Loving God, you invite us this week to journey with Jesus, and to discover the depth of his love for us.  As we begin the journey today, help us to know that you are near and to trust in the leading of your Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    Today, as in the ancient world, sometimes there are processions and parades.  Some of these processions are church related - like the procession at the beginning of a service, or even the procession that took place when the Lutheran World Federation Assembly was here in Winnipeg - from the Red River to St. Boniface Cathedral.  Other processions are more of a parade, like a Stanley Cup parade, or the Pride parade, or the Santa Claus Parade.  Other processions are more solemn, like a funeral procession or Take Back the Night.  And then there is the kind of procession that might happen on the occasion of a royal visit, or to mark the beginning of the Festival du Voyageur.

    The question with all of these different types of processions is whether we would be joining in, or somewhere on the periphery watching, or simply avoiding any participation at all.  In fact, this is the same question we can ask ourselves with respect to today’s gospel.

    One of the ways to approach any gospel passage is to ask ourselves, Where are we in this gospel?  In the case of today’s gospel, it is all about our response to Jesus.  One possibility for us to consider is that perhaps we would be too busy with other things or simply not interested enough to participate.  We could just leave the procession to others.  Another possibility is that we are curious to see what’s going on, but not really committed one way or the other.  And so, we might be there as observers, but not as participants.

    Others among us might take more of an academic approach.  In this case, we would know from our study of the Scriptures that Zechariah talks about a victorious king entering Jerusalem humbly - riding on a colt.  We would also know that this same king was supposed to “command peace to the nations” (Zech. 9:10).  At the same time, we would be seeing and hearing echoes of other passages of Scripture - like the unyoked beasts that were consecrated to God (Num. 19:2) or the Lord standing on the Mount of Olives in order to announce the Day of the Lord (Zech. 14:2-4).  Thus, we would observe what was happening and would be asking ourselves if Jesus really is both Messiah and king.

    Still others among us might be there simply out of respect for Jesus.  We might have an awareness of what he had done for people and the wisdom of some of his teaching.  And so, we might have come to pay our respects, and to stand along the route and perhaps to shout out a few “Hosanna’s”.

    And then there are those of us who are there as full participants, fully believing that Jesus is the Messiah - the Son of the Living God - the one who was to come into the world.  These are the ones who lay down their cloaks and branches on the road - something that you would do for a king, and certainly for the Son of God.  These are the ones who go in procession both ahead of Jesus and behind him, announcing, “Hosanna!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mk. 11:9).  These are the ones who truly believe that Jesus can and will save them.

    Yet, even with all of these possible responses, we have not yet exhausted all of the ways in which we might respond to Jesus.  For there is also the unnamed woman who appears in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, with her alabaster jar.  She brings her jar full of costly ointment, breaks the seal, and pours all of it on the head of Jesus.  It was worth enough to pay a day labourer for almost a year, and to this woman, Jesus was absolutely worth it.  She understood Jesus, and Jesus understood her.  She announced her devotion to Jesus in a room full of skeptics, and didn’t give it a second thought.  She did what she could, and anointed Jesus ahead of time for burial (Mk. 14:8).

    I do have to say that this woman with the alabaster jar reminds me of many of the women that we met in Cameroon.  While most of them probably couldn’t afford such an extravagant gift, many of them give generously out of love for Jesus.  They give more than their share, in spite of the fact that they have very little to start with, and they commit their heart and soul and strength to following Jesus.  They are the ones who would be right there in the middle of the procession and who wouldn’t hesitate to announce their devotion to Jesus, even in a room full of skeptics.

    And what about you?  Have you found your place in this story?  Jesus, for his part, reveals to people what he wants them to know.  After an entire gospel where Jesus keeps urging people not to tell anyone about him, now he emerges in a public procession.  By doing this, he communicates to people that he is the Messiah, and that he comes in humility and peace.  He doesn’t discourage anybody from shouting “Hosanna!”, for he is, in fact, the Saviour.  He is a descendant of David, and a king, and even - if people are ready to believe it - the Lord.

    Yet, at the same time, Jesus is not the Messiah that people expected.  He will not lead an army in warfare.  He will not live in a palace in Jerusalem and rule as king.  Instead, he will continue to give himself in humble service, and will continue to challenge the religious system that had been misrepresenting God to the people.  He will continue to challenge religious leaders who feed themselves rather than feeding the sheep.  And in the end, he will suffer and die – not what they expected from the Messiah, at all!

    And so, where are you in this story?  And where will you be this Friday when another procession takes place – this time, the way of the cross?  Amen.

Palm Sunday (NL 2)                        Mark 11:1-11; 14:3-9
March 20, 2016
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
© 2016 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved