"Sabbath Trust: The Triumphal Entry"
Rev. Brenda Clarke
The Triumphal Entry - Rev. Brenda Clark

Luke 19:28-38

19:29-38 pp—Mt 21:1-9; Mk 11:1-10 19:35-38 pp—Jn 12:12-15

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he
approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two
of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it,
you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.  
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.  33 As they
were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”  35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks
on the colt and put Jesus on it.  36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the
road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the
whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles
they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Today is Palm Sunday, that day when we remember the triumphant entry of Jesus into
the city of Jerusalem, so many years ago.  It is usually a day of great celebration, just
as it was originally.  We wave palm fronds and shout “Hosanna!” or “Blessed is the One
who comes in the name of the Lord!”  

However, this morning, I want to concentrate on the behind the scenes thoughts and
motivations rather than the exalted entrance, the delirious disciples, or the clamoring
crowds.  In the previous chapter of Luke, Jesus takes the disciples aside and says to
them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets
about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.  He will be handed over to the Gentiles.  They will
mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him.  On the third day he will rise
again.”   The disciples didn’t understand this.  Luke tells us that “its meaning was
hidden from them, and they didn’t know what he was talking about.”

In preparation for today, Kevin told me that you have been examining Sabbath Trust.  
Trusting in God, trusting in ourselves, trusting in the universe or in life itself as God has
created it.  Together, you have been looking at trust through the lenses of stewardship,
being able to trust that there will be enough, enough money, enough time, enough
love, enough of ALL that we need, even after we let go of fear; especially after we give
up control; after we realize with relief that it isn’t all dependent upon us.  Finding that
space in our spirits for trusting God to take care of the work, the life, the love, that we,
being human, must release in order to experience Sabbath.  

The triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, four days before his betrayal, five days
before his arrest and execution, is full of underlying trust, trust displayed rather than
discussed.  Jesus acts on Palm Sunday, depending upon God to work out the details.  
Jesus speaks, believing God strong enough to lean on.  Jesus releases himself to God
and God’s creation, knowing that morning follows night, resurrection follows death, and
every ending is also a beginning.

  Luke very clearly tells us Jesus knew what he was riding into on that colt.  He knew
that the leaders in Jerusalem were angry about the crowds following him, about the
statements he was making, about his condemnation of all that is unjust, unfair,
unloving.  

 Jesus was making the leaders look bad and his existence was diminishing their power
and prestige, so they were waiting.  Waiting for an opportunity to entrap Jesus and take
care of him once and for all.
Christ decided to step into Jerusalem, knowing very probably, that his freedom was at
risk, his life in danger.  He went anyway.  He trusted God.  He trusted himself.  He
trusted the universe as God created it.

I can guess what you’re thinking.  Of course Jesus trusted God.  Jesus is God!  Of
course Jesus trusted himself, for the same reason—Jesus is God!  Duh!  Of course
Jesus trusted the universe as God created it!  Jesus is God! Present at the creation!  
But, and this is a gigantic BUT, Jesus is also very human.  So human that in anger he
raged in the Temple, driving out those who were selling, those who were part of Temple
system pillaging the poor, charging exorbitant prices for sacrificial animals.  Remember,
it is Passover, and everyone Jewish is expected to travel the distance to Jerusalem
whether you live in Bethlehem or Ethiopia or Greece.  And, you are expected to offer
an unblemished lamb to remember God’s miracle of the Exodus from slavery in Egypt.  
Only trouble is, poor people don’t have access to lambs—because they don’t own any.  
The poor are unable to purchase a lamb, because even the most inexpensive animal
available to purchase, a dove or pigeon, costs more than a year’s salary.
Jesus was so very human, that time and time again, when the leaders tried to entrap
him into committing blasphemy against God, against Judaism, Jesus played word
games with them, stumping them.  He blocked them with words when they questioned
his authority, when they asked him about paying taxes to Rome’s Caesar, when they
asked him about marriage and the resurrection.

Jesus was so absolutely human, that when Judas Iscariot betrayed him, selling him into
the hands of the chief priests and the Temple guards for mere money, he had to give
up, let go and trust the right outcome to forces beyond his human frailty.  He was so
human that he had to eat and drink to sustain his body and keep his strength.  So
completely and utterly human that in the Garden of Gethsemene, he begged for a
reprieve from that which was about to begin—the arrest, the unjust trials and the
unwarranted execution.

To be human means that we have doubts, constant doubts, about our abilities and
worth, about others’ competencies and commitments, about God and God’s love for
us—whether or not it is truly unconditional, whether or not it is actually everlasting.  Let
me tell you, the high point of that final week of Jesus’ life was that ride into Jerusalem.  
After that, it went from good to bad, from bad to worse, from triumph to deadly defeat.  
The adoring crowds abandoned him.  The devoted disciples hid or denied him.  The
“upright” leaders plotted his murder and the powerful government of Rome went along
to keep the peace for Passover.

I wouldn’t say that Jesus understood the exact methods that would be used against him
or the specific actions that would be taken to stop him.  I am very sure Jesus knew that
once he entered Jerusalem, his life was going to change drastically and forever.  He
knew he was putting himself in danger, but he did it anyway.
There is a song Martina McBride sings, that I love, called “Anyway.”  Listen to the lyrics:

You can spend your whole life buildin'
Something from nothin
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy
And it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all YOUR heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
love em anyway

God is great but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yeah I do it anyway, yeah,

You can pour your soul out singin'
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway
Yeah sing it anyway, yeah, yeah

I sing
I dream
I love anyway, yeah.

Jesus trusted God’s love, God’s plan, God’s power.  He also trusted himself, what he
knew himself to be, what he knew as his mission.  And, he trusted the universe to work
and move just as God created it to do.  He had very little money, no home to speak of,
no respect from the rulers of Rome or Judea.  He was nothing but the son of a poor
Jewish girl named Mary or bitter, raised by Joseph, a day-laborer specializing in hewing
rock.  At the beginning of his ministry, even the people of his own home town, got angry
with him and his claims and tried to throw him down a cliff, but he didn’t stop trusting,
God, himself or life.  He did it all anyway, hoping, believing, trusting, that God would
take all that he did, all that happened to him, the good and the bad and make
something good out of it.

In the end, that’s what trusting is, hoping and believing God will take all that we do, the
right and the wrong, all that happens to us, the good and the bad, all that we are, the
holy and the unholy and make it into something good enough so there is enough of
ALL that we need, money, time and love.  Most particularly love. So, in the words of
Martina McBride’s song: Build it anyway.  Dream it anyway.  Do it anyway.  Believe it
anyway.  Love them anyway.  Sing it anyway.  Amen.