April 13, 2025 – Palm Sunday
Jack Belsom
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who think there are two kinds and those who don’t. The first can only hear what affirms their point of view and see only what they have been conditioned to see. The second are almost always challenged to listen to other voices and to see what has been there but not clearly perceived. There were two processions that day long ago and more than two responses to what God was doing as Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
Marcus Borg and Dominic Crossan wrote a book called The Last Week in which they laid out the events of that Holy Week long ago as told by the four Gospels. Things were tense in Jerusalem as Passover approached. The celebration of the liberation of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt always stirred both hope and fear. Those under the domination of the Roman Empire were looking for another liberation and the overthrow of their subjugation. The Roman governor and troops knew that as so many gathered for the celebration there might be trouble.
From the west came Pilate accompanied by all the material glory of imperial power: horses, chariots, and gleaming armor. He did not come alone. He was accompanied by Roman troops that would quickly put down any attempts at insurrection. Lining that parade route were those who benefited from the Pax Romana—the peace of Rome: petty government officials, tax collectors, even those who wanted to make sure the Temple would remain open because that was when most of the offerings were received. You can’t make money when there is upheaval and political unrest.
From the east came a procession of common people. They were the ones who knew survival under Rome’s so called “peace” was a daily challenge. There were no fancy clothes, no company of soldiers, only a man riding a donkey followed by his rag-tag followers chanting the words that could provoke rebellion: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” (v. 38) Thus, we have what appears to be two distinct and separate groups participating in processions that day: supporters of Roman domination and supporters of a different kind of empire.
But wait, there were others who didn’t fit into those neat categories.
Watching the procession from the west were the onlookers who would gawk at the splendor of Pilate’s procession. There were those who knew that trouble would shut down their businesses and put their livelihoods in danger. From the east, there were Jesus’ disciples leading the parade and the cheers. There were probably some revolutionaries with swords carefully concealed hoping that this was the day they could use them to draw Roman blood. There were even some Pharisees. Too often we assume that all Pharisees opposed Jesus and his message, but some were there. Okay, they were warning Jesus not to let this get out of hand.
Those Pharisees were concerned. They politely speak to Jesus: “Teacher, order your disciples to stop” (v. 39). They knew the longer the procession went on, the louder the cheers became, the more dangerous being in that procession would be. What they missed was the proclamation of peace: “Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” (v. 38). It almost sounds like the song of the angels in Luke’s Christmas story. It almost sounds like what we pray for: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus was living out an alternate empire. It was one in which people were not dominated but liberated. It offered not the Roman peace that was always kept with violence, intimidation, and death but a wholeness of living in unity with God and all God’s creatures…including the stones. Hawaiians have a sense of a living creation, the ‘āina—the land that is one of our fellow creatures. The stories of stones and rocks being taken from Hawai’i and then mailed back to be replaced point to the mana or power that lives in all creation.
Jesus did not have to arrange for the donkey and the procession. He could have quietly entered Jerusalem, but it was time to live out something different. When King David rode to his coronation, he rode a donkey…not a war horse. I believe Jesus was intentionally making a connection. I don’t know if people laid down their clothing for Pilate’s procession, but they did for Jesus’ entry. They
offered the clothes off their backs as a sign of recognition of God’s presence and movement in that place and time.
“Order your disciples to stop.” No! “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out” (v. 40). If the angels can sing at Jesus’ birth, the stones can shout as he confronts the injustice of domination. Jesus was no fool. He knew there would be a price to pay for confronting the powers that be, and he knew that there would be a greater price to pay for not confronting the powers and not paying the price.
Those in power always want to silence dissenting voices, and that attempt will always fail. We heard those voices in the songs of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. We have seen it in the Pride Parades. We have heard the cries of the aging and those barely making on Social Security. We have seen the effects of
cutting off food and medical assistance to the weak and the vulnerable. Even the children of military service members in U.S. bases in Germany protested the denials of their God-given and God-created rights and individuality. In spite of the risks, they protest because…to do nothing would be unfaithful.
William G. Carter explains Jesus’ actions this way:
Jesus rides no high horse, just a lowly colt. He chooses to enter a deadly situation without force or protection. He gives himself freely and without reservation. This is a prophetic act, a sign of God’s
vulnerable love, which risks everything and promises to gain all. This is the means by which God creates peace. [Feasting on the Word, Year C, vol. 3].
We are living in a time when the extremely wealthy want to call the shots: to gather more wealth for themselves at the expense of everyone else. It is reminiscent of the “Golden Age of the Robber Barrons” that Theodore Roosevelt confronted. New leaders are emerging, and processions and protests are occurring. Those participating are paying the price for their commitment to a different kind of community—a community that reflects the life and ministry of Jesus. It is no accident that “kingdom of God” is the main image for what Jesus is announcing, and “kingdom” is a political image.
“I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out” (v. 40). Will the stones cry out…because those who want to oppose oppression for anyone and anything are too afraid to join the procession? May our Palm Sunday parade continue to proclaim, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” (v. 38) until God’s realm is come on earth as it is in heaven…until we shout for joy with the stones. Amen.