United Church of Pittsford

Mark 11:1-10

It was Passover and Jews from all over Palestine and nearly every other corner of the Roman Empire, where making pilgrimage to the Holy City.

They came to celebrate freedom, independence, liberation; for the Passover holiday was a week-long ritual remembrance of the Exodus experience, of the deliverance of the Hebrew people from their captivity in Egypt.

Needless to say the spirit, the mood, the climate, the atmosphere that prevailed in the bustling, busy, over-crowed, city of Jerusalem, during that hectic, energized, week of over-indulgence, was one of defiance.

For, even as they enthusiastically celebrated their history of emancipation, they, once again, were living under the terrible occupation of yet another tyrant empire, that, of course, being Rome.

So . . . when you mix too much wine, excessive religious fervor, and the energy generated by massive crowds of people, with an enormous amount of pent-up anger, frustration, and resentment you quite naturally get a volatile situation that is always on the verge of expressing itself by exploding into violence.

It was into that annual gathering, that fiery, turbulent, unstable setting, that Jesus choose to make his appearance, reveal his identity, stir-up the crowd, and confront the corrupt powers that be, who gave definition to their shared faith and life as the Chosen People of God.

Of course, the occupying Roman forces responsible for keeping the peace were stretched to the limit during Passover. With constant threats and bloody occurrences of violence taking place all over the city throughout the week-long celebration. Any individual who even appeared to be disturbing the peace was quickly and brutally dealt with by the Roman soldiers whose garrison swelled each year during Passover.

And anyone who appeared to be a threat, not only to the peace, but to the power and authority of Roman rule was considered a subversive. That person was then dragged before the masses in public display for the purpose of intimidation savagely, cruelly, ferociously, viciously abused, and finally, hung on a cross to endure a slow, lonely, excruciatingly painful, and humiliating death.

Jesus’ decision to parade into the Holy City through the Golden Gate riding on a donkey, was highly charged with prophetic imagery. For, it was the prophet Ezekiel who had spoken of God’s future chosen ruler entering Jerusalem through the Golden Gate of the city. And, some 150 years earlier, it was the prophet Zechariah who had referred to that very same God-sent liberator with the following words:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he . . .
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

So . . . it was no surprise that many pilgrims were drawn to this spectacle as a way to express their deeply seeded hopes, dreams, and desires for the coming of the long-awaited Messiah, the Chosen One of God, who tradition said, would defeat the Romans, restore the nation, cleanse the Temple of corruption, and usher in an era of peace and prosperity for all.

Beyond that, many expected the Messiah to revoke, cancel, replace the Torah, the Law of Moses
that the religious leaders held, especially over the poor, as a difficult burden to obey.

Jesus certainly knew exactly what would happen, for he meticulously orchestrated the entire event and he knew exactly how the Romans would respond as well as did his sadly unprepared disciples who were both thrilled and frightened by what was taking place.

Throughout the ensuing days of Passover the Romans and the religious leaders kept a close eye on
and an open ear toward this rebel-rouser from the hinterlands of the Galilee as he boldly and prophetically spoke of God’s kingdom, and courageously condemned the corruption and hypocrisy of the pious and the powerful religious people of his day.

His demise was inevitable!

And as the week came to a close and the messianic hopes and dreams and desires of the people
where not actualized in Jesus, the masses abandoned their cries of "Hosanna, God Save Us" and for some, replaced them with angry cries of crucify him, provoked by yet more disappointment and a cruel sense of betrayal.

What is the substance of our hopes and dreams and desires?

What are we expecting of a Savior sent from God?

We all have our own enemies to contend with. Ill health, disease, people we are afraid of, people who disagree with us, people who have hurt us, forces beyond our control that threaten our way of thinking, that threaten our livelihood, that threaten our security. If our Savior can’t help us, or for some unknown reason won't, "Why? What’s the use of a Savior?"

We all have our own ideas about how things should be. In our homes, in our places of study or work,
in our neighborhoods, our city, our nation, in our church, in the world. We all have our own ideas about what is right and what is wrong, about who should make decisions and who should not, about who deserves to prosper and who does not.

We would like our Savior to support us in these matters, and if, for some reason, that doesn’t appear to happen, then we are tempted to ignore or reject altogether our Savior’s advice, and his critique of our assumptions. We would like a Savior who frees us from our suffering, fulfills our earnest desires, who gives us what we feel we need. Not a Savior who would be our Master, who would be our Lord, who would make a lot of demands of our time, our energy, our resources, who would expect us to be generous with our care, our forgiveness, and our love for all of God’s people, for everyone so, we all end up, on occasion unconsciously participating in his on-going crucifixion, by ignoring or rejecting altogether his advise, his wisdom, his call for loyalty and faithful devotion, and going our own way.

In a manner similar to those first century pilgrims who cheered him on Palm Sunday and walked away from him on Good Friday, ironically, we too, are tempted to follow that path of betrayal.

Once upon a time there was a woman who had run up a great deal of debt, so she embezzled money from her employer. Eventually, the company discovered the crime and pressed charges. Most of the money she had stolen was used to support her addition to drugs and alcohol.

While awaiting her trial for the crime of embezzlement, she was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and causing an accident that took the life of the other driver. She didn’t know what to do, until a friend told her of an outstanding defense attorney who seldom lost a case. So, she called him, and he agreed to meet with her. She was greatly relieved and figured she now, at least, had a chance of getting off the hook for both of her crimes.

When they met, the attorney studied her case, and then said,
“What you have done is wrong and you may have to spend some time in prison. After you gain your release, you will need to get into an ongoing program of recovery from your drug and alcohol abuse. Also, you will need to secure a steady job, - and that won’t be easy - and repay the company the money you stole. If you agree to do this, there is a change for a reduced sentence and eventually, you will be able to get your life back.”

The woman was furious! She cursed the attorney, and told him,
“I don’t need you to give me a lecture, I need you to get these charges dropped! Whether or not I decide to drink or use drugs is my business, not yours!"

After he left her, she immediately began a letter-writing campaign to have him disbarred for refusing to take her case.

Those first century pilgrims knew exactly what they were hoping and dreaming for. They knew exactly what they were wishing for and desiring in a Messiah, and when he finally appeared, why, he just didn’t fit the bill. His advise, his wisdom, his style, his demands, his example, just didn’t offer the kind of solution they were expecting that would solve the problems they were facing.

So, their cheers turned to jeers, because it wasn’t a change in lifestyle, a change in attitude, a change in perspective, a change in the way they related to their God that they were looking for, but a quick fix, a divine intervention, that didn’t involve any change or action for them.

Remembering that first Palm Sunday can help us take a moment to examine our faith to see what we expect, and to see how we are reacting to the call and example of our Savior and our Lord.

Amen.