sermon excerpts: "After the Parade" (Luke 19: 28-40)

Jesus received a hero’s welcome into the city. The disciples walked before him, shouting out words of praise and worship. People lay cloaks on the street before him, as they would for a prince or a king at the time of his coronation. This was victory; raise the flags, lift up the championship banner.

It was time for Jesus to publicly lay claim to the role of Messiah, of facing the expectations of the people; all while seated on a previously-unridden donkey. There is a lot to be made of the donkey and what it represents. The prophet Zechariah mentions how the Saviour, the new King, would enter the city on a donkey.

This would be a sign of peace. A mere donkey, not a grand parade of chariots and warhorses, but ambling along on a simple, hardworking animal, not used to this kind of fuss. Jesus came into the city, not as a conquering warrior, but as one of the people despite his heavenly heritage and divine destiny. The presentation of Jesus as Messiah was, like the man himself, humble and no greater than it needed to be.

The donkey was pure, untainted, no one had ridden it yet. In this regard, it was ritually pure appropriate for sacrifice. All this happened on the fifth day before Passover, the day that families would have chosen the lamb that would be prepared for the holiday meal.
...
So in this moment of triumph, as Jesus enters Jerusalem to fanfare and celebration, the Pharisees, the leaders of the community try to quiet the crowd. Too much noise and celebration would attract the attention of the Roman authorities. The Roman Empire is very used to dealing with uprisings and rebellions.

Yet the timing was such that this was the moment of revelation. All the world would know who Jesus was; they would not yet understand the true meaning of his ministry, but they would recognize this is a man of great power. Were the disciples to remain silent, the very stones would cry out. The message would be told anyway, it was unstoppable.

And it would have been a magnificent occasion if it wasn’t for the rest of the story. It is hard for us to imagine what it was really like that day for Jesus and the people involved. We know what happens next in the story. We know how things will unravel and degenerate into something ugly, shameful and distressing.
...
We can’t truly revel in the glorious entry of Jesus because we know how things end. We can’t enjoy the moment because we know the people will be exposed as fickle and disloyal. We can’t truly celebrate the coming of Jesus to Jerusalem because we know it is the beginning of the end.

Sometimes we live life that way too. We are afraid of enjoying the moment fearful that something bad could happen. We wait for the “other shoe to drop”; we wait for bad things to happen in 3s.

This afternoon I will be conducting a funeral service for a 59-year old man killed in a traffic accident. No rhyme or reason, for no other explanation than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hearing such news or experiencing such loss could lead one to wonder “why bother?”

But what we know from the rest of the story is the fact that Easter is coming. The final chapter is one of resurrection, hope and life. That is why we bother, because the world needs to know that there is a reason to life, a meaning and purpose to who we are and what we do. We make the most of the time we have, we give fully of ourselves, humbly and simply, like a hardworking donkey, like Jesus in his ministry.

It is true, after every parade, there is a mess left in the streets. All sorts of trash, bottles and cans, assorted papers, cups, candy wrappers, flags, posters and all the things that people brought and cast aside. Or in Jerusalem that day, what to do with the leftover palm branches: gather them up and thrown in the trash? Leave them in heaps for people to pick up and burn? Cloaks trampled on and smudged, smeared and stained, as people reclaimed their items, shaking their heads at the mess they have to launder.

It can be a stark return to reality, after a time of great joy and togetherness, to face the task of getting things back to normal. After every holiday or vacation, there is the need for another day off to recover from it all. We live our lives in the days after the parade. We have memories of great times and a special occasion, but we cannot maintain such energy without burning out.

Such is life, we have moments of parade and great celebration, and struggle against a letdown. What is left for us to do after? The real living comes after the emotional high and adrenaline rush.

Jesus came to the city on a plain, ordinary donkey. It was a sign that he came in peace, that he wasn’t here to defeat an enemy or conquer those who were on the wrong side. It was also a reminder that hard work, determination, persistence, and humbleness was the way that we as plain, ordinary people would make a difference in the world.

So let us follow in the parade, living with the knowledge that the road ahead has bumps and potholes, but knowing that we go as a people redeemed and made whole by God’s love. We go together; we are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen.