Palm Sunday 2012

Palm Sunday 2012 Mark 11:1-11
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.”

Sometimes people say the right thing at the right time for the wrong reason. Palm Sunday is one of those occasions.

The people of Jerusalem rejoiced to greet Jesus. They shouted out “Hosanna” Save Now! They knew the name “Jesus” means savior. They wanted him to be their savior.
Jesus had spent three years of public ministry in a very small territory. Most people in Jerusalem for the Passover preparations that day had actually seen and heard Jesus. They saw him heal the sick and feed the hungry. They heard the message that the Kingdom of God had come and was now in the midst of them. They heard but they did not understand.

People frequently see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. The people who met Jesus wanted to be saved. They wanted to be saved from Roman rule. They wanted to be saved from a rigid inflexible and judgmental religious Court. They wanted to be saved from poverty, hunger and fear.

What Jesus taught was far less important to people than what he could do. He could heal with a word. His success rate in healing was 100%. He could take a few fish and a few pieces of bread and feed thousands of people. He could even call people back from death. Clearly, Jesus had the power.

It was the power the people noticed. It was the power people wanted. Some believed Jesus would use this power the way King David had used his power. Some believed Jesus would restore the political fortunes of Israel. Others believed Jesus would decide which of the dozens of sects of the Judaism of the time was the one true religion. Still others, those who followed Jesus as his students, expected to be rewarded with power, position, prestige and privilege. All believed that Jesus would follow in the footsteps of his ancestor David and destroy his enemies while he rewarded his friends.

Reward and punishment was the underlying belief that formed religion, politics and economics. It was such a pervasive belief that everyone accepted it and no one questioned it. No one questioned it except Jesus.

Jesus interpreted his own actions by his teaching. Jesus did not perform miracles from the place of knowledge or power. Jesus performed miracles from the place of infinite and eternal love.

The disciples, the students, heard the message of love and compassion and ignored it. They looked at each other with a wink and a nod that indicated they believed the teaching was a feint not a reality. It was a temporary tactic to catch the rich and powerful off guard.

Certainly, the enemies of Jesus thought the same. It was inconceivable to them that Jesus would not use his power to reward his friends and destroy his enemies. It was clear Jesus was not theirs to control. It was clear Jesus had some hidden agenda beyond all of his talk of divine love and compassion.

The crowds on Palm Sunday welcomed Jesus the Conqueror!

The religious and political authorities were too trapped in a rigid inflexible uncompromising view of God and humanity to be able to welcome Jesus the Beloved of the Father. They could not receive him for who he was so they branded him a traitor, a blasphemer, and in league with Satan. They missed the day of divine visitation.
And, eventually, so did the crowds and the disciples. There was no room in their narrow self-indulgent world view for the infinite possibilities of eternal love. When Jesus failed to meet their expectation and be Jesus the Conqueror they turned on him. Some simply walked away. Some ran away and hid. Others joined the opposition and demanded that Jesus be tortured and killed.

Jesus knew this would happen. He knew that people would not receive him for who he was. He knew why this would happen. And, he knew the inevitable outcome of crucifixion was the only way to solve the underlying problem that led to this terrible moment.

Pride led people to praise Jesus. National pride. Religious pride. Personal pride.
Fear led people to condemn Jesus. Fear of punishment. Fear of something new. Fear of losing control, Fear of self-responsibility.

The will to power motivated people to condemn Jesus for being who he truly was. The will to power states: I know what I know so don’t confuse me with the facts. Don’t even try to reason with me.

The pride of knowledge led people to arrest Jesus. The fear of power led people to condemn Jesus. The will to power killed Jesus.

The bad news is that this is a pattern of behavior in human beings that proceeds from the place of original separation from God. The better news is that as we become aware of this pattern of pride, fear and the will to power we become ready to hear God’s solution to the problem. The best news is that the solution is Jesus Christ.
Be wary of any one who declares they and they alone know the one right answer to any problem. Be wary of any one who states that because they have the one right answer they have no need to discuss, reason, evaluate or achieve consensus with other opinions.

The one right way is not a book, a religion, or a political ideology. The one right way is a person: Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the co-eternal Beloved Son of the Eternal Father. Jesus is the infinite and eternal love of God in human flesh.

On Palm Sunday remember the shouts of the people: Save Now. Remember the demand for Jesus to give them what they wanted when they wanted it and how they wanted it. Remember that the demand proceeds from the place of celebration. And, rejoice that Jesus did not give them or us what we demand. He gave us what we need. He gave us himself.

And then repeat the shout of the crowd from the place of divine love and compassion: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.”