Luke 19:29-38, 41-42 Tears for Jerusalem Happy Palm Sunday to you- the day we remember Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I hope you have enjoyed the procession of the kids and branches, and I hope you like to think how we are united with believers from all over the world, who this very morning wave their palms branches in celebration. That should give us a sense of common purpose and joy and hope with everyone else who loves Jesus and desires healing for this broken world. But- and don t be upset with me, I just think we should know the truth about these things- there are no palms in our scripture. Only John s gospel specifies palm branches, though Matthew and Mark do mention branches or leafy branches. I hope you aren t disappointed. And there is no little burro here in Luke s account- the author just calls it a colt. He hasn t changed the facts of the event, he simply doesn t include the information about the colt s mother, as do Mathew and Mark and John, who write that the colt is the foal of an ass or a donkey. It does make an interesting picture, think about it, all these visitors headed into Jerusalem for the feasts and parties and worship and sacrifices of Passover, walking along this road from the east, over the Mount and into the city, from Jericho or the other side of the Jordan River; or those coming out of the north from Galilee and through Samaria; or those from all parts of the
Empire, who may have sailed to Caesarea or Joppa and then traveled along the western road from the coast; all of them traveling on foot to the capital of the Jews; all except for Jesus, the only rider of them all, because tradition said that pilgrims must come on foot. Think of the thousands, the tens of thousands, those several days before Passover, singing the songs of ascent as they entered the Holy City, psalms like number 133, which we looked at a couple of weeks ago, or any of the psalms of pilgrimage, numbers 120-134; but here the followers of Jesus shout out praise to God for the wonderful things they had seen, and give thanks to God for this King of Peace riding in their midst. Now, one more thing, and I hate even to mention it, but he isn t actually entering Jerusalem. He is as much as two miles outside the city, and riding into Bethphage, though I suppose we might consider that village a suburb of Jerusalem. It may be important to note here that he weeps in sorrow over Jerusalem before he does enter in, and that the very first thing he does inside the city, in verses 45-46, is go to the Temple and drive out the merchants there. It isn t my intent to take away everything in the text until we are left with nothing. But I do want to see clearly what remains: the multitude of disciples, as verse 37 has it, rejoicing; the beast of burden and his rider going to the top of the
Mount of Olives, where Jesus could see all the city spread out below him, the sun reflecting off the golden surfaces and the white stones of the Temple- impressive certainly, probably the largest temple complex in the world at that time; and then the descent down the side of the hill, where he begins to weep for Jerusalem Yerushalem - the city of shalom, city of peace, that s what its name means- and begins to mourn for the people who have rejected, and would continue to reject, the peace of God. And we are left with two questions, at the first and at the end of the scripture: the mystery of the owners of the colt and our wonder at the meaning of Jesus tears. Don t think Jesus is weeping for himself, anticipating the suffering yet to come; Luke recounts that powerful, emotional moment in chapter 22, when Jesus prays alone in the garden. The first mystery is something we cannot answer. It seems obvious to methough some folks, likely smarter than I am, disagree- that Jesus had many close followers in these villages. But how did they come to be disciples, way down here? We are not told. And how is it that the disciples who have followed him all this time, and have traveled with him down from Galilee, do not know these others? No answer is given to us in scripture. Maybe it is enough for us to realize that our Lord had followers, and has today, followers we don t know; that we can
be comforted and encouraged to know that brothers and sisters surround us to make up a multitude of disciples, of those who have seen and known the mighty deeds of God, and who work even now to make peace. Jesus weeps for the city that will be destroyed a generation later, and for the people who should know how to create peace and how to live in peace, but do not. I think Jesus believes that they do know how, but that they will not: will not give up the comfort of their traditions and the arrogance of their convictions, but decide instead not to love and not to accept those who are different, and believe differently; they know how, but refuse to make peace. Peace is not a matter of right or wrong, or of sin or righteousness- those can become just words, which we may use to justify ourselves and condemn others; rather, peace is our simple desire to share that thing the disciples sing about on Palm Sunday- in verse 38, the peace of heaven ; peace is our wish to give and to share that perfect blessed thing, God s peace, with others. It s not that we ve got it and they need to get it, but that we get it, or attain it, only when we all get it. It is never our achievement, but a thing we make for others; it is nothing until we provide it for those around us.
Perhaps you ve seen the bumper stickers or billboards or yard signs that say, Pray for Jerusalem. It probably is a good thing to pray for that city, and for every city, good to pray for every nation and for all people. But the people and groups behind these signs are not themselves praying for the peace of Jerusalem; quite unlike Jesus in our scripture, who so fervently cries and cries out for peace. Instead, they are all about conquering and ruling over, in the name of Jesus. They want war and destruction in the Holy Land, believing that will bring about the second coming of Jesus. Blood and suffering seem not to matter to them; that will just convince people to become Christian, they think; and the millions who die are just collateral damage, I guess. These Crusaders, these ruthless faithful, speak with false humility about their desire to convert the world to Christ, but they betray their hatred of people when they admit that the meaning behind their philosophy is a world of believers just like themselves. This kind of thinking seems to be exactly what Jesus mourns as he weeps over Jerusalem: that Holy City full of pride at its own holiness, full of religion that will not bend to speak grace to the unworthy ; here again is the question of Jesus tears- his sorrow at those who should love best, but instead care more about ideology than mercy.
Yes, Jerusalem seems quite like every other city today. I can imagine Jesus weeping over all the capitals of the world, where leaders look only to maintain their power, and serve only their campaign contributors; and subjugate the people with daily reminders of what they should fear. So what if the people suffer? I can imagine Jesus weeping over the churches of our time where we try to worship so carefully- don t want to offend God- but so seldom dare to love our neighbors; and where we often will listen only to the words that justify our own practices and prejudices, and thus, seldom are we moved to act mercifully and to forgive. And so, does our faith, does faith in our humble Lord, cause us to make peace by trying to force everyone else to think like we think, or by trying to make ourselves live as he lived? Do our words and deeds cause our Lord to weep over us? The call to discipleship is a question of attitude, will we ride along, proud and smug and white and carefree, or will we follow our Lord, the Jesus of Tears, into humility and service? That is the way of peace. There is no other way.