St. Paul’s United Church
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Palm Sunday
Jesus’ Protest March – Rev. David Mundy
Luke 19:28-40
Luke
22:14–23:56
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Four years. The media recently marked the fourth anniversary of the US
and coalition liberation or occupation of Iraq. The most powerful military
machine ever assembled quickly crushed the Iraqi army and sent the dictator,
Saddam Hussein, into hiding. The anniversary was a sombre affair because the
armies of occupation are still there and the country is in chaos.
The media attention made me think of the months leading up to the
invasion of Iraq and the peaceful protest marches which occurred in cities
around the planet. Millions of people came together to display their
displeasure at the possibility of war. Between January and April of 2003 an
estimated 36 million people participated in more than 3,000 marches.
Some of those protests were in Canada and we participated in several
while living in the city of Halifax. It was an interesting experience. I have
to admit that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to get involved in such a public way
and it turned out that each of the marches happened on miserably cold days.
Wrapped against the elements we joined thousands of others in a public park before
getting underway.
Despite the frosty temperatures there was something of a carnival
atmosphere thanks to the large number of university and college students. They
sang spirited protest songs and shouted chants reminiscent of the 1960's while
those of us who were older trudged along in their midst. There were church
groups with banners including an organized United Church presence with a
statement about peace.
All in all it was a rather ragtag
crowd although these were well-organized demonstrations so the police were “on
board,” controlling traffic at intersections. As we made our way through the
various city crossroads motorists looked on, some honking their horns in
solidarity, some looking annoyed at the hold-up.
Did these anti-war demonstrations make a difference? Apparently not,
because of the determination of the United States to defeat this perceived
enemy. Did they make a meaningful statement? That was the hope. At the time I
announced the marches to my Halifax congregation and let people know I would be
participating. Some supported my involvement and some joined in. Others
disapproved for a number of reasons, even though I took no public role
other than to join the throng. Despite my mixed feelings, I was part of those
marches as a Christian
It is Palm Sunday, again, and again this morning we recognize the
“protest march” organized by Jesus at the beginning of the last week of his
life. It was probably a balmy Spring day when Jesus
left the little town of Bethany to the east of Jerusalem and made his way down
the steep hill toward the city on the main road from that direction.
You might be surprised to hear me say that Jesus organized or staged
this entry into Jerusalem but all we need to do is look to scripture and his
instructions to the disciples to go to a particular place and find the colt of
a donkey so that he might ride into the city in a way that reflected the
message of the prophets of old. This “statement” was deliberate and
public. What could not be predetermined
were the adulation and size of the crowd who welcomed Jesus, crying Hosanna.
Do you know that this wasn’t the only Palm Sunday parade? It is likely
that on this same day the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, entered Jerusalem,
although from the opposite direction. His goal would be to convey the power of
the Roman Empire, so there would have been imperial standards, and musical
fanfares, and a show of military muscle. The Jews of Palestine were not easy
people to govern and religious festivals such as Passover were considered
“tinderbox time,” to use one scholar’s term.
So Jesus arrives in town from the east, and
Pilate from the west. Jesus is on a colt that can barely support his weight.
Pilate is on the warhorse which symbolizes brute strength. It may have been
that those at the highest points of the city could hear the hosannas and the
trumpets at the same time. Jesus may have come to Jerusalem every year for
decades as an observant Jew, but this last time he made no attempt to keep a
“low profile.” During the next few days
the trajectories of these two parades would collide and the tinder would be
ignited, although not in a way anyone could have anticipated.
I need to tell you that this Palm Sunday story fascinates me. I don’t
think I have ever preached a sermon that does it justice, but it’s hard to
imagine that we could really comprehend everything we heard in the longer
reading today or in the Good Friday story without attempting to understand this
protest march. Today reminds us that religion and economics and politics are
all part of being human and all are part of being the followers of Christ. And
today reminds us that Jesus of Nazareth didn’t just die. He was executed for
upholding a different way, a nonviolent way, which still challenges the values
of his culture.
Which parade are we part of this morning? We spend our whole lives
trying to figure out which march we want to join and if we are honest we would
rather participate in both if we could. Most of us want to be on the winning
side, to be accepted and safe once the cheering dies down. For a long time in this country that victory
parade included Jesus, or at least we thought it did. A generation ago children
sang rousing choruses such as “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus” and “Dare to be a
Daniel” but there was really little challenge to the Christian world view. On
most Sunday mornings families would come to church and there was comfort in
knowing that we were in the majority. Somehow that changed.
Now we may be among the few in our family or on our street who comes to
worship or makes any real claim to being a Christian in a way that would
influence the way we live and act. Today
there is actually a much greater antagonism toward Christianity in this country
which is supposedly still very Christian “by the numbers.” Recently a
university student from this congregation spoke to me about the aggressive
anti-Christian stance in two of her courses. This “open season” on the faith
which is deeply meaningful for her has been distressing. She wondered if the anger
directed toward Christianity would be tolerated if it was aimed at Islam or
Judaism or Hinduism. As much as I tried to encourage her, I wondered if this
would become more of the norm in our society.
Do you recall that last year at about this time three members of an
organization called Christian Peacemakers were released after several months as hostages in Iraq?
There was a lot of media attention here because two of the captives were
Canadians. A fourth captive, an American had already been murdered, but these
others were eventually freed thanks to the heroic efforts of coalition
soldiers. The irony was not lost on the peacemakers. They admitted that they
were safe thanks to a military action and they were grateful.
After their rescue some commentators were angry, saying that it was
wrong that the peacemakers had put the soldiers at risk. They were criticized
widely for being naive and quixotic in their perception of the way the world
works. I questioned their actions myself, yet during this past year tens of
thousands of the innocent have died, billions of dollars have been spent on the
machinery of war, and Iraq appears to be in the grip of a civil war. Surely we are witnessing that might does not
always make right, even when we are confronting evil.
Lots of us have been part of the Palm Sunday parade for years and years
and while we are familiar with its meaning it is a challenge to keep it alive.
So what do you think the Good News is this morning? Is there any, when
we know that Friday and the crucifixion are not far off? This may be one of the
days when “gospel” is a distant tune rather than a blaring trumpet. The
difficult message I hear again this year is that if I want to be a follower of Jesus, I need
to be prepared to be on what may seem like the wrong side at times.
I need to be a “fool for Christ.”
That’s an interesting thought on April Fool’s Day,
don’t you think? We all need to be
prepared to be different and misunderstood for our religion and economics and
politics. If we are faithful, there will be times when we will feel as though
we are on the outside.
Still, there is the pervasive message of hope. It is a hope for justice
and a security that are not rooted in fear. Even though we have often lost our
way as the people of Christ, it is extraordinary that two thousand years later
this subversive message is still alive. There are no gatherings today to
celebrate the memory of Pontius Pilate or the emperor he represented. There is
no worldwide community which upholds Napoleon as saviour, or repeats the words
of Stalin. Seldom does anyone sing “Rule Britannia.” Every empire proclaims
itself as the most invincible and powerful on earth. The parades end, though, and the regimes
fail or pass into history. Yet Jesus is
remembered and quoted in improbable phrases: “turn the other cheek” and
“blessed are the peacemakers” and “Father, forgive them.” We
continue to proclaim Jesus as a living presence who changes us and changes the
world.
In their book The Last Week, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan
offer that Jesus rode into Jerusalem in such a public way because he believed
that the reign of God was a present reality, not just a future promise. I will
leave you with their words:
Two processions entered Jerusalem on that day.
The same question, the same alternative, faces those who would be faithful to
Jesus today. Which procession are we in? Which procession do we want to be in?
This is the question of Palm Sunday and of the week that is about to unfold.
Amen.