Mark 11:1-11 Corinne Ellis Des Moines, Iowa March 28, 2015 Salvation We ll talk about the colt in our story, but first I want to tell you about a woman named Susie. She s an unassuming woman in her seventies, a woman I ve known since I was a little kid. Susie, a few years ago, ensured that six-year-old Caitrin s family had home-cooked meals every night when Caitrin was going through chemo for brain cancer. Susie, each year, sends the high schoolers off on their mission trip with 30 dozen cookies a dozen for each kid packaged so that they d make it through airport security. Susie spent hours with circular tubs of Edy s ice cream, taco shells, and melted chocolate, constructing the perfect homemade Choco Taco, because even though the budget for the 200-person dinner was so low, she wanted it to be festive. Susie has done so much like this, and she continues to do so and almost no one knows. I only found out after coming onto the staff at that church that she leads the Kitchen Chix, a ragtag bunch of church ladies at my home church who quietly feed people. There s no big fanfare about who does it or how it gets done, they just work their magic behind the scenes and out of it comes food lots of food. There s nothing fancy about the meals, you won t find kale or whole grains or goat cheese anywhere on the menu, but they do the job. Thanks to Susie s humble, behind-the-scenes work, people are fed.
When someone first let me in on the secret of how all that food makes it to so many tables, I called Susie a superhero. Imagine the kind of energy it must take to do all that cooking and coordinating, not to mention the thoughtfulness it requires to know that all these people are in need. She makes a difference in people s lives. But she s not flying around with a cape and a spandex jumpsuit, she s quietly working and organizing and loving people. Instead of ordinary Clark Kent morphing into Superman, she keeps a low profile much more Clark Kent than Superman. Susie is not unique, of course. I m sure we all know someone like her, someone whose hard work impacts people s lives, and because of how quiet and humble about it they are, few know how much they really do. Think of someone who you know who s like Susie. Grab a marker at your table and write down the name of that person. Just write it down, and we ll come back to it later on. This weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday, Jesus s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. As we reenact it, Jesus s procession looks like a hero s welcome. The shouts of Hosanna, the festive palms waving, the noble animal Jesus rides in on. He looks like Superman coming to save the day. But wait just a minute the scripture we read tonight spends more than half the time on this colt. Jesus sends his disciples out to find a young colt that had never been ridden. And what an odd thing to look for, a colt that wasn t trained to carry a rider, a colt that probably was still a little small to be carrying a rider. What in the world is this colt all about? This colt is involved in the very interesting entrance Jesus was staging. At the time, tradition was such that when kings came into Jerusalem, they entered on the west side, through triumphant gates, but geography tells us that if Jesus was coming from Bethphage and Bethany, he was entering from the east. And when kings came into the city, they rode on war horses outfitted with bejeweled saddles. Jesus came in on a tiny, untrained baby colt, with the disciples cloaks as a makeshift saddle. This colt was at the
center of a parody. Jesus s triumphant entry was intended to be more Clark Kent than Superman. This was a different sort of king coming into Jerusalem. Jesus s humble parade, his comparatively quiet entry, would go on to change the world. The kind of leader who deigned to enter in the way Jesus did was a leader who would turn the world upside-down. By parodying the traditional practice of honoring royalty, Jesus challenged the status quo and forced people to think about what the world could look like if we could all live more humbly. He challenged their entrenched behaviors, practices they probably didn t even think about, it was just the way things were. And the people didn t like it, they didn t like it at all. So they killed him. And out of all of that grew the Christian faith out of this humble parody of a parade. We all know a lot of wonderful people, I d venture to guess. A lot of fantastically talented, lovely folks. And wonderful people can get away with a lot. I find myself quick to dismiss egotism when it s coming from somebody who really is that talented and really does kind of deserve to have an ego. Or worse, I ll catch myself bragging about my latest long run or afternoon spent volunteering, and I ll notice that I m bragging and feel a little icky, but not icky enough to stop doing it because of course, that thing I did was pretty cool. I m certain the kings entering in lavish parades never thought twice about whether the parades were a good idea, they just accepted that as the king, this is what they deserved. Sure, people can be egomaniacs, or announce themselves loudly and pompously, or glory in a parade thrown in their honor. But take a look at the person you wrote down a few minutes ago. How much more do you respect that person, than the amazingly talented egomaniacs of the world? How much greater a statement does it make when we see someone living humbly, especially when they have every right not to? This congregation is full of Clark Kent-style superheroes, working so hard to affect change in this place, in Des Moines, and in the world, and often, we don t hear about it. When Jesus entered, they shouted, Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. We, as the body of Christ, are also ones who come in the name of
the Lord. So blessed are all the ones who come, quietly and triumphantly. Blessed are the Family Promise volunteers who host as many as 15 people four weeks a year. Blessed are the deacons, who shop up early and stay late week after week to ensure the worship life of the church runs smoothly. Blessed are the RENEW volunteers, who provide extravagant welcome to refutes in our community. Blessed are the shawl knitters, the Stephen Ministers, the coffeeshop volunteers, the Homeless Assistance Team, the confirmation guides, blessed are all of you all of you, coming in the name of the Lord. Blessed are all of you, even as you do all kinds of work that most people probably never know about. Blessed are you, body of Christ. We worship a God who came humbly into human form. Jesus, this ordinary guy, entered in a quiet little parade, prayerfully planned and faithfully carried out, riding on a tiny colt. Our God comes in looking like Clark Kent, but changes the world like Superman. What does that mean for us? For me, it s a call to notice all the small ways God is at work in my life and in the world, to recognize that God communicates not just in fanfare but also in the smallest encounters. It s also a call to notice all the ways people are at work, to pay attention to all that gets done without me having to think about it. And it s a call to remember to say thank you: to God and to people. To the Susies in our lives. But I think it means something bigger than that, too. It has to do with salvation there s the word! I think we can learn from the huge impact that Jesus s humility had on his ministry and on the world. The statement he made by choosing to humble himself was, in Mark s account, what got him killed but it s also what turned the world upsidedown for the better. Jesus humbled himself to save us from our self-involvement, and to save us for selfless love. Fanfare can be a wonderful thing. Our world has plenty of it, and it is fun, and it is often well-deserved. But sometimes, the quietest action leads to the biggest
transformation. Sometimes, humility speaks louder than fanfare ever could. It might even save us. Amen. Plymouth Congregational Church United Church of Christ 4126 Ingersoll Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50312 Phone: (515) 255-3149 Fax: (515) 255-8667 E-mail: mailto:cellis@plymouthchurch.com