Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Coming of a King

Scripture Texts:



Palm Sunday Sermon



There had never been such a buzz about town.  For so long, the city had suffered under bone weary oppression.  Though the people had gotten their hopes up about various leaders over time, inevitably they saw their hopes come crashing to the ground.  Leaders would come and go, but the devastation always remained.  One day, however, the city got wind that a new kind of King was coming to town.  And rather than being some savior from a distant land, it was one of their own who was promising to finally end their seasons of sorrow.  When the King arrived, the city spontaneously burst forth in joy.  The King has come to claim his crown!  Celebrate the coming of the King.  Our cities long nightmare has finally come to an end!  No longer will we be crushed by all of the foreign invaders.  We will finally have a kingdom of our own.  But, the parade of welcome didn’t lead to a victory parade.  Yes, there were good times, but it wasn’t quite what the people had hoped for.  But, the people’s faith remained.  Surely this king and his followers would eventually emerge victorious. Finally, when the definitive battle was at hand, the people waited for the king to leash out with his definitive blow.  And yet, in the critical moment, the king faltered.  Rather than mount a vigorous offensive, he seemed to give up with barely a fight.  Rather than being the answer to the people’s dreams, he just seemed like one more false messiah. Bitter mobs emerged who would burn their former King in effigy. For all those who had gotten their hopes up, they were now crushed beyond belief.  Those cries of Hosanna soon turned into bitter cries of rage.  Whereas once the people cried with jubilation, now they jeered in rage.    Never had a city been so disappointed.  
And thus, did the king take his talents to South Beach.
Oh, wait, didn’t you know I was talking about Lebron?  Did you think I was talking about some other King?
No, on this day when we cry out “Hosanna, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” a different king came to mine.  In reading the story about Jesus’ triumphant entry, and in knowing the sudden shift from Palm Sunday to the torture and execution of Jesus on Good Friday, I wondered how a crowd could turn so quickly and so bitterly against the one that they had once loved.  And so it was that Lebron James came to mind.  I remember right where I was when I found out the Cavs won the lottery.  I was on camping down in West Virginia, but my friend and I hopped in his truck and drove around until we could pick up the WTAM signal.  When David Stern announced that the Cavs had won the lottery, we celebrated.  Ok, I celebrated, my friend just kind of looked at me strangely.  But finally, I thought, finally the stars have aligned for my city and we might finally see a championship.  
And yet, fast forward 7 years, and there I am again siting with baited breath.  But this time, its in a recliner in my living room.  After sitting through all that bs, Lebron finally announces that “he’s taking his talents to South Beach.”  I immediately turned off the television.  I can recall feeling a palpable sense of rage.  Now, I didn’t go out into the streets and riot, that sooo last century, I turned to facebook and soothed my angry soul by watching all of my facebook friends spew vitriol about this supposed king who was supposed to be different.

For those of us who are Cleveland sports fans, I think we were treated to a glimpse of the kind of emotional see-saw that we read about in scripture.  Jesus enters the city as the next great promise, only to see many in the crowds turn on him, betray him, deny him, and finally, crucify him.  But whereas it seemed to take 7 years for us to turn on Lebron, scripture seems to indicate it was only a matter of days for Jesus.  How could this be?  How can we go from screaming Hosanna to the Son of David to Crucify Him in just 6 short days?  What changed so fast?
We can make a few reasoned guesses.  First, perhaps we imagine too great a crowd when we picture Palm Sunday.  Though Jesus was certainly greeted by enthusiastic supporters, our best scholars says that he came in the back gate, out of the mountains, rather than in the main entrance into Jerusalem.  Its highly unlikely that the bulk of the city was there to great him, but probably some of the poorest of the poor who had heard rumors about a great leader who truly cared for their plight.  If we imagine the crowd to be a bit smaller than the whole city, perhaps we can understand how this small, deeply poor and powerless group, may not have been the crowd that was whipped up by the Pharisees to support their midnight trial and condemnation by Pontious Pilot.  Its entirely possible that many of Jesus’ supporters were simply shut out of the process, and once the sentence was passed, too afraid to publicly support him as he was led to the cross.
But, I don’t think that that can tell the entirety of the story.  I think many of the people also became gravely disappointed.  When Jesus entered the city, they were indeed expecting a great leader- perhaps even a Messiah.  They were seeking someone who would finally break the yoke of Roman oppression, would finally disturb the corrupt economic and spiritual practices of the temple elite, would finally establish a new, independent Jewish kingdom by retaking the throne of David and by empowering the poor and oppressed.
In fact, within the generational memory of that crowd, they had seen just that very thing occur.  You see, in 167 BCE, Israel was ruled by the corrupt and oppressive Seleucid empire.  While Jerusalem had long been controlled by foreigners, a new ruler- Antiochus IV had come to power in 175 BCE.  He unleashed a reign of terror, took on divine names, crushed a Jewish rebellion led by the high priest, outlawed the practice of Judaism, and desecrated the sacred temple by installing statues to Zeus and other Greek Gods.  And so, a family by the name of Maccabeus led a revolt, overthrew the Selucids, cleansed the temple, and established a new Jewish kingdom.  
They routed the Greeks and forced them out of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.  They cleansed the Temple, an occasion our Jewish friends still celebrate as Hanukkah.  When Simon Maccabee returned to Jerusalem, he was hailed as the great deliverer; and the people took palm branches and waved them in front of him as a sign of victory.  “You have freed us from the Greeks,” they cried.  “Hail to you”- 24 Hours that Changed the World
After signing a peace treaty with Rome in 161 BCE, the Jews had a kingdom of their own for over 100 years.  It was only in 37 BCE, when Herod the great was installed as King of Israel, that their dream of freedom and liberation came to an end.Yes, the very same Herod who was alive when Jesus was born.  And it was his son who ruled when Jesus entered triumphantly into Jerusalem. 

Can you see now maybe what the crowd expected.  It was only 60-70 years ago that Jerusalem had been the capital of an independent, Jewish state.  Its entirely possible that there was someone in the crowd who was old enough to remember it.  And it is certain that there were people there who grew up on their parents knee hearing stories about when Jerusalem was free.  And now, just like Simon Maccabeus not so long ago, a man rides into town talking about establishing a new kingdom on earth.
Hosanna.  Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna!
Jesus would overthrow the Romans and set the people free.
And yet, Jesus enters in and talks about loving the enemy.  He talks about rendering to Cesar what is Cesar’s.  Sure, he challenged the corruption at the temple, he even challenges the ultimate authority of the Romans, but he never puts together in army. In fact, when one of his followers begins to fight, Jesus reprimands him and cares for the wounds of the soldier there to arrest him.
I mean, what a disappointment.  Its just like Lebron-  we put all our hopes and dreams into someone, and they fail to follow through.
That is, when we put our hopes and dreams into the wrong thing. 
The people in the streets weren’t wrong to celebrate Christ’s coming into Jerusalem.  We too need to celebrate it.  Put we have to understand what, and who, we are welcoming.
If we are expecting a savior who will rule by might, we’re going to be disappointed.  

If we are expecting a savior who will tear down our enemies, we’re going to be disheartened.

If we are expecting a savior who blesses every power grab and the accumulation of wealth amongst the few, we’re going to be discouraged.
But, my brothers and sisters,
If you want a savior who has come for the meek and lowly, its time to celebrate.

If you want a savior who will turn this world upside down, its time to party.

If you want a savior who will sacrifice himself out of love for you, its time to throw a parade!

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