Matthew 21:1-11
“Hosanna”
April 5, 2020 Palm Sunday
Right now we were supposed to be in the church sanctuary with children and adults telling us this oh so familiar story in a pageant.
It would have started with the story of Jesus’ triumphant arrival in Jerusalem walking with our well-worn cardboard donkey and everyone shouting Hosanna and the children singing “Jesus Loves Me” and waving palms.
Then the transition would have taken us later into that same week when over Communion we would have moved into the account of the Last Supper with that famous DaVinci painting of the Last Supper up on the television screen.
The action would then have moved to Gethsemane and the sleepy disciples and Judas’ turning on Jesus.
Next we would hear of the trial of Jesus and the gathered crowd that we all would have pretended to be would have turned on him and demanded his crucifixion and Jesus’ last words and the guards’ admission, a little too late, that he really was the Son of God.
But then the Coronavirus arrived and everything was turned on its head and we all moved to Plan B. We expected one thing, have told this story in some way shape or form every Palm/Passion Sunday, and instead we only hear the beginning of this Holy Week story on electronic devices. The story itself is filled with irony because the folks who were shouting Hosanna at the beginning will later be the ones who will shout “Crucify him.” Jesus comes into Jerusalem a hero at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week will leave Jerusalem shamed and brutalized to death.
Irony forms the core of this Palm Sunday reading. The people were expecting a strong and powerful Messiah and they got another one – not riding on a big majestic horse but rather a humble donkey. The people expected that life would be magically transformed by the Messiah.
This messenger of peace and love would not have fit the mold and thus maybe fear of what they got instead and what that means led to Jesus’ dramatic fall from favor.
Fear is something we can all relate to right now.
Fear for the health and well-being of loved ones and ourselves.
Fear of what the world we know will look like when this disease is finally under control.
Fear that we won’t be able to weather this once in a life time shared experience and keep our head above water financially, educationally and in so many other ways.
We want assurances. We want someone to fix this. We are yearning for life as we knew it a month ago.
This familiar story is one where God is revealed to us in a vulnerable form and that is perhaps the greatest gift we are given from it. This is a God that comes to love and redeem us.
This is a God who knows what it is like to be hurt and to suffer and to survive. In Jesus we are given a view into the God who is walking through this pandemic hurting and yet resilient.
This is the God who will carry us when we feel like we can’t go on. This is the God whose grace and mercy know no bounds. This is the God who came as Jesus and who is worthy of all of our praise.
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one that comes in the name of the Lord!” Amen.