Palm Sunday: Welcoming Jesus
Luke 19:28-40
Several of the
names or themes that we associate with this day seem a bit odd. We call it Palm Sunday, of course. And yet there is no mention of palms at
all in the synoptic Gospels. In
Luke, which we heard this morning, plants aren’t even mentioned. The people laid the cloaks on the colt
for Jesus to ride and on the roadway ahead of him. Matthew says that they cut branches to place on the
road. In Mark, they are “leafy”
branches, but no palms. John does
mention palms, but John is the least “historical” of the Gospels, so it’s hard
to say.
We also talk
about this day as the day on which we commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry into
Jerusalem. The Palm Sunday story
is the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry.
But many scholars
and commentators note that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was, in fact, the
opposite of triumphant. Think
about what triumphant means. It
means victorious. To triumph is to
conquer. To be triumphant you have
to be triumphant over someone or something. We do speak of triumphing over hardship, but more commonly
it means winning an athletic or military or political battle. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was
anything but triumphant.
In contrast,
Pilate, who represented a triumphant government would have arrived in Jerusalem
about the same time. He did not
live in Jerusalem, but would have traveled there to be present during Passover
representing the Roman government that had triumphed over the Jews. And his entry would have been
triumphant. Riding on a noble
steed, surrounded by embodied power and military might.
Jesus’ arrival
in Jerusalem was a humble entry. Riding
a young colt, bareback, his feet probably dangling near the ground, surrounded
by a ragtag group of disciples. Jesus’
actions as he entered Jerusalem were not triumphant.
Jesus’ so-called
triumphal entry has always been less about Jesus’ actions and more about the
people welcoming him. It’s about
how they felt about his entrance into their city, into their lives. And they cheered with joy.
At least they
cheered when Jesus entered Jerusalem.
This weird day is actually called Palm Sunday: The Sunday of the Passion. It’s Palm Sunday, but the sad pragmatism of the church
recognizes that most of you won’t be in church on Good Friday. So we also read the Passion Gospel today. So in the span of just about twenty
minutes in our worship service, the peoples’ feelings changed from joyful
welcome to indifference at best or condemnation at worst as Jesus is condemned
and crucified. All of us probably
can identify with a range of feelings along that spectrum from joy to
indifferent or condemnation. For
what it’s worth, as a preacher I have always found it easier to conjure up in
all of us feelings of guilt or remorse as we accept our culpability for Jesus
on the cross than I have to inspire those Palm Sunday feelings of exuberant
welcome.
Jesus was
hailed, Luke says, for his deeds of power. That might sound like Jesus had something to be triumphant
about. But think about what the
acts of power Jesus had performed during his life and ministry. He healed people. He brought peace in the midst of the
storm. Jesus’ power brought
healing and peace in the midst of turmoil.
It certainly may
be that the people who welcomed him thought or hoped that he would become a triumphant
political leader. We know that
didn’t happen. And that was not
the witness of Jesus’ life. Jesus
brought healing and peace.
There is a lot
to celebrate on Palm Sunday. Just
think, on this day we don’t have to go searching for Jesus. We don’t even have to struggle to
follow him. He comes to us. He comes into our lives, walking down
the street right outside. We just
have to welcome him. With joyful
hearts.
Can we do
that? In the midst of everything
going on, do we, can we stop to sing and cry out with unbridled joy for one who
has humbly come into our lives bringing healing and peace?
