Matthew 21:1-11
We are used to thinking about Palm Sunday as Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, acclaimed by everyone as the Messiah come to save Israel from Rome. We see it through our contemporary eyes as a victory parade, with Jesus as King as a done deal. We’ve talked before about the fact that it’s not possible that it really happened that way. It’s consensus that Jesus came to Jerusalem and that people were curious to see him, his reputation as a teacher and healer having spread throughout the area. It’s quite possible that people greeted him with palm branches, that he went to the Temple and people gathered to hear what he would say and do. But at the same time the Roman legions were marching into Jerusalem from the west, war horses leading the way and soldiers filling the streets, crowding out onlookers. They were the power of the day. Their military might was there to keep peace during the Passover festival and keep peace they did – partly by executing rabble rousers like Jesus, even if he didn’t really do anything to threaten them.
There’s no doubt that this story is meant to set up the tension between Jesus and Rome – the rabbi vs. the Empire. It isn’t a military confrontation. It’s a clash between world views. And remember that the gospels are telling the story two generations after it happened and after a Jewish revolt and the responding Roman destruction of Jerusalem and enslavement of many of the Jewish people. After Rome crushes Judeah, the gospel writers tell the story that portrays Jesus as triumphing over Roman occupation. Even if Jesus didn’t directly confront Roman power in his lifetime, his followers see his message and his ministry as confronting Rome in their lifetimes. This story is meant to highlight the contrast between the two. Jesus who comes in peace and Rome who comes in violence. Jesus who healed beggars and Rome who executed thousands of innocent people. Jesus who valued human life and Rome who slaughtered thousands and enslaved more. Jesus who gave hope to people and Rome who destroyed whole nations. And in spite of the evidence, the Gospel writers portrayed Jesus as the winner of this contest. Even though he was not the clear winner in their moment in history, they claimed that he had won and staked their hopes on that being the truth of their future. This story is about people who hope for a better tomorrow with almost no evidence that it will be possible.
So if we read this story in the twenty-first century as being about Jesus triumphant and we his people who have won the victory with him, we read it wrong. This isn’t a celebration story for winners. It’s a story about people who hoped for change without any reason to hope and lived in that hope rather than succumbing to despair – for generations. And one day those who followed Jesus became the dominant power of the world and could indeed claim victory. We are the ancestors of both of those peoples – the ones who hoped for change and the ones who rule the world. We can indeed celebrate changes the original authors only dreamed of. We can be proud of the good that has been done in Jesus’ name over the centuries. We should celebrate that good.
We should also acknowledge that all the dreams of the Jesus people haven’t come true. The world is not yet living by Jesus’ teaching or following his way. If Jesus was a first century challenge to the Roman world view, he is also in some ways a twenty-first century challenge to the predominate Christian world view. Let’s think about some of the ways that’s true in our time.
Jesus was an advocate of peace and reconciliation in a violent time. Love your enemy. Turn the other cheek. Do good to those who persecute you. So today Jesus’ followers can be advocates of peace. In my youth we supported those who didn’t want to fight in what they considered unjust wars. The church stood with conscientious objectors and gave them legitimacy in other forms of nonviolent service. Today the church is advocating for the people of Ukraine – this time supporting a war in order to put an end to violent aggression. And at the same time advocating for peace – in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in Syria, in Afghanistan and in all the places of the world people are traumatized by violent aggressors. When we face this challenge, we are standing in the tradition of Jesus.
Jesus valued people who were treated without dignity by Empire. He accepted those who were cast out and oppressed – slaves, women, peasants, the ill. Today the church stands with people who are in danger of being left out and left behind. Our denominations and our congregation spoke out on Friday for transgender rights in opposition to our own and other legislatures who are making laws denying the rights of transgender and many other people. I would never have dreamed that to be Christian is a call to stand up for the right of drag shows, but that’s where we have come in our time. We stand with those who are ill and need health care. We advocate for those suffering from mental illness and addiction and unable to access treatment – often because treatment doesn’t exist. We resolve to treat those without economic means with dignity and respect. In a world of economic disparity, we share our wealth and make a small dent in the effort to level the playing field. When we face this challenge, we are standing in the tradition of Jesus.
Jesus stood up not only to Empire but also to the authority of religious leaders who placed heavy burdens and rejection on common people. We welcome people of all faiths. The Buddhists have a place in our building. We’re going to stand with the Somalis and learn to celebrate Eid. We advocate for religious freedom which includes resistance to a narrow definition of what it means to be Christian or a preferential treatment for Christians in our government. When we face the challenge of religious freedom, we are standing in the tradition of Jesus.
There are so many challenges we care about – and each of us has the ones who matter to us most. Today is a day to hear again that Jesus stands with us when we confront injustice in our world. Yes, we can celebrate that we have made progress over the centuries. We don’t want to lose sight of how far we’ve come. AND we can hear our spiritual ancestors encouraging us to hold on to hope. In the face of great challenges we can believe that justice and mercy will prevail, just as Jesus’ followers believed in their time. And because they believed, we have inherited their hope, their faith, and their commitment to continue to follow Jesus and work to make his vision for the world a reality in our own time.