Triumph

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Matthew 21:1-11

          "Hosanna!" they shouted.  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" 

          It was a day to make any mother proud.  Jesus was the man everyone wanted to know, a grassroots king who had come to champion the cause of the common man. The nation of Israel was his for the taking.  Even the Pharisees had given up.  "Look," they said to each other, "the world has gone after him."

          It was triumph!

          Except for one little detail: the mode of transportation.  Did you notice that? Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem on a mighty white stallion, as one might expect of a king.  He had no chariot flanked by armed soldiers.  He rode a donkey flanked by fishermen, farmers, and the common folk.  It was a message, a statement of lowliness and simplicity, hardly appropriate for the new king. Matthew notes that this was to fulfill prophesy.  It would be like President Biden arriving at a high level appointment in a Volkswagen Beetle. No offense if you drive a Beetle!  Or a 1972 Ford F-150, with a gun rack in the back window.  All the news reporters would be trying to determine what it means.  What kind of statement was being made?

          It was a statement for Jesus, a fulfillment of God’s plan that had been unfolding since the beginning of time.  Jesus was saying that there are different ways of looking at power.  One way is through the jubilant waving of palm branches.  Palm branch power, we could call it, is the way of victory and triumph, a king's grand entrance into a great city.  It calls our attention to the acclaim of the shouting, approving crowds. Presidents and Prime Ministers and Kings all hope to have this kind of power.  Palm branch power is tuned-in to approval ratings and Gallop Poll results.  It is attractive, well groomed, wears tailor made suits, shakes many hands, and smiles a lot. 

          On the first day of the last week of his life, Jesus gave us a look at another kind of power.  I guess we could call it donkey power.  Jesus was saying that his power, his kingship, his way, was better defined by humility than self-aggrandizement, more by self-sacrifice than by self-indulgence.  It was an acknowledgment that the human heart cannot be forced into allegiance.  No army of any size can conquer the heart.  Russian forces are learning that in Ukraine.  The heart must be won, and the greatest power for winning the human heart is voluntary sacrifice born of genuine love. So the early Christians chose as the central symbol of Christian faith not the palm branch, but the cross.  Christians and churches are to look at power with a cross in hand, not a palm branch, for the cross is a reminder of the power of voluntary suffering born of genuine love.

Did you notice the words to our opening hymn earlier in the service?  I look forward to singing this every year on Palm Sunday.  This is the refrain and first stanza:

All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. 

Thou art the King of Israel, thou David’s royal Son, who in the Lord’s name comest, the King and blessed One.

          It’s a wonderful song, but just think how different our theology would be if we sang only that song. Jesus would have been just one of many political leaders, perhaps just one of many failed political leaders. His name would not have lasted through the pages of history, if that was the only song we sang about Jesus of Nazareth. But his name has lasted.  His name has stood above all other names on the pages of history because the words of this hymn are true, also.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suff'ring and shame.  And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.

          Remember, Jesus never said to take up your palm branch and follow.  No, a cross.  A cross is where we see voluntary sacrifice born of love. That is where we see real triumph, the power symbolized by a donkey.

          As we wave our palm branches today, let us remember that they are a symbol of failed power, a power not strong enough to win the human heart.  Let us embrace instead the power of humility and self-sacrifice.  Be warned though.  It’s not always attractive, well-groomed, dressed in tailor made suits, and smiling. Sometimes it does not make a mother proud.  But it is the power that has changed the world.  It is the power of real triumph.

Transition to the Lord’s Table 

          Lest we forget this, Jesus asked that his followers come regularly to this table.  Here we remember the voluntary sacrifice of our Lord, a death that wins the human heart.  We take the bread as a symbol of his body, which was broken for us.  We take the cup as a symbol of his blood, which was poured out for us.

          I invite you to the table of our Lord.  Recall a day in history when three men died at the hands of Roman executioners.  There was no electric chair.  No lethal injection.  They were nailed to a cross and left there to die.  The man upon the center cross was called Jesus of Nazareth.  He was the human face of God.

          If you are a guest and a follower of Jesus, you are our brother or sister in faith.  Please join us in this holy moment of remembrance.  When our deacons serve you the elements, please hold them until everyone has been served.  The blessing will be said, and then we will all partake together.

          A Prayer of Confession is printed in your worship guide.