On the Road - Sermon for Palm Sunday Year A

On the Road

Palm Sunday A

April 2, 2023

Christ, Preston, MN

Matthew 21.1-11

A few years ago, pre-pandemic, I was having lunch with other interim pastors following a meeting at the synod offices in Rochester. A young woman came up to the table and said, “Do you know who I am? Do you remember me?” I did recognize her, though it had been 10 years since I’d seen her as a middle school Confirmation student. But before I could find the name in the deep recesses of my memory, she blurted out her name, “I’m Carla!” We spent a few minutes chatting as she caught me up about her and her family. She had to leave quickly as she was on her lunch break and needed to return to work. As I sat down, one of my colleagues said, “Don’t you just hate that?” In the sense they meant it, yes it was a bit awkward, but I was truly grateful to see her and how she had matured.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem he is subtly engaging in a game of “Do you know who I am?” The crowds who gather to watch this spectacle of donkeys, cloaks, and palms appear to play along with him. “Who is this?” they say to one another even as we know that this is no frivolous game. They take stabs at identification saying, “Son of David,” prophet, and the “one who comes in the name of the Lord” Yet, these seem wholly inadequate to those of us who have been traveling with Jesus this Lenten season.

New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan believe that there were likely two contrasting entrances into Jerusalem that Passover. On the opposite side of town from Jesus who entered from the East would have been the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate from the west. During Passover the population of Jerusalem would swell to many times its size and, to forestall riots, Pilate would make a show of force by entering Jerusalem. Furthermore, he would come mounted on a warhorse followed by heavily armed Roman soldiers. It is doubtful that the pilgrims who have arrived to celebrate Passover would lay garments and shout, “Hosanna, save us!”

Though Jesus doesn’t talk much, his actions speak volumes: in response to “Who is this?” he says, “Not who you think.” Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, the mount of kings, not a warhorse like Pilate. And he comes from the East, the Mount of Olives, where prophecy had predicted that deliverance for the people would come from. In case you didn’t catch it, Matthew supplies us with a quote from Zechariah underscoring that this king would be the very antithesis of strongarm despots such as Pilate, one ruling with gentleness and humility.

We know that there were different ideas of who the Messiah would be, but the prevailing one was that the Messiah would be a warrior king like his ancestor David and that his descendant would be someone who would defeat the Roman occupation and kick them out. We get a very big hint today that Jesus will not be who we expect him to be, that he will resist being tied to preconceived notions, and he will not conform to a role dictated by those in power. Jesus will overthrow the powers of evil and heal the brokenness of the world in his own way.

The question of “Who is this?” invites not only reflection on our part but also compels us to walk with Jesus as we discover for ourselves who he is and what he means to us and our world. A hint: among other things, Jesus is the one who willingly and for our sake enters the darkest places, encountering the worst this world has to throw at him to bring light and abundant life to us and all of creation. This is a hard road to Easter, going through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, but nonetheless an important one. We need to do this to answer, “Who is this?” Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to the Son of David. Amen.

My sermons often preach a little differently than written and you can find the video here.