"No Wonder"

(Please read Luke 19:35-38,41-42 and Matthew 21:1-11) Palm Sunday

No wonder. No wonder there was joy among the Jews as Jesus rode toward Jerusalem on a colt. No wonder the crowds were shouting “Hosanna” and waving palm branches. No wonder cloaks were placed on the ground as the long-awaited messiah-king passed by. They were the oppressed, both politically and spiritually. They were searching and hoping for the return of the one who had been promised to them, the one who would free them from their oppression. They were the people of Israel who remembered the words of Zechariah. ”See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.” No wonder there was rejoicing as the colt and “king” passed by. Jesus was this messiah-king who would rescue them and give them freedom. No wonder there was rejoicing.

But some of those who stood along the side of the road to Jerusalem that day were also the very ones who forgot the words of Isaiah. ”But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” No wonder songs of praise and shouts of “Hosanna” soon would turn to shouts of “CRUCIFY HIM. CRUCIFY HIM.” There is no wonder in it all. The “Palm Sunday crowd” wanted a messiah-king of their own making. They had witnessed healings and miracles. Just a few miles from Jerusalem, Lazarus was raised from the dead by the very one who was now passing by. Yet, the conquering messiah of their dreams and the objections voiced by the priests blinded them to the true Messiah who was riding the colt toward their city.

No wonder. No wonder there were tears flowing from the eyes of Jesus. No wonder there were sobs from deep within. In the midst of the celebration, those who had sacrificed their cloaks for the one passing by had missed the Messiah of God's making. They do not see his tears. They do not hear his sobs. No wonder his heart was breaking. Jesus knew that they had not heard what he had been saying to them. He knew that they would soon turn their backs on him. He knew all of this even as he climbed onto the back of the colt. He knew that they wanted a conquering hero without battle scars. And he also knew that to conquer their sins, he must be wounded, even to death. His tears were not for the path that was placed before him. His sobs were for those who would reject him, those who would turn their backs on the Son of God as he passed by, those who would all too soon toss their palm branches by the wayside and murmur, “this is not the messiah whom I am looking for.”

Now our Lenten journey takes us to Jerusalem. As we stand, with palm branches in hand, practicing our “Hosannas”, know that we will soon be asked by the Messiah of God’s making, “Who do you say that I am?” What will our answer be?

God of grace and mercy … You have now handed us a palm branch and placed us on the side of a dusty road leading into Jerusalem. On this last portion of our Lenten journey, you are asking even more of us than in previous days. You are truly asking us to declare who the One is who is riding toward the cross on this lumbering donkey, aren’t you? O God, we pray that we will wave our palm branches not because everyone else is, but because we must. We pray that our shouts of “Hosannas” don’t echo with a hollowness of meaning. Turn our hearts so that we might look fully into Jesus’ face and know, without a doubt, that he is the Messiah of your making. Give us the courage and strength to tell others. Amen.

anna