Sunday Sermons

Aptil 9, 2006 — Palm Sunday

Rev. Alice M.C. Ling, Senior Pastor
Philippians 2:5-11, Mark 11:1-11

We’ve spent the Lenten season hearing from characters who were part of Jesus’ final week and trying to get inside their heads. Trying to imagine what was going on for them, what they were experiencing, why they did what they did and how they felt about it. How much they understood of what was happening and whether they had any clue that they were playing a part in changing the world for the rest of time. And as I said in my newsletter article, the point at the heart of it all is to encourage each of us to think about our role, our place, our response to Jesus and his presence and his teachings – as well as how we stand up in the presence of that sort of pressure and fear.

And now it’s time to step back to the beginning of the week, to Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. We think palm branches and Hosannas and a colt and a crowd and excitement and a parade. Everybody loves a parade, and this one is one of the best in the life of the church. Here comes Jesus, and everybody is here, everybody is on, everybody is pumped! Where would we have been that Sunday at the gate of Jerusalem? Out in the middle of the street, two steps ahead of the colt, scurrying to get our jackets in place on the road in time for it to walk on them? Standing on the sidelines, waving a branch or two, shouting our Hosannas! And Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Or off tending to the duties of the day, trying to get something accomplished, trying to keep a finger in the dike, trying to maintain the status quo for one more day? I want to share with you a poem entitled “The Arrival” that for me poses those questions in a really striking way.

     On the day
     when Jesus the prophet
     arrived in our town,
     Joe Farmer was very busy
     choosing a new car.
     He heard the distant cheering:
     "Hosanna! Blessed is he
     who comes in the name of the Lord."
     Mentally he made a note
     and promised himself
     he’d hear the prophet;
     some day,
     not now.
     Joe was far too occupied
     with trade-in price,
     fuel consumption,
     and the virtues of the ST
     or the LJ model,
     and whether either car
     was better
     than his neighbour's.

     At coffee break
     22 year old Esther Romantic
     also heard the uproar
     coming from High Street.
     She felt an impulse
     to go and join the crowd
     with those who welcomed
     the prophet,
     for stories about him
     had strangely
     shaken and encouraged her.
     But Esther's wedding day
     was only seven weeks off
     and she still had thinking to do
     about the flowers,
     shade of eye shadow,
     or whether on the tables
     she wanted with every place card
     a wishbone.

     For Jim Smiley
     the real estate agent
     it was infuriating:
     Time was money!
     Here he was stuck in a traffic jam
     in the middle of town,
     thanks to these idiots
     with grins, slogans and palm branches,
     supporting this new fool
     Jesus
     who had said some rotten things
     about real estate.
     Jim was due in four minutes
     at Toorak Place
     to meet with a wealthy client.
     Jim yelled at a policeman
     patrolling the edge of the procession:
     "How about some law and order!"

     Some did not even hear
     the cheering
     nor cared.
     Beth Goldsmith
     with fingers covered with rings
     was watching "Days of our lives"
     when the prophet
     walked within one block
     of her residence.
     They interrupted the programme
     for an eyewitness report
     on the progress
     of the street demo.
     Beth took the opportunity
     to fetch another pot of coffee
     and two aspirin.

     Professor Nicodemus
     was lecturing at the Uni.
     He noted the small number
     who had turned up today,
     and even they were restless.
     He asked the reason.
     They gave him the news
     that the prophet Jesus
     was leading a demo
     to the Central Mall.
     On an impulse Nicodemus
     dismissed the surprised students
     and hurried off down High Street
     where, somewhat embarrassed,
     he joined the crowd and found
     himself shouting "Hosanna!"
     At the sound of his own voice,
     the Prof felt his own soul-
     as if a birth was about to take place-
     leap for joy within!
     And it seemed as if all things
     were becoming new.

Opportunity knocks. Sometimes.
                        (BD Prewer, http://www.alphalink.com.au/~nigel/doc/B060409.htm)

There’s another image I want to lift up, also by way of a poem. And for me it grows out of the final verse of Mark’s rendition of the story. Mark tells that after all the hoopla of Jesus’ arrival at the city gate, Jesus found himself standing quietly at the entrance to the temple, where he looked around at everything and then turned around and went out to Bethany with the twelve. The crowd had scattered to separate corners of the city. Jesus was alone. He entered the temple, but there was no priestly greeting. Jesus was ignored. All he could do was look things over and get the lay of the land and then call it quits for the day.

Where do you suppose they went? What were they up to? Were they disenchanted all ready? Did they have more pressing business to tend to? Had they been disappointed in what they’d seen and so gone off to see who else they could find to cheer and welcome and follow?

This poem is written by Joy Crowley

            No donkey this time
            but a borrowed Honda 550.
            Jesus riding into town
            with a black leather jacket,
            jeans frayed at the knees,
            and L-O-V-E tattooed
            on the knuckles of his right hand.
            Those who saw him
            said his smile was like the sun,
            warming shadowed corners
            and causing the way to blossom
            unexpectedly.
            Those who saw him told
            of all the light left over
            to be taken home and set
            in eyes, in hearts
            and at windows for strangers.
            It was like a miracle,
            they said.

            The rest of us missed it.
            We were in another part of the city,
            waiting for the Messiah.
                        Joy Crowley, from Resources for Preaching and Worship, Year B., p. 106)

Let us welcome the Christ – as he is. Where he is. As he comes to us. Open to what he brings, how he loves, where he calls us to love and serve and follow. Let us be there, at the city gate at the beginning of this week. And at the table, in the garden, in Pilate’s hall, and at the foot of the cross. By the grace of God and in the strength of our faith, may we be there – with him.

Amen.