SERMON | Matthew 21:1-17 | HOLY WEEK - IN AWE OF GRACE - 1. "This Is the Day" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Sellersburg United Methodist Church in Sellersburg, Indiana
THIS IS THE DAY!!
Palm Sunday!
Hosanna!
We have begun Holy Week.
Our Lenten journey has brought us here…to this week.
We have traversed the wilderness…and we have arrived at the heart of God’s people.
Jesus rides into Jerusalem—on two donkeys??
—we see the author’s confusion about the prophecy from which the imagery comes.
(there is no “and” in the prophecy, so one donkey becomes two)
That isn’t the only bizarre thing about this passage.
We KNOW that the people shout “Hosanna!”…but in just a few days time they will be replaced with “Crucify Him!”
We KNOW that Jesus came to be the Messiah and cleanse the earth of evil…but then he goes to the Holy Temple of God and cleans IT out!
What do we make of this story we tell every year?
We must remember that this story is a part of our Lenten journey.
We MUST not simply tell the story and then not allow it to speak to our hearts.
We MUST NOT assume we wouldn’t have gone from “Hosanna” to “Crucify Him” right along with the rest of the people.
We are human.
We are always going to fall short.
We are going to struggle to understand.
The more we think we understand, the more we probably do not.
Those who should’ve understood and celebrated, instead criticized…
While those who were assumed to know little opened themselves to it all.
Those who should’ve been displaying hospitality for the world to worship God were setting up shop in the court of the Gentiles ripping off the poorest of the poor.
—doves were the sacrifice of those who couldn’t afford anything else
After walking and traveling and spending what little money they had, they would need to purchase doves…and the Temple priests made them exchange their money to get the Temple coins—and would rip them off to do it!
Worse…this was happening IN the Temple.
A house of prayer became a den of thievery.
And it were the religious leaders in charge and reaping the benefits of it all.
We must NOT assume that we are incapable of losing our way as well.
It is SO tempting to get distracted and focused on ourselves.
It is SO tempting to exploit the poor and reap the benefits of it.
If our clothing was made in Asia…
Or our coffee is less than $12/lb.
Or our bananas are less than $3/lb.
We are reaping the benefits, friends.
This isn’t a guilt-trip.
It’s a reality check for all of us…me, too!
It’s so hard to do things right in a system and world where almost everything is broken.
Where we are literally tearing our world apart and have the option of pretending we are not.
We need cleansed!
We need healed!
We need to be put in our place!
Amen?
We need judgment…not for others, but for ourselves.
We want to be put right, don’t we?
But there’s a feeling of fear and dread at the thought.
But…the beautiful part of this whole story is how the judge, the king, the rescuer, the deliverer comes onto the scene.
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The Son of David has, in fact, arrived.
But what does that mean?
David had made Jerusalem the city of God’s people long ago.
Ever since the time of David and the exile, the people have longed for a king to be like David and lead them out of oppression.
David was the prototype king to which all other kings were measured.
So there’s that element here.
The waving of palms and laying down of cloaks has kingly elements.
When Israel welcomed King Jehu, they laid down cloaks.
When Judas Maccabaeus led his people to defeat the oppression of the Greeks in Jerusalem, he rode into the Temple area as people waved palms and laid down cloaks. He entered the Temple and removed the Greek idols that had been placed there.
Zechariah’s prophecy foretold of God’s king coming to establish the people of Israel and God’s kingdom across the earth…to cut of chariots, break bows, and basically overpower every weapon of war.
But he shall come on a donkey—the foal of a donkey—a colt.
The Son of David, the King, the awaited rescuer has come…
But not to make Israel into the kind of superpower they had grown to despise…
not the kind of nation which has a stronghold on other nations…
God’s King has come…but to save them from an entirely different and more important oppression.
He’d come to call them to life by the will of God, not by the will of Kings and rulers and power and weapons.
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He comes from the Mount of Olives, just like Zechariah’s prophecy.
He rides upon the foal of a donkey, just like Zechariah’s prophecy.
The King comes into Jerusalem to respond to the call of the people when they shouted, “Hosanna (Rescue us)!”
Maybe they knew they needed rescue; maybe they didn’t.
It’s really hard for us to tell, isn’t it?
It’s really hard for us to tell about ourselves let alone someone else.
We have a hard time knowing we still need God’s rescue through Jesus Christ.
We’re struggling with it right now, aren’t we?
We want to make excuses…
We want to point backward to actions of the past to be our validity…
We want to provide evidence that what we are doing now is okay…
We want to point the finger of accusation at others…
Or, at the very least, point out the audacity of being accused ourselves.
We also want Jesus to come as the King we expect…
We want to be exalted as RIGHT
We want to be the people on TOP of the pile
We are human.
We are as human as anyone there that day.
We are as human as those whose cries will turn from adoration to hatred…
We are as human as those who don’t understand but receive life anyway…
We are as human as those who should know better, but we criticize and distort how we see the world and live among our neighbors…
Jesus…in all of his grace…rode into town on that foal and let the people shout.
He received their praise knowing full well how it would turn in a matter of days.
He received it for what it was in the moment — the TRUTH
Even if the people would forget or be so caught up in what they expected that they would reject God at work in him before their eyes in just a few days time…
he knew that what they were doing on this day was as true as it could ever be.
Even if they had no idea how far off they were from their own understanding.
…the grace of God was present with Jesus that day.
Jesus mounted that donkey’s colt…
Jesus rode down that hill…
Jesus received the praise…
Jesus entered that Temple…
Jesus accepted the acclamation of being a king even while Caesar was still enthroned…
And Jesus began the cleansing that would begin the chain of events that would lead to his death.
Jesus knew exactly what he was doing even if the people did not.
Even if we are still struggling to know what we’re doing today.
We need only look to our Rescuer…our Savior…our King… our Jesus
And no matter how much we think we have it figured out…
And not matter how wrong we actually are…
We can stand in Awe of Grace as it is on full display in Jesus.
and THAT’S what THIS DAY is all about.
The King has come…to judge and cleanse and purify…
and our King Jesus comes in humility and gentleness…
Where might he bring that cleansing for us?
Where might he bring that cleansing for you?
We’ve been on a journey towards the cross alongside Jesus,
to the death of sin and self…
Are we ready?
Because…This Is the Day it can begin for us all.
Let us stand in Awe of Grace as we journey through Holy Week.
