Rev. Debbie Cato
Matthew 21:1-11
Peace Presbyterian Church
Palm Sunday April
13, 2014
Who Is Your Messiah – Really?
Perhaps you heard the news.
The Seahawks won the Super Bowl!
In fact, in my unbiased opinion,
they did not just win. They
dominated. Twelve seconds into the game,
the Bronco's center and Peyton Manning had a mis-communication and there was a
fumble that led to a safety. The
Seahawks dominated from that moment on.
You probably know that I'm from Tacoma. The Tacoma-Seattle metropolitan area is crazy
about our Seahawks and for weeks before the Super Bowl the fans – the 12th
Man as we are called – were hyped up!
There was no question that we were not only going to the Super Bowl but
we were going to win. We were having a
magical season. Everyone wore Seahawk
gear. Everywhere you went, you saw blue
and green hair. Every conversation was
about the Seahawks. Every house had a 12th Man flag.
My daughter Tracy and I were waiting to be seated at Applebees
and a family came in, announcing they had just picked up their Super Bowl
tickets. They were season ticket holders
and they had won the lottery! Everyone
within earshot clapped. A man walked
over to them and offered to pay $2,000 per ticket – they had 5 tickets! “No thanks,” they said. “We are borrowing money and flying out to New
York. This is the trip of a lifetime for
our family.” Tracy and I were so
jealous! We talked about it all through
our meal.
There were so many Seahawk fans at the Super Bowl – the 12th
Man was so prominent, the commentators said it was like playing at Qwest Field
– not in New York.
The day the Seahawks came home as Super Bowl champs, there was a
parade in Seattle. 750,000 people showed
up. The population of Seattle is
600,00! We were proud of our team. Some schools even shut down. Businesses let their employees watch the parade
on T.V. 750,000 people packed the
streets and hundreds of thousands more watched on T.V. Our heros were home. It was as if nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered.
It was a modern day “Triumphant Entry.” Seahawk football has been described as the
religion of Seattle. Our messiah – our
saviors had arrived back in town and the people flooded the streets, waving
palm branches of sorts welcoming and shouting, “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! Victory! Our saviors are coming into town!”
Perhaps you know a town; a sports team that is held up and
worshipped like Seattle worships their Seahawks. Perhaps you can relate. Who is our messiah – really? Who exactly do we worship?
Jesus and his disciples are headed to Jerusalem. Many Bibles give today’s passage the title, “Jesus
Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem.”
The word “triumphant” implies a victory, a conquering of sorts. And that is certainly what Jesus’ entry into
Jerusalem is.
A victory of
cosmic portions. His
disciples don’t understand. They don’t really get it. But Jesus knows what lies ahead; he knows
what waits for him in the Holy City.
He gives his disciples some instructions – something about going
into the city ahead of them and finding a donkey and a young colt tied up
together. He tells them to bring them to
him. They do as they are told. They bring the donkey and the
colt to Jesus, and they throw their garments on them; and he sits on the colt.
A young donkey with a large passenger struggling down the
steep road that leads from the Mount of Olives to the eastern gate of Jerusalem
may seem a little ridiculous to us. But
everything Jesus does has a depth of meaning to it. To the people gathering around to watch
Jesus’ arrival, his mode of transportation is symbolic. By riding into
Jerusalem on a humble donkey, Jesus is making a very specific political
statement and messianic claim. He echoes
Zechariah’s prophetic claim that the Jewish people, gathered in Jerusalem for
the Passover celebration would have known well.
The prophet Zechariah said:
9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having
salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots
from
Ephraim and the war-horses
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 to the
ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:9-10)
Hundreds of years before, the prophet Zechariah prophesied
to the Israelite people that the promised Messiah; the promised King of the
Jews would display his power and might by riding into Jerusalem “humble and riding on a donkey.”
So, I guess it’s no wonder that the people, seeing Jesus enter the Holy City on a donkey assume that this man who has been healing the blind, the crippled, and the lepers; this man who has been exorcising demons, feeding thousands with a few loaves and fishes, teaching with amazing authority, and performing miracle after miracle, must be the long awaited Messiah.
After three years of ministry, people finally recognize who Jesus is. This is no ordinary man coming into town. All the signs point to his kingship; to his
Messiahship.
The king has arrived. The hero is in town. People line the parade route. They spread their garments and leafy branches
along the road – it’s the first century version of rolling out the red
carpet. They wave palm branches and
shout and sing
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!" Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord!
This kind of welcome has to make Jesus
feel good. His ministry hasn’t been
easy. He has been met with resistance at
every turn. Riding into Jerusalem on
that donkey, knowing what he knows is ahead of him must have been unbearable. And yet all around him the crowds are smiling
and waving and cheering – for him!
“Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Finally, the welcome he deserves. The recognition the Messiah commands.
As I studied and prayed about this
sermon, I was struck with God's timing and the parallel with my arrival at this
church. I arrived in Eugene late
Saturday, March 29th. A group
of you were waiting for me at my new home – waiting to help unload the U-Haul
with all my belongings. Monday was my
first day in the office. Some of you
have stopped by to welcome me; some of you I have seen in meetings this past
week. This morning many of you told me how
glad you were that I was here. I feel
very welcome – and for that I am grateful.
I am so glad that you are glad that I am here! But, I wonder. Who do you think I am? Do you think I am your “savior?” Are you thinking that the pastor is here and
now you can back away? Do you think that
I am here to somehow save your church?
To grow your church? To do
what you want to do in this church? To
do things the way you want them done?
Are you mistakenly thinking I'm your messiah? That I'm the savior of Peace?
Now you like me. Now you are glad that you are here. The palm branches are being waved. I haven't made you angry yet. Or disagreed with you. Or unintentionally hurt your feelings. I have offended you without meaning to. I haven’t forgotten something important about
you. I haven't disappointed you
yet. You haven't seen the human side of
me. I haven't had time to mess up.
You see,
popularity doesn’t last. It never
does. One day you’re popular and the
next, people tend to turn on you. It
won’t be long – days actually, that these same people celebrating Jesus; these
same people shouting Hosanna on the Highest! As he enters Jerusalem - these same people
will taunt Jesus. They will mock him.
They will turn on him. These will be the same people who will scream
“crucify him, crucify him! when they are
given a choice. In a few days, Jesus
will stand alone; betrayed and forsaken.
Not even his disciples will be with him.
Jesus could have been the kind of king
the people wanted. He could have been
the kind of king they expected him to be.
Someone who can heal the crippled, who can walk on water and calm the
storm could certainly overthrow the Roman government and secure Jerusalem. Jesus had the power. He had the wherewithal. He could have gone with what the crowds
wanted; he could have met their demands.
He could have done what was necessary to maintain his popularity.
But Jesus knew that the kind of
salvation they were looking for; the kind of salvation they thought they wanted
was only temporary. So, Jesus doesn’t take
the easy way. He knows what he has to
do. He knows what His mission is and he
doesn’t sway. Jesus enters the city knowing, anticipating, and controlling
every single detail of his suffering and death.
Nothing is unexpected. Nothing is
unplanned. Everything goes according to
plan.
Jesus
willingly gives up his popularity to suffer the unimaginable so that we can
have eternal salvation. Jesus entry into
Jerusalem is a victory of cosmic
portions that no one understands.
Certainly not the people that wave palm branches and shout “Hosanna!” as
he enters the Holy City. Certainly not
his disciples who traveled with him and were his closest companions and
confidants for three years. And if we’re
honest; not even us.
Jesus gave up cheers and praise and
welcoming crowds for us. Jesus gave up
his life so that we might have salvation and life eternal.
Popularity
and acclaim in the eyes of others is fleeting, and if we put all our faith in
it we will be very disappointed. Instead, God calls us to put our faith in His
unending love and grace- something that will never go away; some-thing that
will sustain us through the times when others have abandoned us. Jesus gave it all up for us.
So, what
kind of messiah are you looking for? One
like the Seahawks or some other sports team that can have an amazing year and
bring us euphoria and then bring us to our knees the next? Whoever is popular today? Whoever promises to do what you want? Whoever promises the easy way? A very human pastor who's just one of the
crowd, looking for the coming Messiah just like you? Or are you looking for the true Messiah?
The One
who doesn't offer an easy path but a demanding discipleship; a journey that
lasts a lifetime with the promise of eternal salvation? Who is your Messiah – really?
Let us
prayer:
Holy,
Holy God. As we enter this Holy
Week, help us to remember that it begins
today – shouting Hosanna and waving palm branches but this isn't where it
ends. Help us to remember that
discipleship isn’t only about the hosannas and the praises. Help us to understand that discipleship isn’t
about enthusiasm for some hyped-up faith nor is it about jumping on the
bandwagon of whatever’s popular . It’s
about following Jesus – the man on the donkey.
Jesus is not confessed or understood as The Messiah in the pomp and
circumstance but only at the cross.
Jesus’ mission and revelation as the Son of God is not complete until he
suffers and dies on the cross, only to be resurrected from the dead – defeating
sin and death for once and for all.
In the
week ahead help us to understand what it means to follow the man on the donkey
all the way to the cross. Holy God, we know the King is coming, but we are not
ready. Use this Holy week to truly
prepare our hearts and minds so that we can fully understand what Jesus
sacrificed for us so that we can accept who Jesus is to us. Only then can we fully celebrate the joy of
Easter morning. Amen.
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