Luke 19:28-48
Palm Sunday,
no palms
no Hosannas
a triumphant entry, without
triumph
for 10 chapters now, Jesus
has been heading toward Jerusalem.
the tension has been
growing,
there are those who want
to be rid of him,
not necessarily because
they disagree with him,
but because he makes it
hard for everyone.
He draws attention to the
way the world works,
and if he draws too much
attention from Rome,
the crackdown would be
swift and deadly.
Here, one week before the Passover
festival
as people are arriving from
all over the country to celebrate
to
celebrate the freedom from oppression
and the liberation
from slavery
when the
Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites
when the
first-born sons of Egypt were killed
Jesus comes riding into
town.
He is also here for the Passover
festival
but he knows the odds are against
him
the religious leaders will find a way to silence him.
But first, they tell Jesus to
silence the crowd.
Silence the crowd who are
praising God and shouting:
“Blessed
is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven
and glory to God.”
How dare they call anyone
else king
these are dangerous words
taken as a sign of political
revolt
rather than a truth that
has always existed.
Silence these people
they are stirring up
trouble
and making life unsafe.
And Jesus reply
If they do not praise God,
the stones will.
The stones will praise God
and the trees
and birds
and streams and …. all of
creation
will praise and speak and
announce
“Blessed
is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven
and glory to God.”
And I wonder when do we
speak up?
Praising God
Blessing another
Speaking against
Poverty
Oppression
Racism
Sexism
And violence and discrimination
And damaging the earth and
hurting each other.
When do we get angry and
overturn the tables in the Temple
Or challenge the gatekeepers
The ones
who turn another away, not for safety
But out
of fear
or panic
or for a
quiet life
or speak against the
systems of oppression.
It is easier and safer and more comfortable
to say nothing
to offer our prayers
to let someone else speak
but softly, because
too much noise and who
knows what will happen.
what will need to change
what we will need to give
up or take up
and our lives be as familiar.
The temptation, the desire,
is for order
for normal
for quiet and calm
even if we know it is not
God’s dream for us pr the world or creation.
It is easier to keep
silent
to let the world be the
way it is then stand and speak
or to listen to the
stories
of abuse
of war
of violence
of despair
of broken dreams
and broken lives.
The temptation,
the desire for peace is
for calm and quiet and order,
not the peace of God that
is justice and wholeness and recognising our interdependence and
interconnection not only with other people but all of creation, past present
and future. [i]
Jesus rode into Jerusalem
to celebrate Passover
reading the signs of the
times
knowing this will likely be
his last Passover
still, he did not silence
the crowd
he did not play safe
or stay quiet
he overturned the tables of
the temple traders
he taught in the temple
each day
knowing soon, but not
knowing when
the inevitable would
happen.
Has anything changed?
We praise God
do we live in the mess and
danger of discipleship
do we live into God’s
dream?
[i]
1See Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter From Birmingham City Jail.”
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/palm-sunday/commentary-on-luke-1929-44
