Who Doesn’t Love a Parade?

(Matthew 21: 1-11)

Who doesn’t love a parade? I remember growing up in a small town and every year we would have a Memorial Day parade that would end up down at the elementary school where there would be a carnival complete with rides, games, food and pushball competitions between all the local volunteer fire departments. There would be an honor guard, veterans of foreign wars, fire departments, marching bands, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other organizations. I was one of the Boy Scouts and loved marching in the parade, even if it was out of step with the others, but hey, what’d you expect? This was in the sixties and these parades represented all that was good in America, kind of a Norman Rockwellian event. The parades made us feel good as we went home and resumed our lives. They gave us hope, especially during the turbulent times of the later years of the sixties. Campus unrest over the Vietnam War, mounting tension over the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and a growing divide in our political culture that resulted in much different parades and demonstrations that now came with police dogs, riot batons and high-pressure water hoses. There were people in these crowds who wanted change, who wanted relief, who wanted a piece of the American Dream that seemed just outside their reach, and those in power were doing all they could to maintain the status quo.

And that’s where we find ourselves in our scripture reading for today. An amazing parade with Jesus, the coming Messiah, the center of attention riding a donkey bringing hope to an oppressed people, a people longing for a change in the status quo, a chance for a piece of the Jewish Dream. Matthew tells us that when they had come near Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of his disciples into town saying; Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this. “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately. For years I’ve wondered who would agree to let two strangers walk off with their animals and not call the authorities? More often than not, the obvious escapes me. We’re currently doing a Lenten Study by Professor Amy-Jill Levine entitled: Entering the Passion of Jesus and she offers a really simple answer that makes perfect sense. In three years, Jesus had developed quite a following with all the miracles he had performed, all the people he had healed, the thousands of people he had fed, and the countless teachings and sermons to thousands of people hanging on his every word. He may have not been from Jerusalem, but people certainly knew all about him as he often stayed in Bethany just two miles from Jerusalem at the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus to rest from his travels about the countryside. And who didn’t know about his raising of Lazarus from the dead. So, when two of Jesus’ easily recognizable disciples wandered into town and said; “The Lord needs them”, the owner of the animals probably said; “No problem, just return them when you’re done.”

We are told that this took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Zechariah over 500 years earlier. In Zechariah 9: 9, 10 the prophet says; Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass, on a colt, the offspring of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem. The bow used in battle will be cut off; he will speak peace to the nations. His rule will stretch from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. As word spread that Jesus was entering Jerusalem people flocked to see him, lining the streets spreading their cloaks on the road while others cut branches, also placing them before the approaching Jesus mounted upon the donkey. People joined in the procession shouting; Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! For the many Jews in the crowd who were up on their prophets, Jesus riding into Jerusalem on an ass, on a colt, the offspring of a donkey, would not be lost on them. By this very act, Jesus is announcing to the crowd, hundreds if not thousands who had been following him, that he is the coming king. This, of course, would also not be lost on the Pharisees in the crowd who were coming to view Jesus as a threat to their status quo, their way of life.

But I want to turn our attention from Jesus to the crowd who had gathered to watch his triumphant entry and those who joyously joined in the parade. According to Professor Levine, the prophet Zechariah speaks of a king who would bring peace and justice to a country torn by war and where the citizens got little, if any, justice in the Roman courts. She says the prophet speaks of a king who does not lord it over others but takes his place with those who are suffering. A king of the people who is one of them and empathizes with them, who feels their pain. It speaks of a king who is righteous rather than violent, one who will do the right thing for the sake of doing right. This is a king who is strong in his faith and has no need of military might to get his way. His way is the way of the creator. And, what is it that these people are shouting when they see the approaching king? Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Professor Levine explains that hosanna is a Hebrew term that means literally, “save, please” or in more formal terms, “Save, we pray.” The people were jubilant because Jesus was bringing salvation. God had heard their cries. Maybe things would finally change.

From what did they want salvation? They, like us, wanted salvation from all those things that make life difficult. They wanted salvation from sin, of course, but also from pain, despair, loneliness, poverty, oppression and so on. Like those in the crowd cheering Jesus, we are all in need of some form of salvation. According to professor Levine, the crowd, and that includes us, knows what it wants. It wants what we all want. It wants political reform; it wants a meek king; it wants compassion rather than conquest. It wants a balanced budget, affordable healthcare, a strong military, clean water, peaceful streets, lower taxes, good schools and so on. But, she says, leaders cannot do everything on their own, even if they wanted to. As we praise a king, a Son of David, we should ask how much we are willing to contribute in order to achieve these goals, how much are we willing to take responsibility for, to work for, to sacrifice for?

You see, those hopeful in the crowd that day watching Jesus ride into Jerusalem were expecting some sort of miracle, a king in the form of a King David who would raise an army, expel the hated Romans and rule his people with peace, mercy and justice. God could have done it that way if he wanted to, but that’s not the way it was to be. Jesus was meant to lead God’s people to do the will and work of God. Work that would be difficult at times and, like Jesus, we too would have our crosses to bear. And, we have to ask ourselves if we, as God’s people, will hear the cries of others and be the answers to their prayers? Will we hear the cries of third world countries during this current crisis or will we turn a blind eye to their suffering? Will we be the ones to bring peace and justice to the helpless and the hopeless? Will we be the ones the desperate and destitute turn to for help? Will we be agents of change? Or, will we shake our heads and say to ourselves; “There but for the grace of God, go I.” Yes, it is by God’s grace that we are not one of them.

It’s not too late. Professor Levine says to get in step while there’s still time left. Don’t let your life pass by without fulfillment. Don’t just stand on the sidelines, on the side of the street watching the parade. Join the procession of justice, of compassion, of peace, of a vision of the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom as God wants it to be here on earth, right here in your neighborhood, across the country and around the world.

The triumphant entry cannot be separated from the cross, and the cross cannot be separated from the call of justice. And that call cannot be separated from the risk, personal, professional, permanent. We are called to take those risks.

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!

Please pray with me.

Gracious and loving Father, how we wish we were there that wonderful day when your son, Jesus Christ, rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, your Holy City. How we wish we could have been in the crowd watching and cheering as Jesus passed us by. How we wish we could have fallen in behind him singing his praises, waving palm branches and proclaiming; Hosanna in the highest heaven! Save us, please save us. We weren’t there, but through his resurrection and with the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have been tasked with finishing that which he started, a change, a change in the status quo. Move us as your people, to be those agents of change, to be the answer to someone’s prayers, to do your work and to be your hands in the labor here on earth until the day Jesus comes again in his glory. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we pray, Amen.