Which kind of "fan" are you?
Today we celebrate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with the waving of palm branches. Today's scripture comes from Luke which describes Jesus' entry into the city that will eventually be the place of his death and his resurrection.
Luke 19:28-40:
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
For a lot of us, well mostly those of you who cheer for Iowa State, this time of year means that we are going to watch some meaningful basketball. With the exception of Griffin, the Wallace household does not normally sit down to watch basketball, but both Cheyanne and I filled out a bracket this year so we watch with intent to see if my picks, which are dwelled on after doing some research can outdo the picks of Cheyanne who does not really even care who she picks or even knows why she picked a particular team. She correctly picked the Harvard upset and your guess is as good as mine as how she knew to make that pick. However, we sit and watch the games and cheer for the team we pick with no other reason than pride. There are millions of people who fill out brackets and thousands of others who go to the games and cheer for their teams. Going to the Final Four would be similar to the backdrop that Jesus would have been walking into about 2,000 years ago. The Passover Celebration would have been ongoing in Jerusalem when Jesus decided to make his entry into the city. There would have been those who had heard the stories of his miracles and wanted to see a glimpse of him. There would have also been people there who would have been cheering for him but there were also those there who would be cheering against him. It is just like any of the teams that will eventually make it to the Final Four, they would have their fans who cheer for them to win but they will also encounter other fans who do not want them to win. Often times there are underdogs who fight their way to the Final Four and they will find a much larger crowd following them than they had during the regular season. But if they happen to lose, they will find those same fans are just as quick to leave as they were to hop on the bandwagon. Many of those who followed Jesus into Jerusalem were in the same boat. They had heard of this man who was the Messiah and as he came riding triumphantly into the city, they hopped on his bandwagon. Win or lose, there is a group of people that will follow the underdog team for the many years to come, just as the disciples stuck by Jesus’ side as the this week progresses from triumphant to failure and loss and back to hope and triumph. The disciples will encounter quite the roller coaster this week and as the disciples of the present day, we too will go through that same roller-coaster.
Let’s start with today, Palm Sunday, we pick up today’s scripture as Jesus is making the 17 mile journey from Jericho to Jerusalem where Jesus has just finished up one of his last parables. And the disciples, as well as many of the bandwagon followers, we hanging on his every word. As they approach Jerusalem, Jesus instructs two of his disciples to go ahead of them and find Jesus a colt to ride into Jerusalem. Why was it important that it be a colt? Two reasons: 1) The OT scriptures prophecies said that the messiah was to enter Jerusalem on a colt; and 2) A colt represented a commoner, the Roman generals would ride into the city on these big, strong warhorses and people would understand their power and prestige simply by what they were riding. Today it would be comparable to the impression you get of someone who rolls up next to you in a 1973 Chevy pickup with smoke rolling from every direction as compared to someone who is driving a 2014 Ford Mustang Shelby Cobra (sorry if I butchered that name...). What are your differing impressions of those individuals based solely on their mode of transportation? It would have been similar to Jesus entering the city on a colt as compared to a warhorse. At this time, all of Jerusalem is buzzing about this man who just entered the city on a colt and the rumors start flying that this man is the Messiah. The bandwagon is just about at capacity by this point.
As we get later into week, Jesus has been preaching at the Temple and he is still gaining followers. In the minds of the those in power, more followers means more power and they were already figuring out ways to get rid of him. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday pass with Jesus still at the Temple teaching, then comes Thursday. It is on Thursday that Jesus decided to take the 12 disciples into a private place and have a meal with him. This is where he is really trying to show the disciples just who he is, because they have not quite got it figured out yet. They have a meal, they break bread together and after it is all said and done, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples one by one. He is showing them how to be a servant, his is teaching them what it takes to be a true follower of Christ.
Then we get to Friday, Judas has already betrayed Jesus and the roman officials are finally getting their opportunity to get rid of Jesus. This is where the bandwagon followers of Christ start to bail off the wagon as quickly as they can, there is only a select few who chose to stay by Jesus’ side, even if they were afraid to so say publicly. Most of the same crowd who cheered as Jesus entered the city less than a week ago, is now screaming CRUCIFY HIM! And when given the choice of letting Jesus or a murderer go, they choose the murderer! The followers of Christ are shrinking faster than the fans who were cheering for the underdog who just missed the last second shot to win. Jesus, his disciples, and a few others were left now thrown by the wayside, just as the coach of our favorite team often gets ridiculed for bad play calling or for not calling a timeout. But if you want to know how this story ends, you must come back next week... I promise you won’t be disappointed.
In closing, our society today wants everything done instantly. A God who does not give us what we want now seems to be of no use to us. The idea of a church service that is not immediately translatable into four useful ways to do or not do something on Monday morning is a waste of our time. We pray and we expect God to jump when it fits into our schedule. For many in our culture, religious commitment is an add-on to our lives, such as an accessory to a new car. Will it be brown or black leather interior? What is your preference--standard hubcaps or deluxe chrome? The idea of a God who does not give us short, immediate thrills will not have us for very long. Truth presented to us not supported by an opinion poll has no claim on us. Jesus would not adjust his message to the popular ideas of the messiah that prevailed in his day. He called his disciples to a life-time commitment and not to a short-term ministry. He would not adjust his message to their whims or gain following by stroking their prejudices. So as we conclude the Lenten Season of 2013, my question to all of you is, are you going to be like the lifelong fan of Christ or just another bandwagon hopper. Will you be relentless in your pursuit of Christ through the good times, as well as the bad? Will you turn your back on your faith when it seems that God has missed the last second shot on your behalf? Or will you be like the disciples and learn from Christ, only to take his message and share it with the world? These are questions that only you can answer? Before you can do any of that you must first invite Christ into your heart. You must allow him room so he can settle in and stay awhile which means that you may have to get rid of some things that keep you from seeing the true glory of Christ. If you want to make that decision, you have the opportunity to do so today. If you would like to come up front and show the congregation that you have decided to make this decision you may do so but you may also do so right where you are sitting. I encourage all of, whether you have been like the disciples by sticking with your faith through the good and bad or if you have jumped on and off the bandwagon a couple of times, take a moment to get right with God and make room for him once again. Amen.
God Bless,
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