Have you ever been in a parade?
• On Friday evening the children who are at school had been in Easter hat parades during the week.
• I can remember as a teenager being in a community parade in Maitland.
• Some of you will have been in Anzac Day marches.
The reading we heard this morning is one many of you will be familiar with: Jesus rides onto Jerusalem on a donkey. But this wasn’t the only parade in town.
Israel was a country under occupation, part of the Roman Empire.
People under occupation know the rules.
• Don’t make a fuss
• Don’t create a scene
• Obey orders
• Pay homage to the Roman leaders
• Basically - don’t upset the Romans.
• And that means if there is a Roman parade, cheer!
Around the time of Passover there were lots of visitors in Jerusalem. Passover celebrated the liberation of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Passover was the founding narrative for the nation of Israel. While it was a religious festival, in Israel, religion and nationhood were closely tied together, and the Roman leaders knew that. Any festival was a potential time for an uprising of the locals.
So, like any occupying force, from time to time there was need for a show of force, and Passover was a good time to do that.
Imagine, coming in the main gate of Jerusalem would be Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of the area with cavalry and soldiers in imperial uniforms. Governors at this time lived most of the year on the coast, but when there were festivals in Jerusalem, then the Governor and extra troops would come to Jerusalem to ‘keep the peace’. That means crush any opposition that might happen. [See Borg and Crossan The Last Week]
Think China, or even Sydney during the Olympics or the G8 meeting. These large events attract protesters, and it means that the powers that be will put in extra police or troops to keep the order. The Roman Empire is sometimes called Pax Ramona, but it was peace built on oppressing anyone who disagreed, killing people who spoke out against you and people living in fear.
Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey is subversive and mocking, but it isn’t a threat to a military power like the Romans. It could have gone unnoticed by the authorities.
But Jesus knows he is being watched. It isn’t only the Roman authorities he needs to be wary of, but the religious authorities as well. The Romans knew that religion was one thing that people would fight for, so they would co-opt the local leadership on the grounds that as long as the religious leaders kept the local people obedient, they could continue in the positions, and people could continue with their worship. As long as it didn’t interfere with Roman rule.
Jesus isn’t taking on the Romans at their own game, Jesus came to change the game. To change the game from oppression and power and fear, to freedom and grace and love.
Jesus came to change the way things were done, not to overpower the Romans, or anyone else. And he knew where that might lead.
Usually on Palm Sunday we only hear about the entry into Jerusalem, but Matthew has both the entry into Jerusalem and the incident in the temple occurring on the same day. Jesus cleared out the animals, overturned the tables of the money changers and healed the sick.
The Temple was one of the main economic activities in Jerusalem. It made sense when travelling to buy the animals for sacrifice at the Temple, rather than carrying them for many days. It wasn’t the selling of sacrificial animals, or even the money changing that was the problem; the problem was that this had taken over as the main activity of the Temple.
Again, Jesus isn’t trying to beat the Temple Authorities in some game of who is the most powerful or the most pious; Jesus is changing, transforming, the Temple back to the role of healing and praising God.
I wonder what would happen if Jesus came down Ocean Beach Road this morning,
• holding up traffic,
• speaking about church as a place for healing,
• telling everyone they were welcome
• in the kingdom of love and justice.
I wonder what would happen if Jesus came to worship,
• would we look at him sideways,
• wondering who is this upstart praying with people,
• offering healing and hope?
would we question the amount he puts in the offering plate?
would we wonder about his ‘political’ views?
Would we be embarrassed?
Would we advise Jesus to keep a low profile, not to upset the world of big business and to steer clear of politics
Would we advise Jesus to stick to saving us in the afterlife, but not to change anything in this life?
Here we have two processions and two kingdoms,
• One kingdom is a kingdom of fear, power, oppression and death. The other kingdom of peace, freedom, healing and life.
• One Kingdom reliant on state power to keep people under control
• The other reliant on the Holy Spirit to enliven people.
• One Kingdom where the Temple is a place of economic activity
• The other where the Temple is a place of healing and wholeness.
• Jesus came to bring about a new order, a new kingdom.
Which parade are we going to cheer on?
