WHICH PARADE DO YOU BELONG TO?

APRIL 11, 2022

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 14:4, 9


On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two . . . . And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

Luke 19:38

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Every year on Passover, pilgrims would flock to Jerusalem to worship and remember. This Passover celebration was a time when the Jewish people celebrated the ways that their God had delivered and liberated them from the oppressive Egyptian empire long ago.


Because the Romans knew what the celebration marked,
the Roman governor of Judea would come to Jerusalem to keep the peace—and to make sure that the citizens didn’t get any big ideas about liberating themselves from any other empire any time soon.

So, moving up from Caesarea Maritima from the West, Pilate processed into Jerusalem through the largest gate, the Western Gate, riding on a war horse with calvary, soldiers, banners

and troops marching behind him. The streets were cleared and large crowds gathered to watch the display. And none of the pilgrims who had gathered to worship in Jerusalem could miss the point being made: their celebration of the Passover was only happening at the tolerant pleasure of the Roman government.

On the other side of town, another procession had begun. Jesus
rode a colt down the Mount of Olives on the East side of the city,

surrounded by a crowd of followers. They spread their cloaks and palm branches ahead of him. Small children were lifted up onto the shoulders of their parents as they greeted him with shouts of “Hosanna” and the chant, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor, David!”

Pilate rode a war horse through the largest gate into the city, decked out in armor, with banners waving and troops marching behind. Jesus rode a donkey colt, through a small Eastern gate. He wore no armor and was followed by the waving of palm branches instead of banners. (1)

So history tells us there were two parades that day into the city. But they could not have been more different. One was a military display of might. And one was a what might be called a small protest by a group of disciples and followers of Jesus crying out Hosanna. Or, as it is translated from the Hebrew, “Save us! Save us now!”

I don't know how this strikes you, but for me these two processions that made their way into Jerusalem that day seem to challenge me to answer the question: Which parade are we a part of? That is the question that is put to those of us who seek to be faithful to Jesus today.


It is a good question to think about as we begin our steps toward Good Friday and ultimately Easter.

Let's consider this:

If we continue to follow Jesus in this procession, we will join him in an upper room as he talks about betrayal and denial and the way that love looks like humble service. We will watch as he breaks bread and pours out a cup and tells us that they will be reminders for us of his broken body and his shed blood, reminders of his suffering love.

If we continue to follow Jesus in this procession, we will gather with him in a garden and watch as he prays and pleads for his life, for the cup of suffering not to be his to drink. We will watch as even his most committed followers cannot sit, wait and pray with him, without falling asleep. We will watch as he is led away, arrested, and betrayed.

If we continue to follow Jesus in this procession, we will follow him all the way to a trial as the cries of Hosanna are drowned out by shouts of “Crucify Him!”

If we continue to follow Jesus in this procession, we will follow him all the way to the cross as crowds who had once gathered to watch a parade now watch a crucifixion, a cruel execution.

So our question today, for all of us, is will we continue along this

parade route as it leads us through betrayal, suffering, and death? Will we align ourselves with a God whose power is made perfect, not in might, but in the vulnerability of love? Who comes on the back of a donkey instead of a war horse and whose greatest victory is found not in the "trenches" of a battlefield, but in an empty tomb?

Will we choose, once again, to follow Jesus? What parade do you belong too?

EXTRA

Two processions entering Jerusalem,

Two opposing kingdoms on display.

Which of these processions are we part of?

Which one will we follow on its way?

Will we shout “Hail Pilate” or “Hosanna”

When we have a choice whose praise to sing?

Will we trust the violent mighty ruler?

Will we trust the peaceful peasant king?

Two processions entering Jerusalem,

Power of love against the love of power.

Will we choose the path of domination?

Will we let compassion have its hour?


God has had a dream of joyful justice.

Rome has spun a nightmare of neglect.

If we join the commonwealth of servants

We may bring God’s joy and justice yet.



Two processions entering Jerusalem:

Realm of hope, dominion built on fear.

As we choose the path that love has opened,

We will see the realm of hope draw near.

___________________

1 Borg, Marcus J. and Crossan, John Dominic. The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach about Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2006, p. 3-5.