There Are Two Parades - Which Do We Follow? - Palm Sunday
Author: Pastor Carolyn Hetrick
April 13, 2025
Let’s wave those palms one more time- “Hosanna!”
When I was young, Palm Sunday felt almost like a birthday
party. It was a celebration day — a day to gather in God’s house with
other Christians and give Jesus the praise. I loved carrying palm branches,
singing upbeat songs and shouting “Hosanna!” re-enacting a heartfelt outpouring
of glory for Jesus. As I got older, I could cheer knowing that though this was
followed by the events of Holy Week, Jesus will overcome and so what happens
next will only be temporary and it all happened so long ago. But I didn’t yet know
that “Hosanna” isn’t just a holy “hooray!” It means “Save us!”
And it would not be until Seminary in my forties that I
learned that “save us!” was about the two processions entering Jerusalem
on that first Palm Sunday; Jesus' was not the only triumphal entry but the
other one would never save the people.
You see, every year, the Roman governor of Judea would
ride up to Jerusalem from his coastal residence, specifically to be present in
the city for Passover — the Jewish festival that swelled Jerusalem's
population from its usual 50,000 to at least 200,000. The leader would come in
all his imperial majesty to remind everyone who was in charge. Yes, the
Jews could commemorate their history of an ancient victory against Egypt if
they wanted to, but now- Rome was in control and Rome was watching.[1]
Pontius Pilate's visual onslaught of power included “cavalry
on horses, foot soldiers, armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles
mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold… (The) sounds of
marching feet, creaking of armor… the beating of drums. The swirling of
dust passing the eyes of the onlookers. Some of them were curious, some
awed, and some resentful."[2] All
were expected to cheer the leader. The emperor was not simply the ruler of
Rome; he was believed to be the Son of God. His procession was both a
potent military threat and the embodiment of a rival belief to the Jewish
people, but is was a power that demanded you obey.
The fact that Jesus planned a counter-procession is clear
from the gospel account of the event.
Jesus knew he was going to enter the city on the back of
a donkey; he had already made the arrangements to procure one. As Pilate
clanged and crashed his imperial way into Jerusalem from the west, Jesus
approached from the east. Jesus’ procession was a procession of the powerless
and the explicitly vulnerable.
Jesus rode "the most unthreatening, un-military
mount: a female nursing donkey with her little colt trotting along beside
her."[3] Foolish
unless it is a symbol of the power of love lifting the vulnerable and defying
might you seek. Jesus never once coerced anyone to follow or praise him.
The gospel tells us that people are praising Jesus’ deeds
of power- but they look like healing and casting out of demons and restoring
people to community and dignity. The response of the crowd and followers was spontaneous
both in thanksgiving and great hope.
Did anyone in the crowd on that first Palm Sunday understand
what Jesus was doing? They wanted —
and expected — something world-altering. They wanted “Save US!” to
bring forth an ending-to-the-story worthy of their worship, their fervor, and
their dusty cloaks-on-the-road. As New Testament scholar, N.T Wright puts it,
what they got was a mismatch between their outsized expectations and God's
small answer. Glitter and force are far more captivating than love and
peace.
It is easy to praise power and might and force that gives
us our way, just as it is easy to embrace a cross that glitters. It asks much
more to follow a humble cross that stands with suffering and contends with our
misguided efforts to claim the upper hand yet loves our very messy and earthy
selves and shows mercy and peace are our true salvation in the hands of our
Lord. These are our source of hope.
Two processions. Two kingdoms. Two symbolic
journeys into Jerusalem. Then as now the questions before each of us are
these:
For whom will I cheer?
Who will I follow?
Which kingdom will I choose?
Am I choosing to follow the way of the cross of Jesus in
this world?
Or something else?
Sometimes (I’ll be honest), I'd rather just wave a palm
branch, sing a few rounds of "Hosanna,” and go home. The actual praise and
worship Jesus invites me to enact is far riskier; his donkey ride cost him
everything.[4]
There is nothing glorious about being confronted by our
tendencies to seek an easy walk with Jesus that never troubles us with
sacrifice, to be called back to what matters because God’s time is here, no
matter what else is loudly clattering to the contrary. It is still God’s
time. And the kingdom is here because Jesus chooses to be a savior for all
of us.
On Ash Wednesday I said that it is still a time for the
sacrifice of everyday compassion. For repenting, returning and recommitting ourselves
to embody what Jesus embodied amidst our fears or weariness. Time to continue
to ask God to help us work together with Christ in God’s labor of love for the
sake of the world Jesus entered fully to restore and save.
The artificial wielding of kingdom in our world is still distorting
the cross of sacrificial love by calling earthly leaders saviors anointed by
God and urging use of any force necessary to make this a nation under Christ
while casting the lives of others to the winds with no regard. Across time,
kingdoms of might depend upon forcing our loyalty.
Christ’s kingdom does not depend upon this to exist, nor
is the kingdom of Christ a hoped for “someday.” Christ’s kingdom just IS.
But our experience and that of those with whom we share
God’s world is absolutely impacted by our choices in which path we follow. Jesus
calls us to follow his path not only in praise but in commitment to the world
he loves to the end. And here today as much as we celebrate what God has
already done, we know that this is a world that still needs saving.
Again, let us return to the heart of the gospel. Again,
let us choose to follow Jesus in the way of the cross and to embody his
teaching.
We cannot embody his teaching if we choose to follow the
path of force and demand, fleeting glory and flashiness. To follow Jesus will
ask us to part company with those who would demand submission. To embrace our
Savior.
There are two paths in this world this Holy Week. Jesus
came to bless and save and love us even when we are blinded to choosing the
better part. So let us pray as we begin the walk of his cross:
Lord, help us to choose to follow you in humility and
faith as much as praise and glory. This week we will recall that you so loved
the world you gave everything to save and not condemn so that grace and not
might will always win.
May our lives be the praise that embodies your heart and
hope.
May they be the “Amen” to the path you offer that is
life.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna! Save us!
AMEN
Citations
[1] Debi Thomas, “Journey with Jesus”, March 18, 2018
[2] Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, , The
Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus' Last Days in Jerusalem
[3] Borg and Crossan
[4] Thomas
Copyright Rev. Carolyn K. Hetrick, 2025 All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission.
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