Rev. Dr. Peter B. Ives Haydenville Congregational Church, UCC March 21, 2013 TEXT Luke 19:28-43 THE LORD HAS NEED OF YOU Churches don t do a good job of describing Palm Sunday. The problem is that we make the procession that Jesus was leading look too comfortable, too happy, too much like walking to a church picnic. Clearly, it was a festive occasion, that we know, because Jesus and his disciples were part of a procession that brought thousands into the city of Jerusalem to celebrate Passover every year at this time. But the procession Jesus was leading was a risky and dangerous one, for there was another procession coming into Jerusalem from the opposite direction that we re never told about unless we put this story in its historical context. Historians Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan have pointed out in a recent article called Collision Course that there were two processions that entered Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday. Every year at Passover Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor, led the imperial cavalry into Jerusalem from the west to help suppress any revolt against Roman imperial rule. Passover was the celebration of liberation from Egyptian imperial rule many years previous. But at the time of Jesus the people of Israel were living under Roman oppression and they longed for a liberation movement once again. The soldiers in the procession Pilate was leading were ready to crush any signs of rebellion. At the same moment Jesus and his disciples were processing into Jerusalem from the East. And while they were marching peacefully and carried no weapons, everything they were doing was a challenge to the authority and power of Rome. Writes, Borg and Crossan, Jesus went to the capital city of his people to confront Roman imperial power and religious collaboration with it. The ancient Kings of Israel rode into Jerusalem on a
donkey, so for Jesus to ride a donkey into Jerusalem could only be viewed as a challenge to Herod who was King. To pass out palms and to proclaim the coming of the Messiah was to kindle hopes for an end to Roman oppression. To announce the coming of the Kingdom of God was tantamount to announcing the end of the Kingdom of Rome. To say that Jesus was Lord and Savior was to say that Caesar Augustus was no longer Lord and Savior for Caesar used this title for himself. And then on Monday to go to the Temple and overturn the tables of the money changes was to take on not only Rome but threaten the religious power structure in Jerusalem that was collaborating with Rome in the oppression of the Jewish people And so on Palm Sunday there were two processions coming into the city of Jerusalem:: one coming from the west and one coming from the East. At the head of the procession coming from the West was Pilate, the defender of the Roman Empire, on a military horse, the symbol of war. At the head of the procession coming from the East was Jesus on a donkey, the symbol of a new king of Israel. One procession was coming to crush any possibilities of change to the status quo and any thoughts or actions that might in any way lead to confrontation, rebellion and insurrection against Roman rule. The other procession was coming to announce the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, and a new time of Liberation.. And so it was a very dangerous act on Jesus part, one that clearly might cost him his life, but he was prepared to take the risk that God was calling him to take. But he needed help from all those who loved him and truly believed in what he was now doing in order for his own procession to happen. He needed a colt! So he said to two of his disciples, Go into the village opposite and opposite where you are entering you will find a colt tied on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? say, The Lord has need of it. So those who were sent went away and found it as he told them. And as they were untying the colt its owners said ot them, Why are you untying the cold? And they said, The Lord has need of it! Jesus needed help from others too. He needed a place where he and his disciples could celebrate Passover together. So he said to Peter and John, Go and prepare the Passover for us so we may eat and they said to him, But where? And he said to them, Behold, when you have entered the city a man carrying a jar of water will meet you and
follow him into the house which he enters and tell the householder, The Teacher has need of you. Jesus needed them. He needed all of his friends and disciples and he was not afraid to say to them, The Lord has need of you. Most of all he needed their support as he entered into the very heart of the city, for like Martin Luther King entering Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968 just before he was assassinated, Jesus was taking an enormous risk bringing his ministry into the very heart of the city as two processions were about to collide with each other: one procession proclaiming the power of love and preaching good news to the poor, to release to the captives, the recovering of sight to the blind and giving liberty to the oppressed; the other procession led by Pilate seeking to demonstate the power of power to crush any form of liberation that would threaten the power of the ruling elites to exploit and maintain the status quo. And our world has its Pilates and ruling elites of church and state too. So today, the Lord still has need of you! especially to help support Rev.Andrea s pilgrimage on the Camino with all your songs and prayers. And the Lord has need of you to continue the ministry of the Haydenville Congregational Church while she is away continuing to come to our worship services and participate in the life of our Church through hymn singing, prayer, and praise, and by welcoming one another and new comers every Sundays in the name of our Lord. The Lord has need of you who are members of our choir and you who serve on the Boards and Committees that provide the backbone for our Church to be the Church at work in the world. The Lord has need of you who pledge to this Church to continue your financial support at this time to cover the costs and expenses that need to be paid at this time. The Lord has need of you who work with our children, our Youth Group and support the work of the Sunday School every week and the work of those who provide food and refreshments following our worship service. And so press on with all that you are doing now, and especially with all that you have done without Andrea while she has been away. Several years ago the Boston Symphony Orchestra was at the brink of loosing their conductor Seija Osawa and awaiting a new Conductor. In the interim they invited the great Leonard Bernstein to conduct one of their final concerts at Tanglewood. Unfortunately, Leonard Bernstein was very frail and weak that summer. He was struggling with lung cancer and it was reeking
havoc on his body. In fact, members of his family were worried about this final concert. They didn t think he had the stamina to do it. But Leonard insisted that he would conduct Beethoven 7 th Symphony with the Boston Symphony Orchestra that evening. So out he came in the Tanglewood Shed with standing room only in the large concert hall and outdoors on the lawn. And with the flip of his baton, the orchestra began to play. And all went well during the first two movements of Beethoven s 7 th. But as the orchestra entered the third movement Bernstein began to cough, and he couldn t stop coughing. It was a wretched cough that he couldn t bring under control because of the cancer in his lungs. He tried to stop the cough, but he just couldn t. He took out his hankerchief, to put it over his mouth, but that was all he could do. No longer could he move his arms. No longer could he conduct with his baton. All he could do was just stand motionless, and watch his orchestra with his eyes. And everyone in the orchestra could see what was happening to him. All those playing the violin, the cello, the bass violin, the flute, the clarinet, the oboe, the trumpet, the French horn, the drums and the percussion instruments understood what was happening at this moment. And so they just pressed on, they just pressed on, each one of them with their own instruments, each one of them with their own gifts, skills and abilities, each one of them and all of them together just pressed on. They continued to do their part. They continued playing together in full harmony. They continued working together in complete unity. And when they came to the conclusion of Beethoven s 7 th Symphony and the last note was played everyone in the audience spontaneously rose to their feet to give them a thunderous ovation. Of course, it was a standing ovation for Leonard Bernstein. Of course! But it was also a standing ovation for every member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra who each just played their part as best they could and pressed on to the very end, even was Leonard was unable to conduct them. They pressed on and did what he needed them to do.. And that is just what you have done here these past two months while Andrea has been away. You have pressed on. You have played your part. You have been the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the body of Christ. You have done what you need to do for the Haydenville Congregational Church and for Andrea. And the Lord still has need of you. Let the people say AMEN