Sermon for 8 April 2001, 8am Communion, St Mary Magdalen, Sheet, published on www.trikeshed.com

Bible reading: Luke 19:28-40

The view as you come down the Mount of Olives from Bethany is absolutely breathtaking. In the morning the city is flooded with sunlight, which glints off the Dome of the Rock. Jesus and his disciples would have seen much the same view, except that instead of the Dome there was the Temple. He must have had the sense as he looked across the Kidron Valley to that temple and the walled city, that he was about to take the place by storm.

I wonder what it would have been like to be a disciple on that day – I don’t mean one of the Twelve, but one of his wider band of followers. I might have been on the road with Jesus, perhaps I’d followed him some way – I might have been Zacchaeus from Jericho, or a local from Bethany, or I might have come up the hill from Jerusalem. I might have been one of those desperate for liberation from the Romans and who believed that this was the man who would lead the rebellion.

It’s tempting to think that this triumphal entry was a spontaneous outburst of worship and adoration. But surprisingly it was actually much more like a political rally than we would like to admit. We are uncomfortable about staged happenings. With an election in the news, I wonder if anyone remembers the 1992 election and Neil Kinnock’s triumphalist rally in Sheffield – some say that was over the top and might have been what lost him the election. Not what we Brits go in for, is it?

But, like it or not, Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem is a planned event. It may not even be the first time he has been to the city – in any case, Bethany is only a Sabbath day’s journey, a mile or so outside the city walls – he might have been based there for a while. I don’t think the colt tied up and waiting for the Lord is some kind of magic trick, but part of the practical arrangements for the rally. There is a palpable sense of climax, after three years mainly in the countryside, three years during which Jesus has sometimes even been secretive about what he was doing, but now he is entering Jerusalem and he has no intention of being secretive any more.

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd rebuke him, they’re worried that too much attention might bring the Romans down on them like a ton of bricks – and perhaps they are genuinely worried and would just rather Jesus didn’t draw too much attention to himself. But Jesus says (and hear I can’t get the Jesus Christ Superstar version out of my mind): If every tongue was still the noise would still continue, the rocks and stones themselves would start to sing. Because those rocks and stones are the history of Israel, and all the unfinished business of history, all the disappointments and setbacks, all the partial messages of the prophets, are crying out to be resolved. And this is the moment. It’s no accident, not just something that happened – it was planned right from the start. The colt was fulfilling a prophecy, the slogans that people are shouting have been waiting to be shouted – Blessed is the king who comes, in the name of the Lord. Some shepherds heard angels saying Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth – and now maybe some of those same shepherds or their sons and daughters are crying out, Glory in the highest and peace in heaven. It’s all coming together. What a day. Palm Sunday!

But surely, that’s where the political image ended. Surely those who were expecting a guerrilla leader to lead an uprising against the Romans were wrong? After all, he came in humility, on a donkey. He did not take up arms. He wasn’t political after all! Phew, that’s all right then. Because back here in Sheet, politics has nothing to do with the quiet life of a village and the worship of its church. Or does it? (Start praying for me). I’m afraid it does. Jesus did liberate his people from their sins and from the Romans, he liberates us from our sins and from whatever is oppressing any of us. I’m sorry but with Jesus there is no division between political and spiritual, no comfortable compartments for our lives. Liberation is liberation. The Palm Sunday Rally was not a cynical manipulation but as much a part of Jesus’ wholesome ministry as any other (actually the cynical manipulation comes from the crowd who five days later have put their palm branches away and are baying for his blood). Just think of what is to come. Jesus weeps for his city. He then goes to that Temple mount and shows his anger. And let us marvel and be humbled by the awesome story that will unfold this week.

And as we enter that Holy Week, as the tinder box ignites, I would like to leave you with the words of a song by Michael Card (who deserves to be better known in this country). The song is called by the Greek word, Scandalon.

The seers and the prophets had foretold it long ago
that the long awaited one would make men stumble
but they were looking for a king to conquer and to kill
Who’d have ever thought he’d be so meek and humble?
He will be the truth that will offend them one and all
the Stone that makes men stumble and a rock that makes them fall
many will be broken so that he can make them whole
and many will be crushed and lose their own soul
It seems today the scandalon offends no one at all
he image we present could be stepped over
Could it be that we are like the others long ago?
Will we ever learn that all who come must stumble?

Closing prayer:

Lord, thank you that you were not afraid to enter the hard world of politics and fickle crowds. That you were not afraid to scandalise us. That you were not afraid to suffer in the garden and on the cross. Most of all, thank you that all this you did because of your love. Blessed are you Lord Jesus as you come into our lives this Holy Week, as you bring peace in heaven and on earth, and glory in the highest.

© Mike Knee, 2001

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