Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!
2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures for ever.”
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
27 The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Matthew 21:1-11
1When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying 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. 3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
5 “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.”
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The 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!”
10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
5 “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.”
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The 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!”
10When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Who can tell us what this Palm Sunday parade is all about?
Tell us a little more about that.
Part of me really hates Palm Sunday. We sing praises and celebrate Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We play the role of the crowd and joyfully welcome him with palm branches held high. But even as we shout with joy we know the crowd’s love for Jesus is fickle. We know that not even a week later the crowd will be calling out for his blood.
On Palm Sunday I feel like we’re celebrating hypocrisy: “Hosanna to the son of David,” then “Crucify! Crucify!” Maybe if we can’t quite give all our enthusiasm to the singing and palm-waving this morning it’s because we don’t really want to be this crowd. We know their love for Jesus is unsteady, untrustworthy. We know that even the inner circle of disciples won’t be able to hold their ground when the time comes, despite their passionate words and their best intentions.
What would the crowd say in their defense? How would they respond to the charge of hypocrisy and betrayal? I think they would point the finger at the religious leaders who led them astray. They are right to do that, too, that’s where all the Gospels put the blame for Jesus’ condemnation.
After all, the crowds were accustomed to trusting their leaders; they were trained to think the religious leaders knew best. The Pharisees and chief priests were all the crowd had left of the once glorious kingdom of David. It made sense that they longed for a king to fill that void. But maybe it also made sense that when the initial excitement wore off they second-guessed themselves. Sure Jesus looked like a king at first, but as the excitement faded, the leaders’ arguments started to make sense.
Why didn’t this king take action against the pagan Romans? Why didn’t this king start recruiting an army? Why didn’t this king team up with the priests and other leaders? Maybe the religious leaders were right. Maybe the leaders knew better. If Jesus really was the Messiah the teachers would believe in him, right?
We know now that Christ’s kingdom is different from the kingdoms we’re used to. The Psalm Al read a little earlier gets at some important truths about that kingdom. For one thing, the Psalm begins with praise to God for God’s steadfast love. God’s love shows up in many different ways, including providing kings for Israel in the past and now sending Jesus to show the new kingdom of God. No matter how we wander away from God, God’s love for us is constant and persistent.
The Psalm also says “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” The builders, the leaders entrusted with power, the leaders who were counted on to guide Israel with wisdom rejected the cornerstone. Psalm 118 doesn’t tell us why the builders rejected that stone, only that God sometimes makes the rejected stone the most important.
God builds differently than we do; especially, God builds differently than people in power do. People in power usually build society to increase their power, but God’s kingdom is about sharing and justice for everyone. Even the kings of Israel, who were chosen to be God’s leaders for God’s people, built walls to protect their power. So it’s with a long sense of history and human sin that the psalmist knows that God often chooses the rejected to be the cornerstone.
