Sunday Sermon 04.05.09

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION
Let us pray: Gracious God, shine the light of your Spirit upon us as we hear these words of Scripture read and proclaimed. Reveal your saving presence in these words, and lead us further down the path of faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE: Mark 11:1-11
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'"

4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.

7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.

9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest!"

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever, Amen.


It was a busy day along the road to Jerusalem. It was almost time for the Passover celebration, and most able-bodied families from the country side around the town had set out on their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The road to Jerusalem was crowded with adults and children and animals, all moving toward the giant walls surrounding the city.

The crowds were headed to the Temple to celebrate the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. All these years later, faithful families still made the trip to Jerusalem to celebrate what God had done, and continues to do, for them.

Many generations ago, their ancestors had been enslaved in Egypt by a Pharaoh who was afraid of their ancestors. He was afraid they would rise up against him because they were so numerous. So the Pharaoh forced them to work all day long in the hot sun, making bricks out of mud and hay.

Moses, the leader of the slaves, made many attempts to convince Pharaoh to let his people go, but Pharaoh stubbornly refused. God began to send plagues down on the Egyptians, while sparing the Israelites. Frogs and boils and locusts—all meant to change Pharaoh’s mind. But still he refused.

Then God sent the final plague—the death of the first born. Moses warned the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and to smear its blood on their doorways so that the angel of the Lord would PASS OVER their houses as they took away the first born of the Egyptians.

Overwhelmed by grief at the loss of his own son, the Pharaoh set the Israelites free. God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and guided his people through their wilderness wandering—as a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night—and brought them into to the Promised Land.

It was the most important time of their lives, even if it had had happened so long ago. Their ancestors who were there had died long ago. But the story of what they saw lived on through the generations, handed down from parent to child. And that was why they were on the road today: to tell the story one more time. They were heading toward Jerusalem to celebrate what God had done for them in the past and also what God is doing in the present.

But there was a little disturbance in the road up ahead. They were still pretty far from Jerusalem, but from one of the villages along the road, came a man, riding on a donkey. The crowd around him were taking their coats off and placing them on the ground for the donkey to walk on. They were cutting off palm branches and waving them in the air. As the man on the donkey passed, they threw the palms down on the ground too.

It was strange; the man on the donkey didn’t say anything. He didn’t wave or call out to the crowd. He simply looked at them as the donkey slowly walked along the road to Jerusalem. He didn’t look happy to be the center of attention. In fact, he looked a little sad, like he really didn’t want to be making this trip to Jerusalem for the Passover.

There were some other men with him, but they were hanging back, like they were uncertain of what was going on or embarrassed to be there with him. They stayed some distance behind the man on the donkey, slowly making their way behind him to the temple at Jerusalem.

The crowds knew something was going on. Something big was about to happen.

As the man on the donkey passed, the crowds began to yell. They cried out, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” They threw down their coats and their palm branches and cried out, “Hosanna! Deliver us!” “Hosanna! Save us.” “Hosanna! Save me!”

Who was this man? Was he the Messiah? Was he the Savior? He looked so ordinary. He didn’t look like a messiah or a savior. He looked like an ordinary pilgrim, on his way to Jerusalem, just like the rest of them.

“Hosanna!” they continued to cry. “Save us,” they pleaded with the man on the donkey. But he just kept his eyes straight ahead and kept moving toward Jerusalem.

Today is Palm Sunday. This morning we have also seen the palms being waved and we have watched the parade go by. Just like the crowd, we have watched the man on the donkey walk by and we have also said, “Hosanna! Deliver us! Save us!”

When we see the Savior, we can’t help but ask for deliverance. When we say “hosanna” we are asking God to save us. But save us from what? What is the prayer in your heart when you ask God to “save” you?[1]
Save me from anger. Save me from depression.
Save me from hopelessness. Save me from debt.
Save me from the fighting. Save me from bitterness.
Save me from loneliness. Save me from my fears.

In the middle of this little parade, watching our Savior make his way to the cross, we can’t help but pray. We can’t help but to cry out for what we are most vulnerable to as it bubbles to the surface. We pray that somehow God would take the broken places inside of us and make us whole.

Because that is what Holy Week is all about: what God had to do in order to save us. Holy Week is not pretty; it is not pleasant. What happens in this week shows just how sinful humanity was and is and always will be. And yet it also shows us just how much God loves us.

What better way to begin Holy Week than by asking God, from the deep and honest places inside of us, to save us?

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

[1] http://day1.org/1240-save_us