A Sunday Message for April 1, 2011

“The Grand Entrance”

(Pt. 6 of “Going Places with Jesus for Lent”)  

Mark 11:1-11, John 12:16-19, Psalm 118:19-29

“Then they brought the colt to Jesus and he sat on it…Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” (Mark 11:7, 9, 10)

(Sermon preached by Rev. Larry A. Langer, First Presbyterian Church, Jasper, IN, April 1, 2012)

Consider this idea with me:

For most of us, for most of our lives, life is a matter of attempting to swim with the current. We labor to get in step with the beat of the music, to dance to the tune that most people seem to be following. And we might have been able to keep it up – to go with the flow – if we had not been met by Jesus. Jesus moves us against the stream. He seems determined to lure us onto a different path.

What do we think? Do we feel Jesus luring us onto a different path? I know that with my own walk with the Lord, there are still plenty of steps I need to take to keep up with Jesus. And this is what I am trying to do. However, I also know that the devil is doing his best to lure me away from Jesus’ path, and his lure is also mighty strong.

Of course, we are told by God’s word, “Greater is Jesus who is in you than the devil that is in the world.” This fact of faith is what keeps me – and many others – resisting the lure of the devil and trying to follow the lure of Jesus.

What about us and the lure of Jesus on our lives? Is it easy or hard for us to follow his lure? For many of us, there may never have been a time when we have struggled with really tough lures of the devil. Perhaps our hearts and minds are so pure, so fixed on the lure of the Lord, that we have really never had to struggle with the wiles of the devil.

For others of us, there may have been periods in our life that we were far from walking with the Lord. There may have been a time that the lure of the devil was stronger than the lure of Jesus, and we went with the unholy ways of the crowd.

The Good News is, though, our lives can be led by the lure of the Lord, no matter what the lure might be in the future. When we are lured to and choose to follow Jesus, he will guide us on the path that is best for our spiritual health. And, I dare say, when our spiritual health is in a healthy state, our mental and physical health follow and are also in a healthier state.

So, the question before us today, as it is before us especially every Sunday but also every waking moment of our lives is, to which path will we be lured? Will we always just “go with the flow”? Or will we let Jesus lure us onto a different path, his path, especially when it is different from the crowd? Where would we have been when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that donkey with those people shouting “hosanna” that day? Where would we have been?

Let’s take the position of one of his disciples today and where they were. What might they have thought and seen?

What they and we notice is that we really are going into the capital city, Jerusalem. According to Mark’s gospel form which we read today, nearly all of Jesus’ ministry and thus that disciples’ ministry has taken place outside of Jerusalem, outside the city, out in the hinterlands, in Galilee. Jesus has told us over the past several weeks, especially, that he has his face set for Jerusalem. But today we realize that we truly are going there.

Because of this, we begin thinking in earnest about what we are going to find there. Will we find complete, joyous celebration, much the same as we have at a Strassenfest Parade? Will we find a loud crowd with different agendas, much the same as was on the steps of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. this week as the Health Care Law was being considered by the Justices? Will we find and be part of a parade that is part protest and part in silent solidarity, in much the same way as the marches have been of late regarding the murder of the young man in Florida? These parades have even been in Evansville, Muncie, at Purdue, and in other places around us.

What do we expect to find?

One theologian believes that “we should consider Palm Sunday as one of the most “political” Sundays of the year.” I want us to try to think about Palm Sunday as that day when Jesus enters Jerusalem and walks a perilous walk, enacting an in-your-face public protest before the powers that be.”

Two other theologians and writers argue that the procession Christians celebrate on Palm Sunday was most likely a “protest march.” On that day there was a “peasant procession” led by Jesus as he entered Jerusalem from the east. At the same time there could have easily been a full-fledged “imperial procession” led by Pontius Pilate and his Roman soldiers who entered from the west.

(We do need to remember that security would have been very high for this festival time, the festival of the Jewish Feast of the Passover. Just think about the extra security we have at Strassenfest time – and Strassenfest is a fun, light-hearted celebration!)

The two writers go on to say, “Jesus’ procession deliberately countered what was happening on the other side of the city. Pilate’s procession embodied the power, glory, and violence of the empire that ruled the world. Jesus’ procession embodied an alternative vision, the kingdom of God.”

The way that Jesus is walking this day is a way that is decidedly counter to the way that the world walks. Are we really going to follow him into Jerusalem? And the way that Jesus walks and the way that Jesus talks might be limited to Jews only had not Jesus commanded us also to walk and talk the Jesus way. Do we really walk and talk the Jesus way? Earlier along this journey to Jerusalem Jesus clearly said that not only would he go to the cross but that we should go to the cross, as well. “Take up your cross daily and follow me,” he said. Are we willing to do this daily, seven days a week, or just for one or two hours on Sunday morning?

Here’s what we learn that will help us follow Jesus daily.

First, Jesus knew exactly where he was going and what he was going to do. He had the confidence that, yes, the plan would be carried out.

As Jesus’ disciples, do we know where we are going, what we are going to do, and have the confidence to do it with our faith? I don’t think we can sugar-coat what it means to follow Jesus these days. It is tough to live in this life and follow Jesus 24/7.

“No, Larry, you’re wrong. It is easy for me. All I do is go along to get along, trying not to make waves, trying to be a good person and trying to help my friends.”

“Commendable,” is my response. But what about those who need our help who aren’t our friends? What about when someone tells us about what someone else did or did not do in a gossiping sort of way?

I was speaking with someone the other day about a person that someone was helping. That someone later said, “I suppose we were gossiping earlier.” My thoughts were, (a) we were speaking the truth about a person’s situation; (b) we were continuing to help that person’s situation; and (c) we weren’t speaking maliciously, negatively, or meanly. There is a huge difference between malicious gossip and a real attempt at ministering in the name of Jesus.

Second, Jesus tells us exactly what he needs us to do. He told the disciples that day to (a) go into town; (b) untie the colt you find; (c) bring it to me; (d) if you are questioned say, “The Lord needs it and will send it right back.”

From the very beginning of the Bible, we can know what to do. From the very beginning of the Bible, we have been able to do it sometimes and fail miserably at it at other times. The good news is that the Lord knew this was going to happen. The good news also is that we have the way out of our failures. The good news is that this way is Jesus. The good news is that Jesus’ way gives us the right priorities for life, and they are very clear.

(a)        Jesus affirmed the Ten Commandments;

(b)        Jesus not only affirmed them, but he completed the. Just as one example, the commandment says, “Do not kill.” Okay, so we don’t kill physically, but we kill with what we say. Jesus completed this commandment by telling us to give life to people. Rather than killing with our words, for example, we can give life with our words.

(c)        Jesus said, “Go.” He affirmed what the Prophet Micah said, “What does the Lord require? Only this, do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” James said, “Faith without works is dead.” This doesn’t mean that everyone has to go on a mission trip! But it could mean to be part of groups that seek to bring about positive change in the community. It could mean to keep in touch with a young person and encourage them, even just by greeting them, complimenting them, helping them and using them when we can.

(d)        Jesus said, “Bring the colt back to me.” After we have been out in life, would we bring our work back to Jesus? We will have this opportunity in the long run; in fact, Jesus will bring our work back to us! One day, we will stand before Jesus and his Father God and we will see our entire life again. What will we see?

I believe this will be the moment of judgment, only it won’t be Jesus judging us; it will be our own completed vision judging us. We will be seeing each success, each failure, each loving act, each ugly act, and we will know that the only way these will ever balance out is if Jesus tilts the scale. And, we believe he will; we trust that he will.

Third, Jesus shows us what he is. He shows us that he will do all this and more. You know, there is no doubt that Jesus entered Jerusalem, that he went ahead with what we call “Holy Week.” The only think that is in doubt is whether or not we believe Jesus was resurrected, whether or not Jesus is our Savior.

You know, we don’t re-report about Palm Sunday and the rest of Holy Week every single year just to sit back, like we would at a movie, and watch a rerun! No, we renew this every year to be reminded where we belong – in the parade, not on the sidelines. We are reminded that we may be asked to go into town and get the colt. We are reminded that we may have to defend our actions by saying that the Lord has a need. We are reminded that there is so very much more to following Jesus than just knowing the stories and being a good person. We may have to walk with Jesus all the way and hang on the cross with him! All of thee reminders of Holy Week are necessary to keep us going with Jesus in our faith.

May God give us a much deeper understanding of these things and the great desire to walk today where Jesus walked. Amen.