“In Between Shouting and Silence”
Luke 19:28-44
I have several memories of participating in a parade, including my first one, dressing up as Huck Finn for a Halloween parade when I was five years old. More recently, here in Ashland, I’ve participated in 4th of July parades with my Rotary Club and Pride parades with our congregation. Hopefully, we will have our float in the upcoming 4th of July parade and Pride parade this year, celebrating 150 years of ministry for Christ.
As we set up for the parades here, we line up on Mountain Avenue. Each group in the parade has a message they proclaim with a float or carry signs and banners. The message we had for our last Pride parade is currently proclaimed in our church narthex, “God Welcomes All!” Most floats or groups in parades have essential messages to proclaim. It is often an important part of any parade. That is true for the parade in this morning’s gospel lesson from Luke.
There is only one participant in this parade —Jesus. He gathers on the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the city of Jerusalem, and wants to proclaim a very specific message as he enters the Holy City. What is that message? Let’s take a look at his float preparation to find out.
The passage begins by letting us know he passed two small villages—Bethany and Bethpage. Going to Bethany is significant in that his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus live there. The only significance I can find about Bethpage is that the name means “Place of unripe figs.” Once again, figs are a part of the story!
Next, Jesus tells two disciples to go into one of the villages and get a young, untrained colt of a donkey, and if anyone asks why they need it, they are to say, “ The Lord needs it.” This answer, which the disciples gave, suggests the following to me: Before going up to the Mount of Olives, Jesus did in fact visit Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and let them know he would soon require the colt they had. This phrase, “The Lord needs it,” is one you would say to someone who was somewhat familiar with those requesting the colt and who was asking for it. At least, that is MY theory.
Why did Jesus require a young, untrained colt? As I said, proclaiming a message in a parade is an integral part of the parade itself, and this colt was chosen to proclaim a part of that message. The prophet Zechariah speaks of the arrival of a Messiah, a true son of David, who represented God, who would come to the throne and rule the people of God. This desire for a Messiah began in one of the first prophets, Isaiah. The message continued in Zechariah many years later. In Zechariah 9:9, the prophet proclaims, “Lo, your Messiah comes to you, triumphant and victorious, riding on the colt of a donkey.” The colt is significant for this reason, as well as another. Untrained animals are used in scripture for holy purposes. In 1st Samuel 6:7, we read that two unused young milk cows are used to move the ark of the covenant. So, having this young colt signified to the crowds that something holy was going on, and that it was linked to the coming of the Messiah.
The message is also proclaimed when Jesus’ multitude of followers spread their cloaks on the road before him. This is a recognition of his Kingship. In 2nd Kings 9:13, when Jehu is crowned as King, the same thing happens during his parade.
The final part of the proclaimed message for the crowds gathered comes from his disciples, who shout, “Blessed is the King who comes in God’s name! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). What does this phrase proclaim? The king who comes in God’s name and for God’s purposes is there, riding on the colt! Heaven is the abode of God, and there is peace there because we are reconciled to God through Christ, the Messiah, and because following Christ’s teachings can bring about peace. Furthermore, peace is now prepared for humanity in the heavenly kingdom through Christ’s pending resurrection.
What kind of king is this? . The use of a young colt, ayir "ayir," in biblical narratives also symbolizes humility and peace, contrasting with the horse, which was associated with war and conquest. The donkey's role in biblical times held symbolic significance in a royal context. This king’s message was not one of conquest. He would proclaim a kindom of peace, which we will explore momentarily.
Yet there is one more part to this message in Jesus’ parade, which you might have missed if you were in the crowds. Before the parade begins, Jesus, seated on the young colt, looks over the holy city and weeps. The Greek word used for weep is κλαίω, “klaió”, meaning to weep, to mourn, to lament. What does it mean to cry in such a way? Theologian Fred Craddock states, “a lament is a voice of love and profound caring, a vision of what could have been and of grief over its loss, of tough hope painfully releasing the object of its hope…”
For those of us who were blessed to study the book, The Will of God, by Rev. Leslie Wetherhead, I think he provides a clue as to why Jesus lamented before the parade began. In discussing God’s will and Jesus’ mission to the world, Weatherhead states, “Was it God’s intention from the beginning that Jesus should go to the cross ?...No. I don’t think Jesus thought that at the beginning of his ministry. He came with the intention that we should follow him, not kill him.” If Weatherhead’s thinking is correct, and I suspect it is, then Jesus is lamenting over the rejection of his message of “the things that make for peace.” This is a rejection of his teachings and his kindom. Sin has blinded the eyes of many potential followers. The arrival of the Messiah would not be seen or recognized, despite the very intentional and carefully put together proclamation about to be shown in the pending parade.
Now let us look at this phrase Jesus utters, “If you only knew the things that make for peace.” The word for peace in this instance is εἰρήνη, eiréné Meaning: Peace of mind; in the Hebrew sense of the word, an individual's health (welfare). The root of the word means to bring together as a whole. So, we find peace when people are all brought together and have peace of mind. Those things were rejected by many in the crowd. They are rejected today as well. Where do we see the rejection of this kind of peace?
Rev Adam Taylor, the president of Sojourner’s, wrote a great article on the impact of tariffs. Like me, he began by focusing upon his concerns over the loss of retirement savings. At this point, I may be preaching into my 90s… I’m sure many of you have similar concerns about retirement fund investments and the like. Yet our concern cannot remain there. As Christians, Taylor says, “…we also must pay attention to those who will feel the most severe impacts of these tariffs. The sad truth is these tariffs will be especially harmful for people who do not even have a 401 (k)…” Those impoverished will receive the most brutal blow from these tariffs, which are currently being held back for 90 days, at least as of today.
Taylor states that we as people of faith, as people who proclaim our faith in Jesus the Messiah, the bringer of peace, are called to bring about that peaceable kindom. “We must work to build a fairer global economy that prioritizes human rights, combats rampant inequality, protects freedom, and reverse climate crisis.. Making our life on earth look more like the kingdom that God intends for God’s children transcends every human border.”
Jesus wanted us to see each other as beloved neighbors, to bring the world together as a whole. The peace of the whole being rejected is also seen as Head Start programs are closing here locally. Head Start aims to promote the school readiness of young children from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. As of this past Friday, offices in Ashland and Medford were closed because federal funding has been cut off. Suppose those funds, which have already been appropriated and are sitting in Congress’s lap, are not finally distributed by this coming Friday, April 18. In that case, the entire Head Start program serving Jackson County will be forced to shut its doors entirely for the 917 children it serves and their families.
I am particularly close to this program because my mother, Rosamond, worked with Head Start when I was a young boy. She saw it as one way to express her witness as a Christian: to help needy children. Many days, mom would introduce me to a “New playmate” for the day. I was part of the “Socialization” for many of these kids. Sometimes, we had great fun together. Yet sometimes, because a child had been so traumatized, we couldn’t even get them out of the car.
I think Jesus would weep at the demise of Head Start, and I find myself on the brink of tears as well, due to my connection with the great work that was done for children in need.
Poet Anne Weems wrote a poem about this very moment of Jesus lamenting over so much as he prepared to enter the Holy City.
Weeping Over Jerusalem
There is but one face whose holy eyes won’t turn away,
But focus on us and weep…
Jesus, You!
Like a mother hen yearning to gather us to you,
but we would not…
For we have killed the prophets and stoned the messengers.
Now abandoned and empty,
the stones of the temple waiting to fall around our ankles,
we still do not come to you,
and even now,
you weep.
As people of faith, we need to speak up and work for Jesus’ kindom of peace, a kindom that brings the broad community together as a whole and promotes peace of mind. Right now, our world is in between justice and mercy, in between chaos and peace. As we head into this holiest of weeks, may we too look for what would make our Messiah weep, and work to change it, doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God. Amen
Prayer after the sermon-
Hosanna, Messiah, King of Peace who comes in God’s name. Peace in heaven, and glory to You. May our actions and words bring glimpses of the kindom of peace, meant for all people. Help us to see what makes you, even now, weep. Amen.
