Luke 19:28-40
28After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”34They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
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“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Amen.
Thus begins Holy Week.
Interestingly enough, this year, Holy Week is also the last week of school for many college students.
As I was chatting with our campus ministry students this past week, I was struck by how much pressure they are under as they begin exam week. I’m sure parents feel it, too, as their children begin testing in school. But there is something to be said about the pressure to perform, feeling like your own self-worth depends on it. Young people are constantly inundated with the narrative that they are not good enough.
We fall right into step with it, too. It seems that it is so much easier for us to focus on the negative aspects of ourselves and our work. In my first interview for seminary, I was asked about my weaknesses and was able to rattle off a half a dozen of my character flaws in rapid succession. Then they asked about my strengths and we sat in silence for what felt like minutes while I tried to think of anything to say. And I don’t believe that it is totally about humility, either. I think we are conditioned to focus more on the things we get wrong so that we can constantly be improving ourselves, working harder, getting better.
That’s why I want to focus on the processional reading instead of the passion narrative this morning. We have spent much of the Lenten season being reflective, penitent, and focusing on things that need to be pruned in our lives and ministry. Most preachers around town this morning will probably be preaching about how fickle we are as God’s followers. How we are just like the disciples who shout “blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” today and “crucify him” in less than a week. And that is true. There is no denying that. But what I don’t want to ignore is that the DO shout “blessed is the king!” The disciples, for this brief moment, seem to get things right. And we do too.
The reading opens up with Jesus telling two disciples to go into the village, steal a colt, and bring it to him. And they do. They do exactly as Jesus tells them to without asking any questions or coming up with any excuses. Then they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. And as Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem, it says that the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power they had seen. They praise Jesus as king. The king who comes in the name of the Lord. The king who was prophesied about in scripture.
The crowds were finally praising God for all the miracles they had seen instead of accusing Jesus of being possessed by a demon. The disciples cried out loudly for all to hear— yelling what was considered heretical to the Pharisees— and even when the Pharisees told Jesus to silence them, they continued to shout.
The people who had been following Jesus for years, who had seen these wonderful miracles firsthand— they were finally getting it right and praising Jesus as king and Lord as he so rightly deserved.
There are many other times when the disciples really get things wrong. If you’ve ever read even on of the gospel accounts, you can point to several occasions in which the disciples— those closest to Jesus— just had no idea what was going on. We’ll have several opportunities to hear about those times during the next week— on Wednesday, Thursday, and twice on Friday. Including, like I said, less than a week from now when the cries of “blessed is the king” turn into the crowds screaming “crucify him!”
But this morning, just for this brief time, I hope we can celebrate the times when they get it right and when we get it right. Even if we don’t get it right very often— maybe one day every few years for a few minutes each day. As people 2000 years removed from this passage, as people who maybe never experience Jesus’ healing touch or had our eyes physically opened by the Son of God— don’t you think we should celebrate when we get it right? When our faithfulness is pure and holy? When we look to God and to one another instead of ourselves?
I see that here. I see glimpses of the Kingdom of God here in this community.
Food pantry - feeds hundreds of people every month
Our commitment to campus ministry
Willingness to reach beyond the walls of this sanctuary
Stephen Ministry - being a presence for those in need, truly being the body of Christ
Even in the short time I have been here, I have had the privilege of witnessing the Spirit stir in this community. And it seems by some miracle, every once in a while, we get it right. And it beautiful.
In this world, in a society, that focuses so much on our flaws and all the things we do wrong— it’s almost provocative, even divisive, to lift up one another’s gifts and our own gifts. It’s sort of revolutionary to say, “yes, today, with this ministry, with our hearts in this moment, we got it right.”
And God celebrates with us. It pleases God when we get it right, even if it’s not very often.
But even on the days that we get things so horribly wrong, when we refuse to listening to the calling of the Spirit, when we turn away from God and our neighbor, God is with us in that too. Unlike us, God does not have a fickle heart. God never wavers and is always faithful. God is always calling after us, chasing after us with arms wide open. As a shepherd looking for one lost sheep, as a father waiting for his son to return home, as a woman searching for a lost coin. God is calling out to us as God’s beloved children.
So let us not forget, that as our fickle and sinful hearts move so rapidly from screaming, “blessed is the king” to “crucify him,” God is loving and faithful— even to the point of death. Amen.
This sermon was preached by me Sarah Locke at Redeemer Episcopal Church on April 14, 2019.
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