“King on a Donkey”

Sermon for Palm Sunday 2012

Meditation on Mark 11:1-11

       We are walking the dusty road with Jesus and His disciples in our gospel lesson today. They are headed toward Jerusalem to celebrate the Holy Festival of Passover. 

       Their last stop was in Jericho, where Joshua had so long before led a battle for the Lord, and Jesus more recently had healed a blind beggar in the streets.

       Between Jericho and Jerusalem is only about a dozen miles. But the walk is a steep, rocky climb—desert most of the way.  Jericho, at 800 feet below sea level, is the lowest city on earth. Jerusalem is nearly 3,000 feet above sea level.

       Before Jesus and his disciples reach the Holy City, they rest on the top of the Mount of Olives, where desert gives way to green vegetation. Jesus sends two of his disciples ahead to a village to fetch a colt.

      We assume this colt is a donkey because the gospel of Matthew fills in that detail, as does Zechariah the prophet in our reading today. 

       This donkey has never been ridden and has no saddle.  The disciples throw their cloaks over the animal’s back. Jesus climbs on.

       What scholars call Christ’s Triumphal Entry begins.

       It is a kind of royal procession, on a small scale.

       People see Jesus coming. They rush out to him, remove their cloaks and spread them on the ground in front of him. Others pick branches from the trees and gather straw from the fields to wave jubilantly.

      They cry out, “Hosanna!” a Hebrew word from a prayer asking the Lord to “Come quickly! Save us now!”

      They shout, “Blessed or welcome is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!”

       Jesus enters the Holy City.  King on a donkey. 

       This king of heaven is unlike any worldly king. No weapons display or show of military force. No colors blazing on banners held high; no drums rumbling or trumpets sounding.

        No other king would come so quietly, so peacefully, so humbly. Christ’s kingdom is like none on earth we know.   

        The triumphal entry ends in almost an anticlimax. A letdown.

        Jesus rides in, goes to the temple, looks around.  And because the hour is late, he heads right back out of the city again—to the village of Bethany, where he will stay with his disciples during the few days leading up to the Passover.

       Mark leaves us hanging as to what will happen now that Jesus has made His presence known in Jerusalem.

***

        Today, on Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry and begin our first day of Holy Week, we also welcome five young women into membership in our church. 

       All five have been coming to Ebenezer since they were babies in their families’ arms.  They were baptized here.

     When they were baptized, their parents and everyone in this church vowed to nurture them in the Lord and help them—and their parents—along their journey of faith.

      These five have now completed confirmation. Last Sunday, each shared their faith statements with their parents, mentors, pastor, and members of session. 

     But their journey of faith has just begun.  They have a lifetime of spiritual growth and learning ahead of them. They will need your encouragement more than ever in the next few weeks, months and years, when it may seem like a kind of an anticlimax or a letdown to them.

     For all of their lives, they have participated in a structured Christian education program with specific goals, some of which they have now achieved.

     Today there is excitement and joy, celebrating their decision to follow Christ through service in this church and their completion of the program. There will be prayers and hugs, cards and presents, and parties with cake and relatives and friends.

     And then tomorrow will come. And next Sunday.  And the next.

    What will happen, then?

    Ebenezer has no structured program for confirmation graduates. We have no senior high class or weekly youth group.  No adults have come forward—not yet, anyway—expressing interest in leading such a class or group.

     These five are urged, of course, to attend adult Bible studies and Sunday school classes, and stay involved with mission and outreach. All have expressed interest in helping out with the children’s programs, including Vacation Bible School.

      But will they be motivated, without a structured program, to come to church every week?

      Will they, like some of our teens and young adults have done in the past, start to drift away...?

      They will have to make choices, with our help.  And they will choose to follow Christ with all their hearts. Or they will choose to chase after the activities, friendships, and feel-good rewards the world has to offer, leaving them little or no time to pursue the things of God’s kingdom, which is like nothing else on earth.

      What happens in their lives of faith from here on out depends on them and whether their faith statements and commitment to serving Jesus Christ and loving others are real or simply words spoken to please other people.

       What happens in their lives of faith also depends on all of us. Is our faith and commitment to serving Christ and loving others real?

      Let us care enough about our young people to demonstrate the gospel to them through our own lives, words, and journeys of faith.

      Let us remember to pray for them, reach out to them, and hold them to the responsibilities that go along with membership in the Body of Christ.

      Let us have the courage, then, to walk as our humble king would have us walk—as individuals and as a church. 

***      

       Our gospel lesson reveals to us a day in the life of Christ that was joyful and triumphant. But the triumph is bittersweet.  The joy is fleeting.

     Mark hasn’t really left us hanging.  We know what’s coming. In a matter of days, Jesus will be scorned and rejected. Abandoned by those who welcomed Him at Jerusalem’s gates.  Abandoned by his own frightened disciples.

       There will be no donkey for our humble king to ride and no cloaks laid on his path on the way to His crucifixion. He will have no garments of splendor to wear—only a cruel crown of thorns.

       There will be no waving branches, no royal procession—not even a small one.

       No cries of “Hosanna!  Come, Lord! Save us now!”

Will you pray with me? 

      Merciful Lord, forgive us when we have taken your work on the cross, your love, suffering, and sacrifice for our sakes, for granted.  Send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us to do your good works and obey your will.  Help us to love and nurture these five young ladies and the other young people of the church so they will have a faith to carry them throughout their lives.  Keep them strong in Spirit and committed to serving You. Give them hearts of compassion for the needy and a desire to take the gospel out through loving words and kind deeds. Protect them from discouragement and apathy.  Keep the evil one and his temptations away.  Thank you for your love and your forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ.  In His name we pray.  Amen.