Palm Sunday 2022

Matthew 21:1-11    (NIV)
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
 
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
           5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
              ‘See, your king comes to you,
               gentle and riding on a donkey,
               and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’]
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 
7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 
8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 
9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
      “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
      “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
      “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Matthew 21:28-32
The Parable of the Two Sons


Jesus said to the Chief Priests and Elders:
28 “Now, what do you think? There was once a man who had two sons. He went to the older one and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 ‘I don't want to,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. ‘Yes, sir,’ he answered, but he did not go. 31 Which one of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The older one,” they answered.
So Jesus said to them, “I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take, and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. Even when you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

 
Reflection
 (N.B. The use of the word Kin-dom instead of Kingdom is deliberate to emphasize that God's Kin-dom in the here and now is centered in community rather than hierarchical authority and status)

We always get to choose.
Who are we going to be today?
Who are we going to be like today?
Who are we going to follow today?
 
You know, well, I guess you do know by now, that I really like Jesus. I am fascinated by him and his disciples – I feel like Mary in the story of Mary and Martha, not because Martha would want me anywhere near her kitchen but because I would probably want to sit near Jesus and learn from him – and I have so much to learn.
 
So, here Jesus and his disciples are coming into Jerusalem for the Passover week celebration commemorating the Hebrews' liberation from slavery in Egypt and the “passing over” of the forces of destruction, or the sparing of the firstborn of the Israelites on the eve of the Exodus. Jesus prepares by asking his disciples to obtain a donkey and a colt; – nope- I don’t know why both, but it fulfills a scripture passage from Zechariah 9.
 
The Coming of Zion’s King
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
    righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
    and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
    His rule will extend from sea to sea
    and from the River  bto the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
    I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
    even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow
    and fill it with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
    against your sons, Greece,
    and make you like a warrior’s sword.
 
There’s a lot riding on this colt and donkey. That’s Jesus, he heals those who need it, he talks to Samaritan woman (and men), in fact he talks to everyone: priests, Scribes, Pharisees, rich young men –(clean); tax collectors. Caananites, prostitutes, bleeding women, gentiles, - (unclean);
fishermen, carpenters, farmers, housewives, and political activitists and social reformers - who knows; he teaches in the temple and on hillsides and by lakes; he preaches that the Kin-dom of God is here, right now and we are in it and the Kingdom of God is to come and we are invited.
 
We think he is the Messiah and will lead us out of our misery! Hosanna – save us from our oppressors! Blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord! He will save us.
 
Who of us, if we were part of the Israel worshipping the one, true God; Yahweh would not be in the crowd that day welcoming Jesus into the gates of Jerusalem.
 
Jesus welcomed – invited everyone into the Kin-dom of God. Jesus was also a truth – teller, he didn’t candy coat it to make it more palatable. So when he tells the Parable of the Two Sons to the Chief Priests and Elders in the Temple later that same day, he was telling a truth and they knew it and they didn’t like it.
 
After all, it’s not like they hadn’t heard of John the Baptist, they knew, but if you think Jesus is harsh – John the Baptist was way harder. I know we get this image of long lines of people just waiting to be dunked or baptized in the River Jordan but they reality was probably much shorter lines and John really did, by all accounts, call people to confess and repent; and that means sackcloth and ashes and fasting, and if you looked like you had maybe stashed away a snack or two, I don’t think John believed you had really repented. John had conditions and John never came to Jerusalem or went anywhere, really; people came to him. And those priests and scribes from Jerusalem, I doubt if very many of them ever showed up or stood up for John the Baptist. After all one man yelling about the Kingdom of God coming was not worth upsetting the “peace” they had with the Roman authorities.
 
But Jesus, Jesus carried John’s news of the Kingdom of God coming far and wide, he travelled, he met people, he called them over, he talked to them, he listened to them, he told them stories that contained truths that could change their lives, he healed their hearts and minds and bodies. He challenged them to follow him, and to live into a relationship with a loving and caring God.
 
And they responded when he showed up in Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover celebration. Here is our Messiah, just as we have been promised, the ordinary people shout, and you can bet there are Roman soldiers keeping an eye on everyone entering the city: keeping the peace. Then, while the disciples and others gather round listening to Jesus, teaching in the Temple, the Chief Priests and Elders come to question Jesus about what he is doing and intends to do; they too are keeping an eye on the peace in their city.
 
Jesus answers their questions by telling them two parables, and then he says:
 
43 “And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom
of God will be taken away from you and given to
a people who will produce the proper fruits.” 44 
45 The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables
and knew that he was talking about them, 
46 so they tried to arrest him. But they were afraid of
the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.
 
Jesus dares to tell the Chief Priests and Scribes stories, dares to unmask their righteousness to their face, dares to question their authority in their own temple, dares to judge them! 
 
You can understand they are not happy; their position, their authority, their understanding with the Roman authorities are all being threatened by this one man with his rabble of people shouting :
            “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
             Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
             Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
 
And the solders aren't happy having to report to their commander that these people are shouting about an heir to King David kingdom, They are shouting about someone saving them. They are shouting that their God blesses this man. There is a growing crowd around this man Jesus.
 
The Good News that Jesus spreads about the Kingdom of God has certain people on edge and the social, political, religious and economic balance in Jerusalem is unbalanced because the Good News includes and welcomes all those the social political religious and economic eltes want to exclude.
 
The Good News gives faces and names to all those who considered to be expendable and faceless and nameless except for tax and physical work purposes. The Good News invites people in, and gives everyone a place at the table where they will be fed with living water and nourishing bread. The Good News invites you to a place where God blesses you and cares for you and loves you and knows your name.
 
What a day Palm Sunday is! A day of rejoicing, and happiness, that sets in motion the upcoming events of Passion Week: the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday and the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday. We have a long way to journey this week.
 
Our hope, our assurance, our faith is that we do not travel alone.
 
May it be so.       Amen