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Karen Hollis | April 2, 2023
Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be reflections of your word to us today, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen
The faith of the psalmist reverberates across time and space, proclaiming: God’s steadfast love endures forever . . . I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. We know God is faithful . . . we know we can count on God, and so God is the one we cry out to.
A tornado rips through communities and the people call out, Hosanna, God save us.
Atmospheric rivers bring rains and flooding, and the people cry out, Hosanna, God save us.
Forest fires devastate hectares of land, houses and habitat, and the people and wildlife cry out, Hosanna, God save us.
Water temperatures rise, sea life is choked with plastic and the oceans cry out, Hosanna, God save us.
It’s Passover time, and pilgrims are making their journey to Jerusalem — Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea is riding up to Jerusalem from his coastal residence in the west. He processes in all of his imperial majesty to remind the Jewish pilgrims that Rome demands their complete loyalty, obedience, and submission. The Jewish people can commemorate their ancient victory against Egypt and slavery, but they best not try any real time resistance.1
On the other side of town, in a daring act of resistance to the Romans, Jesus rides in on a little donkey. As he rides in, the people erupt and call out to him, Hosanna, God save us! It is common for pilgrims to sing these words from Psalm 118 . . . they are both a remembrance of God’s faithfulness and a call for help . . . linear time collapses as the words of this morning’s psalm are proclaimed by a hope-filled people. Hosanna, God save us yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Jesus the Christ rides up the hill on a borrowed donkey to do just that . . . because he can’t turn away. He pushes back on the lie that power lies in the hands of a few . . . no, real power is collective. Real power is in our interconnectedness. He teaches it in homes, on hills, in synagogues, and controversial places. He teaches in words and actions . . . real power is the spirit of God within us and the web that connects us.
Some contemporary theologians use the term Universal Christ, like Richard Rohr who writes: Everything visible is the outpouring of God . . . and one word for that outpouring is Christ . . . Christ is where ordinary matter and spirit meet – Christ is the bridge between them. Jesus is an incredible human, and as the Son of God, he has many brethren2: the people of the earth, the animals that run, swim, fly, climb, the little creeping ones, plant life, trees, rocks, mountains, oceans . . . the teachings of our ancestors . . . the whole family of creation are children of God . . . the magnificent and delicate interconnected web of creation. Jesus’ power to save is universal and concentrated in him . . .
The words of our Israelite ancestors echo still today, as the wind blows, fires run wild, water so abundant it has nowhere to go, the delicate balance all but lost, and we cry out together: ‘What have we done? Hosanna, God please save us. The lie the powerful preach to keep us disconnected continues to live among us . . . and we’re not strong enough to stop it.’ And we’re not . . . alone, we’re not strong enough to stop it . . .
Even as the world we knew comes apart around us . . . and even though we don’t understand it and aren’t sure if we can even imagine it, Hosanna is an expression of hope that we can be saved. We hope that somehow the lie that has formed us and enslaved creation can lose its grip so that we can find balance again.
As a counterpoint to the lie of individualism, Theologian Sallie McFague teaches about Kenosis, the practice of self-emptying . . . or limiting oneself for the sake of making room for others. Humanity has vastly overstepped our limits and kenosis is a theological way of looking at the changes in behaviour we all know we need to make. Kenosis includes increasing our appreciation of our planet’s limitations and vulnerability . . . like consuming less, sharing, limiting our energy use. Kenosis or selfemptying also includes connecting with this broader understanding of Christ and expanding our viewpoint until we can see our interconnectedness. We can hardly get out of bed and ready ourselves for the day without relying on an object or resource provided by others.
As we self-empty and draw ourselves back to reasonable limits, we make room for other expressions of Christ to do their part. At one time God limited God’s own self to make room for us . . . now we are invited to make room for God . . . room enough for God to enter and work through us and between us . . . so that Christ, the bridge that connects spirit and ordinary matter can shape our becoming . . . so that we can find space enough in us to allow God to lead us.
Hosanna is not a cry of despair . . . it is a cry that remembers when God showed up and we all worked together for liberation . . . when we cry out Hosanna, we cry out to the whole of creation and beyond what is visible to us. Let us come together that we may be saved, that we all may have life restored.
1 Debie Thomas, https://www.journeywithjesus.net/essays/2958-save-us-we-pray, April 1, 2023
2 Quaker James Nayler