Placemats

Scripture Reading

New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition Matthew 21

1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:

5 “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.”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Kids to the Knowing Place

Triumph

What do you suppose is your greatest triumph, however you might define that word?

Perhaps you were a part of a championship sports team when you were growing up, and you know the incredible victory of going all the way.

Maybe for you, it’s that you won a battle with debt and have paid off all of your credit cards one by one, and rejoiced when you cut up that very last one.

Maybe you just have a really good streak going on Wordle right now!

But I think we’re all chasing triumph and glory in one way or another, aren’t we?

Today is Palm Sunday, but actually if you were following along in a Bible just now as we read this passage, my Bible doesn’t call this story “Palm Sunday.”

My Bible tells me that this is Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

This story has something to tell us about triumph.

This story has something to tell us about politics if we’re headed to Jerusalem.

This story has something to tell us about Jesus, and not surprisingly he turns everything on it’s head.

Bible Breakdown

The feast of passover was a huge deal!

This is the central feast and celebration of the people of Israel.

It would have held massive implications for a whole bunch of people:

For Isreal

This is the reminder of the time that God worked through Moses to rescue God’s people.

This is the reminder of the way that God struck down Israel’s enemies.

This is the feast where they remember how good God has been for them.

This is the feast where they teach their children the story of God.

And because Isreal is both a nation and a people of faith, this wasn’t just a spiritual holiday.

To really understand the festival of passover, it would be like us combining our Christmas with Fourth of July.

Businesses are closed.

Hot Dogs are consumed.

Mattresses are on sale for some reason...

It was a big deal for the people of Isreal.

For Rome

Rome came along and conquered Isreal a while back.

And it’s worth remembering that conquering something and governing that something are two very different practices.

Rome needs to keep the people in line.

And if someone is going to make a challenge to Rome, they’re going to make it during passover.

This festival is a perfectly good time to stage an insurrection.

So the Roman authorities do what they do best: intimidate.

The classic military parade

Think of those classic images from China or Russia or North Korea.

The tanks come out not because they look cool.

They come out to tell the people what will happen if someone steps out of line.

Emperors and governors on horses

They would have made sure that they were all there.

Pilate. Herod. Maybe even Caesar.

They would have come in on a massive, spotless, and majestic white horse.

Chariots in the lead

In this low-tech age, the Chariot is the ultimate weapon of war.

It’s their version of a tank.

So to make sure the crowd was in line, the Chariots would have gone first.

Keep the crowds off the road, for sure.

But also remind them that if you’re going to take a shot at Pilate or Herod or Caesar, that’s not going to end well for you.

Ruling by fear

The hope of having such an overwhelming force is that it’s so powerful and makes people so afraid that they’re not going to need to use it.

The hope is that just by showing up, just by having overwhelming force, the insurrectionists and the hooligans and the troublemakers will keep their distance.

Fear is at the very heart of this strategy.

It’s how you keep people in line.

Jesus is different

On a donkey

To be sure, this matches what the Prophet Zechariah told us was coming from the Messiah.

But also, this makes a direct comparison to all these emperors and governors, doesn’t it?

Donkeys just scream humility

I’ve heard that we’ve had live donkey’s here on Palm Sunday in years past.

And I’m sorry that we didn’t have the carpet cleaning budget to make it happen this year...

Because it would have been the easiest way to prove that no one looks impressive riding a donkey!

I haven’t done the math, but depending on the donkey it might actually put you below eye level with the people you are walking by.

Jesus is participating in the same military parade as everyone else.

But he’s doing it with such radical and unbelievable humility.

And it doesn’t stop there!

People out front

While the Roman authorities would have had chariots, essentially weapons of mass destruction, out in front of them...

…Jesus has the people go ahead of him.

Instead of keeping the people off to the side of the road, Jesus has the people going ahead of him.

They’re spreading their branches out on the road, a sign of peace and surrender.

They are crying out for salvation from the guy on the donkey.

Perhaps the Roman authorities earn the people’s fear.

Jesus earns the people’s trust and respect and admiration.

Jesus the paradox

A prince, but a prince of peace.

A ruler, but one without violence.

Someone with power and authority, but married to humility.

All of it speaks to our Psalm this morning:

Psalm 20:7 “Some take pride in chariots and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.”

Don’t Trust in Chariots

Don’t trust in fear and intimidation.

Don’t trust in scare tactics.

Don’t trust in violence to get your way.

Trust the prince of peace instead.

Which brings us a little closer to home…and an uncomfortable conversation.

The United States and Guns

Don’t autofill on me here.

Already, when I said the word “gun” some of you jumped right to the talking points that you heard on your favorite news channel.

To be sure, this is a partisan political conversation in our culture right now,

One that if you ever want to have with me, I’d be happen to engage with. I’ll even buy the coffee!

But that’s not our job today.

Our job today is to preach with the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other.

So in a week where three nine year olds and three more teachers died in a mass shooting, in the same week that Jesus is asking us not to trust in chariots so much, I wonder if we can explore the spiritual implications of all of this for us?

Some stats on guns

March 28th was the 87th day of the year.

It’s the most recent day I have stats for.

When we define “mass shooting” as an incident where 4 or more people were killed or injured by a gun, on the 87th day of the year we have experienced 131 mass shootings.

That’s 1 and a half mass shootings a day.

The United States accounts for 4% of the world’s population, yet we have about 42% of the world’s privately owned weapons.

That shakes out to mean that there are 120 guns for every 100 people in the United States.

Again, there’s a decent chance that you are already auto-filling me here, I beg you, please don’t for a second.

Because there’s a biblically sound question to ask ourselves here today:

Do we trust in chariots more than we trust in the name of the Lord our God?

Do we trust in our own ability to protect ourselves with these weapons, more than we trust in God our savior?

Do we want to live in a society that is ruled more by the fear of the weapons we hold, or by the respect and admiration that was afforded to the King of Kings?

Do we trust more in chariots, our means of destruction? Or do we trust in the Prince of Peace?

Gut check:

Again, don’t autofill.

You can be a gun owner and trust more in God than you do in your weapons.

You can view your weapon as a tool, something to hunt with, something to enjoy as a hobby, and still trust God to take care of your security.

But clearly our culture has a problem with this, don’t we?

And again, we can debate how we deal with that problem. That’s a conversation I’d love to have with you outside this context.

But in here, we recognize that the problem begins as a spiritual one.

Psalm 20:7 “Some take pride in chariots and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.”

We all know how this story ends.

Everybody loves the prince of peace...

Everybody loves gentle Jesus, meek and mild.

Everybody loves the celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Everybody is shouting their hosanna’s and laying down their palms.

Everybody loves the prince of peace...

…until they don’t.

Until the allure of the way the world does things gets too big.

Until we start to wonder if those guys who rule by fear might have a point.

Until our shouts of Hosanna become shouts of “Crucify! Crucify!”

We all know how this story ends.

But we also know this:

Jesus is bigger.

When the Roman government rules by violence and fear, Jesus rules by laying his life down before them.

The Roman government, in league with the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, are going to decide that Jesus is too much of a trouble maker.

They’re going to label him an insurrectionist.

They’re going to use the only tool they know: violence and death.

And Jesus, who had a crowd behind him big enough to put up a fight, who had disciples who were apparently accurate enough to cut off someone’s ear, decided to let them.

When the untold crowds chant “Save us,” probably from the perils of this life, Jesus saves us from the eternal death we so rightly deserve.

I have a sinking suspicion that what the crowds were asking to be saved from was the oppression of the government.

Their eyes were on the life they had right now.

Jesus has his eyes on saving us in a cosmic and eternal sense.

When our culture puts too much trust in our own weaponry, Jesus tells us that we can trust in him and that’s enough.

While we continue to live by the sword and, more sadly than I think we’ve come to terms with, die by the sword,

Jesus comes and gently tells us that there’s something better to put our trust in.

When our politics tell us that there’s no way out of this mess we’re in, that we’ve hit some kind of eternal legistlive stalemate,

Jesus comes and reminds us that it’s a matter of the heart, and that those will need to change before any laws.

Lucky for us, the human heart is where Jesus does some of his best work.

The Triumph of the Table.

We celebrate communion here once a month, always on the first Sunday of the month.

So the timing is a little bit odd here.

Not often do you celebrate communion on Palm Sunday, if only because it’s kind of like a big spoiler alert for where this story is headed later on this week!

But you know what, I think it’s a good day to gather around the table.

I think it’s a good day to have palm branches as placemats, to remind us of where our trust should lie.

I think those placemats could remind us that death does not have the last word, Jesus does.

I think those placemats could remind us that the Son of David did come to save us, and continues to save us every…single…day...

I think those placemats could remind us that triumph might not look like we thing it does.

But it’s so so good.

So in a few moments, let’s gather around the table in celebration.

Not on our own strength, not in our own chariots, not in our own abilities.

But in the one who comes in triumph to set us free.