Blessed Peace and Glory

“Blessed Peace and Glory”

Palm Sunday, Year C, April 10, 2022 RM

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, Luke 19:28-40

First Presbyterian Church of Sandpoint, Idaho

Pastor Andy Kennaly

Here we are on Palm Sunday, and we have eco-palms that are sustainably harvested, and rather than exploit workers in Central America, we partner with growers so they can receive compensation through the Fair Trade process.  Every year we get palm branches.  Every year we wave them to remember Jesus’ triumphal entry.  Yet here we are in Lectionary Year C of a three-year, A-B-C cycle, and Luke’s Gospel doesn’t mention palm branches at all.  Jesus into Jerusalem with a parade of people mentions no palms, only cloaks as people spread fabric on the colt and on the road ahead of them.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called “Synoptic Gospels” because so many stories overlap about Jesus and his ministry.  In Mark 11:8 it says, “Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.”  In Matthew’s gospel, it’s not until chapter 21:8 when it says, “Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.”

Churches don’t celebrate “Cloak Sunday” by laying our coats in the aisle.  And where are the branches from?  In Mark they come from the fields, in Matthew they come from trees, and in Luke, there are no branches at all.  Which version of Palm Sunday is the real deal?  What is the truth, and how can we biblically verify it?

By the way, as we read in Luke the disciples go and untie the colt which has never been ridden and bring it to Jesus because “the Master needs it.”  In Mark, the same thing happens.  But in Matthew, they go and “find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.”  In that one, they say, “The Lord needs them,” and they bring the donkey and the colt, they bring both, and put their cloaks on them, and apparently he rides both to fulfill the prophet Zechariah, who said, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

I was ordained as a pastor 28 years ago, in October 1994.  I’ve preached many Palm Sundays, and all of them have featured palm branches.  But every year the scripture changes on who does what, where things come from, and what animals are involved.  Not only that, but the symbolism is confusing.  Palm branches are like flags of the rebellion.  People are ushering in a political savior, like a coup, in hopes that Jesus will kick out Rome and put Israel on top of all the nations, filled with power, totally strong and secure, dominating their enemies; might makes right through Jesus the king.  The people are excited.  The Pharisees who have status-quo-self-interest to protect tell Jesus to end this rebellious attention.  They don’t want Rome to get upset.  There’s no use getting a powerful country riled up enough for an invasion, especially if you are the small country.  It seems that human nature and the headlines of politics echo through the ages and the more things change the more they stay the same.

All the overlapping biblical accounts have an interesting undercurrent.  The crowds of disciples hail Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with triumph because they expect judgment.  But in the way he enters, Jesus makes very clear that he is more interested in humility, and a stance of being open to the flow of God’s Spirit from a purity of heart.  Rather than a political parade, Jesus is on a path of love.  This path doesn’t fit the mold of the political systems and religious leaders, most of whom view Jesus as an enemy, and so it’s not long before he’s arrested and killed for sedition, as a threat to the establishment.  But Jesus chooses to enter Jerusalem anyway, because love casts out fear.

In these stories of Jesus on a donkey or colt, he accepts his context and situation and how people are doing what they are doing, and he takes responsibility to choose to love no matter what comes his way.  He has courage in the face of threats and chooses the path of descent, to let go of everything to enter God’s spacious, loving Presence, and in that, discovering his True Essence.

As the people lay their cloaks down, as the disciples shout out blessings and praises to God, I got to wondering which version of this parade do we tend to favor?  Which version do you want?  Do you want a political Jesus, one that rallies people in excitement to his cause to make Israel great again?  Do you want Jesus and his ministry which the crowds are hyped up about to involve deeds of power and glory?  Imagery is important in how this text is interpreted.  Is it telling you what you want to hear, reinforcing your own ego-centered notions of biblical truth?  Or is it stretching you, a help to move deeper into love?  Jesus is on the path of descent, as he shows us the art of letting go, not in a renunciation, like penitence in Lent, but humiliation, in humbling, awakening to our need for God, for spiritual insight, for wisdom’s guidance, and the Spirit’s presence.  Jesus enters Jerusalem truly humbled.

Notice the bottom of Luke’s passage, the part where some of the “Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answers, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’”

Depending on which version you want, we could say this is about God’s power and purpose, unstoppable, and this recognizes divine action.  We could also view this through social-justice angles and see the Pharisees as those in positions of power trying to silence the lower classes, which Jesus was, by pushing their authority to demand a certain outcome.  They are telling Jesus what to do, and yet he doesn’t comply.  Maybe in that sense, we could interpret this as Jesus illustrating the power of non-violent active resistance.  Jesus uses the power of the people to confront unjust systems to bring change and, uses non-violence and organized action as a political tool in the face of a power imbalance.

Or we could focus on the word “silent.”   There is a play between silence and shouting, between the disciples and the stones.  From a unity perspective, Jesus could be declaring God’s purpose and Presence in all things, whether disciples or stones.  In all creation, God’s glory is honored and the purpose of God’s creative power is fulfilled.

This would help, because no single political system or religious structure can contain the unbounded grace and Wisdom of God.  Blessed peace and glory from the depths of creativity through the Christ consciousness, holds all things together without duality or exclusion; everything is held in tension and paradox, and everything belongs.

As we wave our branches, we realize that Jesus shows us that the human path is not always easy.  As he enters Jerusalem, Jesus shows us the Easter story is about opening our hearts to give God consent to fill us, use us, send us, and humble us in the same model of ministry Jesus chooses.  Christ shares the peace of heaven with the world in self-giving ways.

The colt participates, the stones participate, Jesus participates, the disciples and the crowds participate, and we are invited to participate in praise and trust in God.  Love is action as God helps us on the path of descent.  May we journey deeper into love, both NOW, and forever.  Amen.