Wednesday, April 5, 2017

                I expect that today the authorities would demand that Jesus get a parade permit before they would allow him to enter the city.

                This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday for Christianity – the celebration or remembrance of Jesus’ ride on a donkey into the city of Jerusalem.  Only the Gospel of John mentions palm branches, while the other three gospels refer to people’s cloaks which they threw in the path of Jesus or leafy branches. A number of bible translations have titled this section as “Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.” It is almost as if we are still making the same error in judgment about Jesus as did his disciples. They thought this parade was the beginning of a major rebellion, a powerful revolution, a military coup, the calling of an army to usher in a new age for Israel and the overthrow the Roman empire and its heavy-handed oppression of the people.

                Close but no cigar!

                The shouts of the people inferred that they too wished that Jesus was some new saviour who had come as their liberator, a new King David. Matthew tells us that, “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’” (Matthew 21:10) It only served to annoy the Pharisees and eventually the Roman authorities even further, intensifying their desire to rid themselves of the problematic Jesus. The schemes began in earnest, to look “for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people,” (Luke 22:2).      

But before long, the same crowds turned against Jesus and cried out for his execution. He was not the one they were hoping for, longing for, wishing for. Better a dead pretender of a messiah than a false, disappointing one. Triumph turned into humiliation, including a miserable and horrible suffering death on a cross, the worst imaginable way, for a Jew in particular, to die. “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).

                It was a short-lived parade. Nope, nothing to see here. Time to move on.

                My experience has been that the problem that many people have with religion in general and Christianity in particular is that the religious sphere never lives up to one’s expectations. At first, spiritual fervour comes on like gangbusters. There may be spiritual fireworks, powerful emotions, intense spiritual experiences, feelings of joy, hope, optimism, and love for the world. One is on fire, ready to take on the world. There is a parade happening and one wants to join in and wave a few palm branches around. “Jesus is Lord and all is right in the world!”

                But then, for some reason, the parade route takes a nasty turn. Life isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. The promised rose garden has a few thorns. Miracles don’t always happen as often as or how you would wish. Faith gets bogged down by reality. The road gets narrow. When the going gets tough it’s time to go home and see what’s on TV and turn our back on or against God for doing such a poor job of keeping us happy, healthy and prosperous. Empty promises. Empty hope.  Dead ends. Lost causes.

                Nope, nothing to see here. Time to move on.

                All the gospels seem to make the point that the road to salvation, to renewal, to resurrection, to experiencing the kingdom life, takes one through our Jerusalems, pain and all. There are no shortcuts. I would love to be able to tell you that your faith will protect you from harm, that it guarantees a life free from heartache, trials and tribulations, but that would be a dangerous, if not monstrous, lie.

But as any of us walk through the valley of the shadow of death in whatever guise it may take Palm Sunday reminds that God is still with us. Jesus rode into certain suffering and death so that he might share everything of the human condition, including the unfairness and injustice that haunts us. In his own peculiar way and for our sake he confronts the powers and the principalities that wish to control our lives and make us captives to their whims and misfortunes.

“When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive - right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ. Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us,” (Colossians 2:13 – 19, The Message).

Dale