Calvary Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Debra May Cerra
April 5, 2009 – Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday)

Mark 11:1-11 (NRSV)
When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" 11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Hosanna!

This Sunday begins Holy Week – a week filled memorable happenings: Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem; the last supper He shared with His disciples; the passion He endured; and Jesus’ death on the cross. Thankfully, this week of contrast ends with the joyful news of the Resurrection of our Lord.
            Today is Passion/Palm Sunday, a day filled with great disparity. We begin the morning remembering the joyous demonstration of loyalty to Jesus, who comes in the name of the Lord. As we think back to the crowds that praised Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem we, too, wave our palms and sing our Hosannas! Our music is festive even as we pay homage to our Redeemer; our King; our Lord. But our shouts of hosanna fall under a shadow cast by the crucifixion to come. As we embody the sharp contrasts of the week ahead, we find ourselves engaged in Mark’s perception of the last week of Jesus’ life. We realize that we cannot jump from Palm Sunday to Easter without walking through rejection, pain, and suffering with Jesus. So we listen and we remember.
            But let’s not leave Palm Sunday too abruptly. Let’s listen to the story and the message for us today. Let’s start at the beginning. Mark tells us that Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to retrieve a donkey saying: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you'll find a colt tethered, one that has never yet been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘The Master needs him, and will return him right away.’” (2,3)
We need to note that Jesus did not leave things unplanned until the last moment. He knew what he was going to do and he had made provisions with a friend to have the needed colt available. Jesus also sent his disciples with a secret code that had been pre-arranged: "The Master needs him." This was not a sudden, reckless decision by Jesus. This was a calculated demonstration that would speak to Jesus’ life and ministry – a life that people did not understand; a ministry that people did not always accept.
Riding into the city on a donkey signified Jesus’ kingship. By virtue of his own action in sending for the colt and riding into Jerusalem on it, Jesus entered the public arena in a way that directly contradicts his earlier patterns. Until His arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus had played down his Divine Royalty, even commanding silence following his miracles and healings.
Even as Jesus claimed his rightful Kingship as the Son of God, the whole picture is of a crowd who misunderstood. The people were thinking of kingship in the terms of conquest for which they had yearned for so long. It was a conqueror’s welcome they sought to give Jesus, but they never dreamed of the kind of conqueror he wished to be.
The very shouts that the crowd raised to Jesus showed how their thoughts were running. When they spread their garments and the leafy branches that they had cut in the fields on the ground, they thought that they were greeting a Messiah that would shatter the enemies of Israel, not one that would be the King of Love. “Running ahead and following after, they were calling out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God's name! Blessed the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in highest heaven!” (9-10)
            The word “Hosanna” that the crowd shouted as Jesus rode into the city is a word that is consistently misunderstood. It is quoted and used as if it meant praise. But it is a simple transliteration of the Hebrew for “Save now!” Both the second book of Samuel and the second book of Kings record the same form of the word. In these books of the Bible, the people were seeking help and protection at the hands of the king. So, when the people shouted “Hosanna” it was not a cry of praise to Jesus, which it often sounds like when we quote it. Rather, it was a cry for God to break in and save the Jewish people now that the Messiah had come. It was a battle cry – a cry for liberation through hostile actions. The crowd did not understand the way of Jesus.
A little boy by the name of Billy visited his grandmother in California one summer and almost wore her out with his vigorous activity. She was accustomed to living a peaceful, orderly life. He was perpetual motion, into everything, and nearly turned the house upside down every day.
One night when they were both sound asleep, there was an earthquake. The grandmother was awakened by the house shaking and in her concern called out, "Billy, Billy!" Billy yelled back, "I didn't do it, grandma!" Well, Billy was a little like an earthquake at times to a grandma who liked her quiet lifestyle.          
Friends, we reveal who we are by our actions. It is by our interactions with others that we paint, stroke by stroke, the portrait of who we are. That’s what Jesus did. But the people – the crowd and the disciples – didn’t grasp the significance. They didn’t know that the parade was headed to a cross on Calvary.
That day, long ago, Jesus did not look out among the branches and see the faithful. He looked out among the palms and saw what he had seen for the last three years: a people whose understanding was dim and whose hearts were filled with malice and vengeance toward Rome. Their voices shouted “Hosanna” but their hearts beat with a bloody desire for war.
            Is it any wonder that they crucified him? No. Not with the disappointment they must have felt when he was arrested and his kingdom movement, in their eyes, came to an end. The people sought a Messiah that would shatter the enemies of Israel. Jesus could not answer the Hosanna – “Save Now” – the way the people wanted.
 We have grown accustom to Palm Sunday as a celebration to honor Jesus Christ as our heavenly King. But we need to understand the full picture – the full plan. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, rode into Jerusalem to claim His kingship – not as a ruler who would save the Jews from Rome, but as the King who would save His people from eternal damnation. Jesus did come to “save now!”
So let us shout our “Hosannas” on this Palm Sunday for Jesus does save us – he does save us NOW!  Jesus saves us from the power of sin and the wages of death. He sets us free for He is our King – our King of Love. Amen and amen.