In the
passage we heard read this morning we hear of a Parade, Jesus riding into town
on a donkey people waving palm branches , well not exactly waving palm
branches. It says a large a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road
others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. I can't imagine
what it is like for a donkey to is tread over branches and things like that, it
doesn’t sound like it would be comfortable to walk on.
What is
called in some Bibles: “the triumphal entry into Jerusalem”, was a parody of
the entry of the extra soldiers that came into Jerusalem at that time of year
to maintain the peace of Rome.
The Roman
version of peace was for everyone to do as they were told. Peace meant nobody
stepped out of line, or spoke out of turn. This was really a veneer of peace,
which was actually oppression. This kind of peace is easily shattered.
How often
does brutality, oppression, even the law and order campaigns, come dressed in
the guise of a peaceful, ordered society. Peace is not something that can be
imposed from the outside. Peace is something that comes from within.
For each
one of us to live in peace, in a society or community that is built on peace,
it needs to be peace for everyone, not just some.
What
we saw in the life of Jesus was an acceptance of people who were considered
unclean, who were outsiders in some way or another. It is only when people are
included, treated with dignity, have access to food, water, shelter, health
care and education, that we have any chance of peace. All people need to have
access to the basic necessities of life.
My
guess is the day that Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem there were a whole
lot of things happening, and many different responses. Some people would have
been watching the Roman army come into town, because a crowd would have been
rounded up to make sure there was a welcoming group for them; some people would
have stayed home and kept off the streets for fear of doing the wrong thing; some
people would have tried going about their regular daily routine; and some
people came across Jesus and the disciples.
And
we are told that the people who saw Jesus riding into town called out :
“
Hosanna to the son of David!
blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord!Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
As
I said earlier hosanna was originally a plea to God asking God to come and save
them. The people are crying out for God to save them from Roman oppression. I'm
told that hosanna is an Aramaic word, where most of the gospel of Matthew is
written in Greek. To ask anyone other than the Roman Emperor to save them was
an act of treason, so calling out to God to come and help them was done in a
language that most of the Romans would not have understood. While the Romans
would have realised that this was a different language they would not have
sensed the potential for revolution that comes in that word: Hosanna! [1]
Today,
Palm Sunday, is traditionally a day for peace, a day when we think about peace.
For many people it is also a day when they attend a rally for peace. While I
was at college one activity that I was involved in was a Palm Sunday rally at
Parramatta. While it was organised by an ecumenical Christian group, the rally
started with an interfaith service or maybe multi - faith service would be a
better way of putting it. People from a variety of faith backgrounds came
together to pray for peace. And then together, this mixture of Christians and
Buddhists and Muslims and other religions and people of no religion at all, would
march from the park down to the town square, where there were some speeches. That's
one march I was actually being in, rather than watching from the sidelines.
Today,
Palm Sunday, there will again be a peace rally, with a march, this time in the
city.
Over
the centuries people have tried finding a way of bringing about peace. As I
said earlier, to a certain extent peace comes from within, it cannot be imposed
as the Romans tried to. But for true peace it near the dignity and life of each
person needs to be respected. In mid-March the Uniting Church set aside a week
called Destiny Together, it was a week set aside for prayer and fasting (though
I don't know how much fasting went on), that as a church we might recognise
that our future, our destiny, is tied up with the destiny of our indigenous
brothers and sisters.
Our
destiny, as people of God in this country, is not only connected to the people
that we sit with this morning, but with all God's people. That means those of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander background . It also means people who worship in a variety
of languages each Sunday. All God's people aren't only those who believe in
God, but all people, for we are told that all people are created in the image
of God.
While
a family lives in a car because they can't get adequate and appropriate
housing, while children are in detention centres on Manaus Island and Nauru, while
people can't access the medical care they need because of cost, while people
are treated as less because of the gender, ethnic background, sexuality or religious
beliefs, none of us can truly be free, none of us are able to live in peace, if
we are truly the body of Christ.
In
what way are you working for peace for all people?
What a fascinating sermon! Thank you!
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