Mar 28th - In Person

Peace be unto you in the name of our God and Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

So the day was March 4, 1966 and John Lennon made the statement that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. There was quite a fervor about that. I love that word "fervor." People were upset. But the fact of the matter is the Beatles were becoming quite the world phenomena. But you really remember how it all started? Brian Epstein was their manager. So while they were in England, before they came to the United States, they hired hundreds of young ladies.

Then they hired some actors to play policemen and paramedics. And they rented uniforms and cars and ambulances. And it began - they began filming the videos. They had the Beatles coming down off of a bus and these hundreds of young ladies screaming, and they had these signs up: "We love the Beatles!" "The Beatles are the greatest!" and things like this. And then they'd have them coming off of a plane. And again, the ladies would show up, you know, and the police would be there, they'd be trying unsuccessfully to just kind of push the young ladies back. And then they'd be coming off stage, and maybe two or three of the ladies would faint. Pretend to faint. And the paramedics would come and put them on a gurney and roll them out. Anyway, they got all of these videos - I should say advertisement videos - and they sent them to all the major television stations in the United States, and for six weeks before they came, they would run these again and again and again, and you know what happened? Yes, you do.

They came to United States, and instead of hundreds of young ladies, they had thousands of young ladies screaming their heads off for these Beatlemania, they called it. Even though it was really brought together through kind of a farce. Now, don't get me wrong. My wife is a big Beatles fan. We've got almost all of them, and they were tremendous singers and great musicians and artists. They would never made it if they weren't that. But the premise of there adoration was a little bit different. In our Gospel lesson for today - and Tara talked about it very well - we see Jesus. He's in Bethphage and Bethany. Bethany is up where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived. And they were really good friends with Jesus. And He sent the two disciples to the village to get a colt. And we read the conversation. Brittany did a great job with that. And anyway, He gets it, and then He rides into Jerusalem, and all these people come out and they got their palms going, waving, saying, what? "Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" Tara's right on. Hosanna means "save us," except it's a present imperative those of you knowing English, it means "Save us... Now." Now. Now. Because, you see, this whole palm waving happend two hundred years before when Simon Maccabeus drove out the foreign armies and Israel was free again. And here comes Simon Maccabeus riding his horse into Jerusalem. And what are they saying? "Hosanna! Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Same phrase, same palm branches. You see, the people in Jesus' day wanted Jesus do be king. To drive out the Romans. To free it Israel again. They had misplaced adoration. They're kind of like this farm boy, and his family just moved into the city, and he was all excited figure it out. But his mom was tired from moving. So she dressed him in his play clothes, and said "go outside and play." And she just kind of laid on the couch. About 20 minutes later, he comes in the door. He says, "Mom! You'll never guess! All of our neighbors have doorbells! And they all work!" That is misplaced adoration.

Because Jesus didn't come in on a horse, did he? In our Gospel lesson for today, it was a donkey, which is a sign of humility. So, instead of exultation and adoration, He came as a humble servant. On Friday, we're going to read Psalm 53, where is says in the suffering servant chapter and He did not open His mouth.

And when we think about that, a lot of times, we aren't really aware of where our Lord is in our lives. If you look off to each side here, you got two pictures. Maybe some of you were here when this artist came in. He's also done that at LCMS National Youth Gatherings.

Here on this side, you see Jesus, and He's looking down at the world. He's got his crown of thorns on. And on this side, I look at this as The Shepherd picture, because His eyes look so compassionate in it. But that's the final product. For those of you who weren't here, you see the black over the Earth over there and it kind of a ring around. It used to be a bridge, and there were people going back and forth, and you didn't really understand it until he phased it in, because then Jesus came to life.

A lot of times, that happens with us, doesn't it? We're in the midst of our day-to-day, and maybe that day-to-day is going well. Maybe that day-to-day is not going so well. Maybe you're healthy. Maybe you're fighting an illness or cancer. Maybe you were employed and now you're unemployed. And you really don't have the whole picture.

Well, even when we can't see Jesus, He's still there. Sometimes you don't feel that way, but He's still there.

Philip Yancey is an amazing Christian writer. If you haven't read any of his books, I would strongly encourage you to try. He's got one book called "Prayer." And in there, he talks about Johannes. And Johannes is a multi-ethnic lady who has visited some of the most violent prisons in South Africa. She's been in at least two BBC documentaries. Now, BBC is the United Kingdom - the Briton's idea of 60 Minutes type of thing.

And Philip Yancey had a conversation with her one time, and he writes this in his book about prayer. He says, "Well, what happens there?" And Johannes says, "Well, you know, Phillip, God's always been there in prison. We just have to help them see Him."

Got that? We just have to help them see Him. This is what we're called to do. This is who we are: God's people. You heard me say it over the last four months. We are called to worship Him, which we've done. But then, we're called to share Him. In other words, we're called to help them see Him.

And a lot of times, in the midst of what's going on in their lives and what's going on in your life, that's hard to do. I get that. But the final pictures we see on both sides, here, is Jesus. You know, He's made us promise to us. That He works for good at all things to those who love Him and called according to his purpose: Romans 8:28. In all things. In the good, the bad, the sad, the happy. The beginning of life, the end of life. He's promised to be there. And yes, Hosanna still applies today, right? What did I say? Save us now.

And guess what? He has done that. That is what this week is all about. As we celebrate Palm Sunday today, as we become and commune and think about that first Lord's Supper on Thursday as we weep by Good Friday because of the death. And yes, a week from now, we sing Hallelujah, for He Is Risen, He is risen indeed! But for now we say Hosanna! Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Can you say that with me? Hosanna! Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen. And now, may the peace that passes all understanding, preserve and keep your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. Amen.