Open the Gates

So let the sun come streaming in / 'Cause you'll reach up and you'll rise again /
If you only look around / You will be found

Songwriters: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“You Will Be Found” lyrics © Pick In A Pinch Music, Breathelike Music

A word to you, preacher: Where do you stand this week? First of all, you must decide whether this day is primarily about the parade or about the Passion or whether there are hints of the one in the other. But perhaps most important is whether you, as the preacher, stand aloof and apart, relating the story with the ending firmly in mind, with the wisdom and interpretation all sewn up. Or will you stand with the crowd, the community, and wonder what it all means and where it will all end?

I know that it is hard to move away from the center, from being the one with the answers and the wisdom. Upon reflection, however, it seems right to step back; it might also give an interesting perspective on the whole Palm Sunday event. There were a lot of backseat people. In fact, everyone was a backseat person. The only one in the driver’s seat was Jesus. This was his show from the beginning to the end. Everyone else was just a spectator Invited to look and see, shout for joy, and welcome the one who comes.

So, one wonders if the crowd that lined the streets of Jerusalem was genuinely glad to see Jesus or if the celebration revealed something else.

Did you notice any significant omissions from Luke's account? There are no palms in this Palm Sunday parade, and they do not shout "Hosanna!" Instead, they quote from Psalm 118, a psalm for pilgrims coming to Jerusalem. So, did they see him as the one they wanted? Or were they simply in the psalm-singing mood?

This whole affair could be read from different perspectives. On the one hand, there are militaristic overtones. If you read the verses preceding the Palm Sunday account in Luke, you see Jesus telling a parable of a nobleman who went to claim a kingdom. This story ends so ruthlessly that any attempt to put Jesus in the place of that nobleman is uncomfortable. Yet isn't Jesus riding in to claim a kingdom? Isn't this whole Palm Sunday proclamation about Jesus declaring who he is?

Certainly, but Jesus is also careful to announce who he is in contrast to the kings of this world. While there are elements that could be lined up with conquering generals in this account - the commandeering of an animal for the purpose of presentation, the riding into the city surrounded by loyal followers singing praise - both prerogatives of Roman military generals. But there are also subtle signals that Jesus is declaring himself to be a different kind of conquering hero. Unlike the generals, he wears no crown. His crown will come later, one of thorns pressed upon him in derision. The psalm sung to Jesus does not evoke King David, as do Matthew and Mark's versions of this story. But Luke's quote echoes the angelic chorus from the infancy story at the beginning of Luke's account and speaks of peace on earth.

The nobleman in the parable kills those who oppose his rule, while Christ will shortly give his life to save those who oppose him. In Luke's mind, at least, the nobleman of the parable is not Jesus. He is perhaps the ruler of this world, or Satan, as one commentator suggests, against whom Jesus' life stands in opposition.

Whether in Jesus's planning or in Luke's telling, we are meant to know from this account that Jesus was indeed claiming a kingdom. But it was a kingdom not of this world or of this world's way of doing things. It was something new, something different. It was an answer to prayers that we didn't even know to pray before he came.

This brings us back to the question I asked in the first place: what can we know about the motivations of the people who lined the parade route that first Palm Sunday? Anything? Well, on the one hand, probably nothing. People like spectacles. And whether this was a large crowd or a small diversion from the spectacle that was Passover time in Jerusalem, many of those who were shouting that day probably had no idea who the man on the colt really was, nor did they know enough to seek solace, to seek peace from him - despite their song. The crowd's fickleness will be revealed in a few days’ time.

Yet perhaps some were earnestly searching, who stood there and observed and sang and waved their palms, hoping that maybe there was someone who could give them a reason to hold on to their faith. Maybe a few who held out their hands to him hoped that what would cross their palms would be grace for living, a sign of power. Maybe.

We don't know. We do know our own motivations are often misplaced, sometimes distracted, sometimes focused. Sometimes, we have an idea of what we are doing, and sometimes, we are as lost as any of the pilgrims in Jerusalem. So, it is probably safe to assume that they were all over the place, too. That means that some of them didn't know. Some of them were genuinely glad to see him.