This weekend we watched and maybe participated in the “March for our Lives,” the youth lead movement to end gun violence in our country. In response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School shooting in Parkland Florida, students, citizens and activists marched on the Capital Mall and around the country to turn the tide on the senseless killings plaguing America. I am sure you have been inspired by these young people, who not only endured an unspeakable tragedy but have possessed the courage to address this matter, with poise, logic, and passion. They give me hope for the future of our nation, that even in tragedy something good can come from the ashes.
Now some might call this march a parade, but I do not think so. A parade seems to be celebratory, like a homecoming parade, a victory parade, or a 4th of July parade like we have every year in Aptos- billed as the shortest parade ever. By comparison a march tends to be in protest or for a cause, Civil Rights march to Selma, the Women’s March, or the March for our Lives. We even had a small parade this morning as we processed into the sanctuary. Of course we are participating in the parade of palms that marks Palm Sunday. The celebration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
All four gospels tell of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. We just heard two accounts of that event. Yet each one has a slightly different feel, especially with regard of Kings & Kingdoms. Luke tells of “the King coming in the name of the Lord” (19:38). John says “Blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” Matthew mentions only the “Son of David” (21:9). These three have some mention of a king, elevating Jesus to a position of power. You see the Jews believed that the Messiah would be the great liberator of the people, the one who would vindicate them and end the Roman rule restoring the God given place of Jerusalem as their capitol. A king would surely be able to do just that. The people expected Jesus to make this event into a march, a political event, as they lined up for a parade, celebrating his arrival to the seat of power. And yet Mark tells a different story. He does not call Jesus a king, he rather draws their attention to the Kingdom of David which is coming. A king certainly has power, mentioning a kingdom not so much.
So Jesus had the disciples secure the donkey, a far cry from a victorious war horse that the people would have expected him to ride. The crowds formed the parade because of their expectations of Jesus as the Messiah the one who will save them. Hence they shouted Hosanna which means “to Save” or “please save”. They are celebrating with a parade, that Jesus will soon liberate them. He entered Jerusalem responding to their shouts of praise, and yet he seems to be creating his own parade, one that is not celebratory, but rather humble. Jesus entered the city knowing that he was about to go to the cross. He was not celebrating his entry; he was preparing to become the sacrificial lamb.
There is a humble nature to how Jesus enters. First he rides a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy of how the messiah will arrive. But then we have to ask why he even entered the city that day. In Matthew and Luke, once Jesus enters the city he turns over the tables of the money changers -announcing his authority. In Mark it was late in the day and he simply leaves again with his disciples. It feels as if he entered simply to be present with the people, to be of service of, to help them to see that he is the messiah. He humbly enters the place he is going to die, only to be of service.
Yesterday we had our church clean-up day. Thank you for everyone who joined in to help us wash windows. Don’t they sparkle? Several people, myself included, said “I am not much of a window cleaner.” All except David Allshouse who said every month they washed the windows in the firehouse-so he is an excellent window washer!!! We paired up to wash all those windows, I was on the outside and David the inside! Yet we all sort of laughed how we hire people to wash our windows at home but we come to the church and clean windows. I thought that was such a testimony to being of service, of humbly doing something we don’t usually do because we believe in the church and the work of Christ. When we work at something like cleaning windows it grounds us to what is important, our community, Jesus, service and humility. We seem to be answering Jesus’ call- “The Lord has need of it.” Of course that was said to secure the donkey. But it is also true for you and your service. Jesus has need of your time and your talents, even your willing to help clean windows. Whenever we answer the call to serve the homeless at the VFW, walk for Santa Cruz al Salvador, or make stocking for CASA, we are humbly being of service and glorifying God much like those people who formed a parade for Jesus so long ago. By definition, a humble parade is an oxymoron. But our journey with Christ, our service to Christ, made with humility and praise is exactly what we are called to do. We all do it in our own unique way.
Samuel Wells, the vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, tells a story of a humble journey of one of his parishioners. The Vicar was doing a radio broadcast and afterwards was contacted by man he had not seen in years. This man was in his first adult confirmation class and was a firefighter. After pleasantries, the man says, “I have a confession to make.” Then he recalled how in 1992 the vicar had given each person three nails prior to Easter and asked them to carry them around then bring them back on Easter having contemplated their meaning. The man confessed, I never brought back the nails. Instead, he took them to the firehouse and sewed them into his firefighter’s overalls. He said, “I gave each nail a name. The first one, the largest one, I called Faith. The second one, the rusty one, I called Courage. And the third one, the twisted almost broken one, I called Hope. And from then on, for the next 20 years, every time the bell went and we jumped down the chute into the fire tender to go out on a job, I would put my hand on my chest. My hand would cover the pocket with the first nail, and I would say, ‘Be close to me, I need you with me.’ I would move across to the second nail and would say, ‘Give me the strength to do what I need to do today.’ And then I’d find the third, twisted, smaller nail, and I’d say, ‘Help me make it through to live another day.’ This man had humbly journeyed through his professional life and had taken Jesus with him every day. His faith, courage and hope brought him a sense of the Resurrected Jesus. The vicar concludes with the gospel message from this story, “That Jesus donned the overalls of our flesh and though we were hard as nails, painstakingly sewed us into his heart that we might be close to heim be safe around him, and dwell with him forever. (Christian Century, 2/28/18, p. 37)
We each get to take a humble journey with Christ as he approaches the cross. Let’s not just celebrate today with a parade, or protest Jesus’ killing with a march, but carry him with us as we humbly journey towards the cross. Amen.
