When I heard him coming—I could tell by the shouts that got louder that he was on his way, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”—I stood on my tiptoes and stretched out my neck, preparing to get a good look at him. I figured he’d be some big guy in a suit of armor, carrying a sword and shield, riding in on a war horse, ready to do battle. But, let me tell you, that’s not what he was like at all!
You wouldn’t believe it! Jesus turns out to be the furthest thing from a warrior you’re ever gonna see. He looked like a normal person--a peasant, like me. You’d probably think that he looks like a hippee! You know, someone who needs a haircut and wears sandals and a robe, and he comes riding in—get this—on a donkey! A donkey!! No armor at all, not even a helmet. And, on top of that, he’s not scowling like most of the soldiers I’ve seen—he’s smiling, waving at the crowd.
And, the crowd goes wild when they see him! Their shouts get louder-- “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” And then they start taking off their coats and throwing them on the ground, to make a carpet for him to ride over. Of course, being the one responsible for keeping the streets clean, the first thing I think of when I see them throwing their coats on the ground is, “Come on, you guys! I’ve gotta pick all this stuff up tomorrow—coats, palm branches, donkey droppings—don’t make it harder for me!”
But then Jesus rides by me, where I’m standing in the crowd, and he looks right at me. And when he looks at me, it’s like I have some sort of spiritual experience or mystical encounter. I suddenly feel all warm inside—from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, like when you’re a kid and you’re feeling lousy and your mother or father says, “Come here!” and they give you a big hug and when they’re holding you, you feel safe and warm and protected—it was like that when Jesus looked at me. Like I was loved and held by something—someone—bigger than me—and that, no matter what happened, everything was going to work out all right because no one could take me out of God’s embrace. And I knew in that instant that the crowd was right—Jesus was the Messiah.
And my heart felt like it was gonna burst and tears sprang to my eyes and my voice cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” and I suddenly forgot about all the cleaning I was going to have to do after the parade, and I picked up a palm branch and joined the crowd following Jesus into town.
Well, I’d like to tell you that after the parade everything just kept getting better and better for Jesus, but that’s not what happened. The mood in Jerusalem changed faster than you could say, “Jehosophat!”
When the parade was over, instead of going straight to the governor’s palace and leading the people in an armed protest there against the Romans, Jesus went straight to the Temple! The Temple of God! And, let me tell you, he caused quite a stir! He turned over the tables of the money changers, chased out the people who sold animals for sacrifice. That was okay with me, those merchants were just ripping people off anyway—everybody knew that—charging way too high a price for their wares. But I’m getting side-tracked.
My point is that, after this, a lot of the religious people turned against Jesus. Thought he was too critical. They called him a hothead, a zealot. And everyone who thought he was going to gather an army to take on the Roman government—they turned against him too, because it became clear that taking up arms against the Romans was not part of Jesus’ plan. Instead, he stayed in the Temple courts, preaching and teaching and healing the blind and the lame! (Even though a lot of people turned against him, there were still some who got healed and said, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”)
When I watched him that day putting his hands over people’s eyes and restoring their sight, I had one of those “aha” moments—when I suddenly saw everything clearly. It’s like I was one of the people whose sight he healed.
Here’s what I saw:
The people were turning against Jesus because they expected him to change their outside circumstances, to make everything easy for them. They expected him to lead a revolt against the Romans, to put an end to oppressive rule, give them all tax cuts and better paying jobs. Which would have been nice, but changing their outside circumstances isn’t what Jesus came to do. He didn’t come to pluck people out of their difficulties like a lifeguard pulls someone who can’t swim out of a pool. No.
Jesus came to change their hearts-- not their circumstances! He came to give them the inner resources they needed to cope with what goes on in the world. He came to change them on the inside—not the outside—so that they would then have the strength and the insight and the spiritual power to first combat, not the Romans, but their own fear, anxiety, and despair.
Jesus came—not to save them from external suffering—but to give them inner strength, peace, and forgiveness, so that they could be centered in God no matter what their outer life circumstances were. And then, from that centered and healed place, together they--the faith community-- could begin to change the world around them.
Well, you know what happened to Jesus at the end of that week. He was arrested, put up on a cross to die, and all of his followers deserted him, except for some women who watched from a distance. And, yes, he died, but that’s not the end of the story! The women who stayed with him ‘til the end were the first ones to hear the good news that God raised him from the dead! Woohoo! I mean, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
So, you know that that means, don’t you? The same inner strength, peace, forgiveness and healing that Jesus came to give the people of Jerusalem in my day, is still available in yours. Claim it—this holy week, and always! So that, together, we can witness to God’s power and love which overcomes all obstacles and gives us the strength to change the world for the better. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Let us pray:
O God, in some ways, we are like the people of Jerusalem so long ago. We are hungry for a hero. We crave some glimpse of greatness. We are starving for the spectacular. We gather for worship like those who watched the Passion-Parade in Jerusalem, craning our necks to catch a glimpse of our Messiah. As we wait for the Savior to come, forgive our disappointment when the when the special one appears in ways we do not expect. Open our hearts to the life-changing love that you offer us, even when your love catches us by surprise. Change our hearts and minds in the ways they need to be changed, and show us how we can act together as followers of Jesus to change our world for the better. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt
Franklin Federated Church
Franklin, MA
This sermon based on a sermon written by Rev. Paul Nickerson many years ago. It has been adapted by Marlayna over the last 15 years.