Preacher: Rev. Nate Hosler

Scripture: Luke 19:28-40

Protests are often a bit of a parade—at times a party of defiance. Banners colorfully display and boldly pronounce a challenge, a rallying cry, a lament, a celebration. They may dramatically re-enact or process solemnly. 

At times they use religious themes or observances—our family has taken to calling these—“Prayer protests.” They may aggressively disrupt or block—forcing a confrontation. I’ve never been to a Pride Parade, but my understanding is that these are designed to celebrate—and while this has a bit of protest edge, they are mostly a celebration and affirmation of identity. 

In 1968 Cezar Chavez broke a 25-day hunger strike in Delano California by taking communion. A devout Catholic, this was both religiously significant and symbolic and was an exclamation mark on the struggle of farmworkers.

Over the past two weeks we have been hosting the “Art and Artifacts of the Farm Worker Movement” downstairs in our community art-space. The show is a vibrant display of art that has been incorporated into and used during the struggles for justice of farm workers. 

In all cases, the visual of what is happening is key. A clergy collar, a sign, a banner, a prop, a giant puppet—these tell a story that confronts a reality and works towards a different future. 

On Palm Sunday, Jesus embraces the drama.  

In Luke’s version of the story there are no “leafy branches” waved as in Mark or palm branches waved as in the Gospel of John. Rather, people place clothing on the road. 

The people who gather and sing praises are not random crowds or fans looking for a local celebrity, they are disciples. Disciples are the ones who have followed Jesus, have begun to learn the ways of Jesus. They are students of the rabbi.  As my friend and colleague humorously said on Thursday, “Disciplship is the OG leadership training.”  These folks were the ones who were in the training, who have been following Jesus.

In other tellings, there are crowds who sing hosana and then switch sides to shout condemnations of Jesus a few days later. That fickle mob seems swept along as the political winds shift. In Luke’s telling, it may not be the masses of observant Jews that had gathered for Passover, but it was far more than the 12 folks that we often associate with the term “disciple.” 

It states, “as he rode along” people laid out their cloaks on the road—a sign of honor. While they may not have fully understood the nature of Jesus’ work and kingship, they were not far off. Jesus was turning things upside down. In dramatic show, Jesus enters Jerusalem at the height of religious observance. 

The path down the mount of Olives is quite steep. Every few years when I am staying just outside the old city walls of Jerusalem, my morning run is roughly the reverse of this trek. Even though I don’t go up the steepest part of the road, it is a solid early morning climb. If the current paved road that marks this descent were to be covered in snow, it would be impassable in a car. It descends sharply to the Kidron valley and then climbs up to the hill of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and Al Aqsa Mosque.  

Mounted upon the young donkey, Jesus would have descended slowly and dramatically amidst “multitudes of disciples.” As he approached the descending path, they proclaimed, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 

Jesus dramatically subverts the image of the warrior-king coming home victorious from battle. Rather than a war-horse and pomp, Jesus comes humbly on a donkey—not only a donkey but a foal. Rather than a battle-hardened war-horse, the unridden donkey symbolizes the sacred and arrival of the one of Peace. Drawing on both religious imagery and challenging the imagination of the empire, Jesus, with a flourish, enters Jerusalem. [Is this parade or protest?]

Some religious leaders in the crowd urged him to silence the crowds. This is too much, not in order. Perhaps they fear the possible repercussions to their relative political stability. Perhaps they are jealous of this upstart leader—who in colorful fashion is entering the holy city… they say, stop this rackety bunch—their praise does not fit our parameters or decorum. Their singing is theologically suspect and out of line!

Jesus’ rebuttal is pointed, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would cry out. 

Stones—perhaps the most inanimate of the created order. They would cry out. Trees grow, change color, seem to communicate to each other in certain contexts. Birds whistle and squawk—perhaps reminiscent of our singing praise (my singing being more like a low-pitched squawk and Jacob’s being more of the melodious songbird). It is not just the songbirds who are more obviously singing, or the lions who do cool roars, but the rocks, the stones, the most (?) currently inanimate part of creation—even the stones will cry out if the followers of Jesus don’t sing praise. 

In Romans 8 we read:

¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, ²⁰ for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, ²³ and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 

All creation waits, joins in. All of creation also points us to the Divine one. Shortly we will pivot towards the “Last Supper” of Thursday. This comes after Jesus enters the Temple and overturns the tables of the money changers. 

 We will mark the Last Supper by observing a “Love Feast,” communion—taking the bread and cup, washing feet, and a meal together. These simple elements—grape juice and yeast free bread, washing feet—these simple and tangible acts point us towards the living God. Like stones crying out praise, these material practices are sign posts, direct expressions of the grace of God. 

Let us praise Jesus, the Prince of Peace. 

Let us say with the multitudes of disciples, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”