Palm Sunday, 2023 - A Sermon for Palm Sunday

Jesus's royal entry into Jerusalem that Sunday before Passover – what we celebrate as Palm Sunday each year - was a sermon. Jesus followed the example of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in acting out a sermon to proclaim a truth the people could not and did not want to hear. His entry into Jerusalem was one of three acted-out sermons he “preached” that week: his entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the Temple, his reinterpretation of the Passover meal. In acting out his sermon, he guaranteed that we would remember it. His use of an acted-out sermon worked – at least to some degree. We still remember his entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the Temple, his reinterpretation of the Passover meal. We remember the sermons, but do we hear their messages?

At the heart of the spiritual journey is the challenge of hearing what we don’t want to hear. That challenge was why Jesus reverted to an acted-out sermon. The ways of God Jesus taught confront and challenge the ways the world trained us to think and live. When what Jesus taught is at odds with what we believe, we inherently resist what he taught, clinging to what we already believe.

 

How we deal with this challenge determines our progress – or lack of it – on the spiritual journey. Embracing what Jesus taught leads to progress. Resisting what Jesus taught keeps us stuck in how the world trained us to think and live. It keeps us stuck spiritually, in a state of spiritual immaturity.

 

As I have said multiple times (am I sounding like a broken record?), spiritual progress is tied to learning to think differently – what the apostle Paul called the renewing of the mind. “Stop being conformed to the way the world trained you to think; be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” Romans 12:2 (personal translation). The writers of Ephesians and Colossians echo Paul, saying that moving from the old self to a new self occurs as were are made new in the spirit of our minds (Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10).

 

Jesus’s acted-out sermon in his entry into Jerusalem that Sunday reminds us of our inherent resistance to this process. We cling to what we know and believe, resisting what Jesus taught.

 

Our resistance to what Jesus taught, our clinging to what we already believe is rooted in a deeper resistance – the resistance to change. If we change how we think and what we believe, it requires us to change how we live. For example, how I think about and view another person determines how I treat him. If I change how I think about and view him, that change in thinking in turn leads to a change in how I treat him.

 

The Spirit’s transformation of our lives begins with changing how we think.  

 

The message of Jesus’s acted-out sermon is an example of what we don’t want to hear.

 

Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem was one of two parades that entered Jerusalem that Sunday morning.  History tells us about the other parade. This little-known parade entered Jerusalem through the western gate. It was a Roman military parade, led by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. 

During most of the year, the Roman governor lived on the Mediterranean coast in a port-city called Caesarea on the Sea. This seaport city was the seat of Roman authority in Judea. Each year during the week of Passover, the Roman governor would make his way to Jerusalem along with military reinforcements for the Roman garrison located in Jerusalem. This garrison – Fortress Antonio – was located alongside the Temple compound. This location allowed the Roman soldiers stationed there quick access to the Temple should any disturbance, any rebellion occur within the Temple complex. Such disturbances were common during the week of Passover when the people’s desire for independence from Rome ran high. Bringing reinforcements to this Roman garrison was the occasion of this annual military parade. Under the eagle standard of Roman, flying the Roman banners, led by the Roman governor, the armies of Roman – cavalry and foot soldiers - marched in step into Jerusalem dressed in full armor with weapons clearly displayed. 

 

Jesus designed and orchestrated his parade to correspond to this military parade. As the Roman army marched into Jerusalem through the Western gate, Jesus and his parade entered through the Eastern gate.

Both parades were designed to make a statement. The Roman military parade proclaimed that any who dared to challenge the power of Rome would quickly feel the death-wielding wrath of Rome. The power that was on display would be used to break and subjugate, to destroy and dominate any who dared to opposed it.

The parade Jesus designed made a radically different statement. His statement – and the message of his acted-out sermon – centered in the donkey upon which he rode. The donkey was designed to call to mind the words of the prophet Zechariah:

Lo, your king comes to you;

triumphant and victorious is he,  

humble and riding on a donkey.

He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim  

and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,  

and he shall command peace to the nations,” Zechariah 9:9-10.

Jesus came in peace, to bring peace. The peace he offered came by using power to serve, addressing the needs of people, particularly the powerless, oppressed, and exploited. Jesus proclaimed a radically different way of using power from that of Rome.

Jesus’ parade was a political statement.  It was an act of political protest. The residents of Jerusalem understood Jesus’ parade to be a political protest and feared the reaction of those Roman reinforcements stationed in the Fortress Antonio. “The whole city was in turmoil,” Matthew 21:10.      The word translated as “turmoil” carries the imagery of a major earthquake shaking the foundations of the city. 

The message of Jesus’s acted-out sermon was about power and peace. Jesus’s parade proclaimed the way to peace – authentic, lasting peace – comes through using power to serve. Peace does not come by using power to conquer and dominate, by using power to control, subjugate, and destroy.  Such peace is a false peace that benefits the few powerful and privileged at the top.  This kind of so-called peace is but a fragile stability. The way to peace is found in the ways of God, in the ways of the Kingdom, in the ways of the servant. Peace – true peace - is only possible when power is used to serve.  Peace, lasting peace, grows out of using power to address the needs of others – particularly those with little or no power, those with little or no resources. 

We remember Jesus’s acted-out sermon. We recall it in our worship every Palm Sunday. But do we remember the message of his acted-out sermon? Do we resist (ignore) his message because it challenges how we think and what we believe? Do we resist his teaching because it would require us to change, not just how we think and what we believe, but how we live – particularly, how we use our power in relation to others?

Resisting what Jesus taught is an inescapable part of the spiritual journey. How we negotiate this part of the journey determines the progress – or lack of it – we make on our spiritual journey.