Ye Watchers, and Ye Holy Ones

Matthew 21:1-11

I want us to reflect on Palm Sunday from the disciples’ point of view, for that is who we are--disciples--followers of Christ. Their experience in this event helps us to understand who and what we can be and are as people of faith. So, using a few old hymns and camp songs to guide us, here we go.

IN THE GARDEN

We begin with an affirmation--God is OUR God. God is for us. God wants the best for us. God wants us to realize our potential as children of God. God wants us to fulfill the essence of being created in the image of God. 

Jesus, then, is OUR savior. He came to redeem the world, but, for us, he came to redeem each one of us, to reclaim each one of us from sin and release us from the fear of death that daily threatens to rob all that we endeavor meaningless and empty--if we are all going to die, why bother? That message is miraculous in that it is indeed for all the cosmos, but it is also directed at each one of us. In perfect honesty, I can preach, “Jesus lived for you; Jesus died for you; Jesus rose for you; and Jesus reigns for you.”

The disciples saw this truth manifested on Palm Sunday. For weeks, for months, maybe for years, they had whispered and wondered who Jesus actually was. A few of them hazarded to say he was THEIR redeemer, the promised king who would release Israel from oppression, injustice, and subjection. A few went even further--Jesus had touched them personally--healed them or claimed them when no one else could or would. They claimed Jesus as THEIR Lord. Now, Jesus affirms their claims. He accepts their acclamation of him as the promised messiah, the child of David who would do all that was needed to raise Israel from the ashes. Jesus makes this affirmation by embodying one of the grandest of prophetic images--he takes a ride on a donkey, bringing Zechariah to life before their eyes--Jesus was the man; he was the King. Everything came true. Everything was there. God was so good. God did all of this for them. I imagine Peter waving a palm branch, thinking inside, “Jesus is MINE!”

I would call this state the “In the Garden” moment--you know the old hymn--I walked in the garden...and he walks with me, and he talks with me, and tells me I am his own...

Yes, Jesus is OUR Lord. Yes, Jesus is with each of you. Yes, Jesus loves you--each of you. Hear and believe this good news. You are Jesus’ focus of attention. He knows you. He meets you in compassion. He walks with you each day.

And, like the disciples, this place is where we want the journey to end. 

But I’ve only been preaching a few minutes...you know this is not where we are going to end...

HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS

Jesus took a seat on a donkey and rode down the road into the city of Jerusalem. It was not long before it was a full-blown parade. Crowds spilled from their homes and lined the road. They shouted praise, they threw their cloaks on the road; they waved palm branches. The Romans took note and sent a passel of Legionnaires just to keep tabs on things. It became a real mob scene. The disciples have to face something--Jesus isn’t THEIRS, after all. All of these people also lay claim to him. They are going to have to share Jesus.

So, brothers and sisters, we turn to another old classic song of faith--one we sing more in Bible School than we do in worship--”He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” 

Go ahead and continue your walk in that wondrous, miraculous garden. Keep talking with Jesus. Keep walking with Jesus. Keep whispering your quiet affirmations of love for Christ, hearing his love in return. But realize that garden is a lot more crowded than you ever imagined. In fact, there are currently right at seven billion people in that garden, if the World Bank has the right number of human beings currently alive correct. Every one of them is in God’s hands.

You see, God is more wondrous than we ever imagined. God can be in seven billion places all at the same time. God can listen to seven billion different voices all at the same time and never miss a single word. God can be interested in seven billion stories all at the same time and never lose the plot in any of them. 

So, we come to a moment of decision.

Realizing that sharing, community, and connection are part of this thing called faith, do we keep at it? Or do we walk away, seeking that god who will give us what we want because our desires are God’s, our self-interest is God’s, and our self-centeredness is God’s? 

Stated that way, it does not seem all that difficult, does it? 

But no one states it that way.

The disciples kept marching along in the Palm Sunday parade, but they were watching. They watched these “outsiders” join. Sure, their support was nice. They all said the right things, but Jesus was still the disciples’ Jesus, right? That shows up a bit later when they fall to arguing over the seats of power in Jesus’ cabinet--sure, all these people will be in the throngs ruled by Christ, but the disciples will have special places over them, right? They assume these things in all sincerity--”We’ve been with you through it all,” Peter will say at one point. Jesus stuns them. “Those who lead will serve like the neediest of all. Those who would gain their lives, will lose them. Those who would be with me will bear their own cross.”

WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS

The third lesson the disciples learn is that Jesus never stops being Jesus as Jesus defines himself.

God is not God if God is simply a projection of what we want, or a magic genie who grants only our wishes, or simply a cosmic lifeguard who does nothing, asks nothing, but is always there to pull us out of the pool when we get overwhelmed. 

No, God is God.

Thanks be to God.

The cross is the sure and certain sign of this truth. 

It is so because the cross completely defines Christ’s identity and power--Christ is the embodiment of other-centered, self-sacrificial love--the love that God is. That love redeems us from sin and death. That love embraces us with the tenderness of the kindest parent. That love treasures us as the unique acts of creation that we are. But it also calls us to make sure that every single one of the currently living seven billion human beings knows it is true for each of them, too.

That is going to take work, and that is going to take a loss of self to make it so. It is going to mean leaving the garden and walking the rocky road to Golgotha, for it is there that the real action occurs. It is there that God embraces the whole world. It is there that God bridges the gap we cannot bridge between ourselves and God and between ourselves on our own. 

So, we sing the hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” because there is the gospel in full. 

All but one of the disciples made it through the cross to find their own way of the cross. Judas met a cross of a different sort. But the others all took theirs up and walked. They walked within the world, among the people, and they met them with love, compassion, and grace. They healed the suffering. They offered hope to the lost. They ate with sinners. They touched the lepers. They lost themselves.

And now it is our turn.

Sing the song, for you know the words.