Palm Sunday
Did Jesus really enter into Jerusalem on a Donkey?
Did he really do the things the Gospels say he did just before his death?
Was his trial really as much of a sham as it appears?
Did he really die how we are told?
Did he really rise from the dead?
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Over the next week we enter into doubt.
This is a week where our insecurities rise to trouble us in so many ways.
And we see the true power of doubt.
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At the end,
at the conclusion it doesn’t really matter what the Gospels say,
or don’t say,
our decisions really become decisions of faith.
Because it one sense,
it doesn’t matter what the facts might say,
the opportunity of an intellectual decision is beyond us.
I like how Paul phrases it in his first letter to the Church in Corinth,
in chapter 12, verse 3 he says:
“no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
He was talking to them about becoming mature in their faith,
and his reminder was that we are all worthwhile,
we are all valuable in God’s eyes,
and should be in each others too.
And he says: “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”
It is a reminder that we can do what we can do because of God.
We can’t do it in our own power.
Faith and the things of God happen because of God.
So the journey we are about to take,
is something we can do because of the strength that the Holy Spirit gives us.
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And just as we discover that faith is something that God does within us,
if we allow God to,
we also discover that the story needs to be journeyed,
it needs to be walked.
The story of Jesus,
and being a disciple of his isn’t something we can reason and rationalise.
Rather the way of the cross, the way of Jesus is something that needs to be journeyed.
We show our faith not by what we say,
not by what we believe,
but by what we do.
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Our Gospel writers realised that as we read the story,
that doubts and insecurities would rise within us,
to a point where we would question things.
So rather than leave the story open to our doubt,
questions are answered before we ask them,
and details are included that are not necessary to the story,
like where would he have got a donkey.
I’m certain that these details serve no purpose in the story,
other than alleviating our doubt.
The story of Jesus,
whether it is his ministry around Galillee,
or whether it is in the temple,
or on the cross,
is a story of faith.
You will need to make your own decision as to where you stand,
whether you stand on the side-line,
or whether you will allow the Holy Spirit to convict your heart,
that faith in God is the goal,
and that we see that fully in Jesus.
And today the decision before us,
is will we either believe this for the first time,
or continue to believe it if the Holy Spirit has already convicted us of this.
Faith is an ongoing decision.
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Clearly in today’s reading many had come to believe in Jesus,
and they were following.
There was a crowd of disciples by this stage of Jesus’ ministry.
In Luke chapter 10,
Jesus sends out 72 unnamed disciples in addition to the chosen 12.
It is conceivable that by this stage,
that group of 84 had grown to a far larger number.
If each brought 2 other people,
that is 252 people.
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As he moves into Jerusalem,
this is reminiscent of the earlier story in Luke,
where Jesus receives news that worshippers were killed in the temple,
because Rome was concerned they were going to rise up against the Roman occupiers.
The leaders of the temple become concerned,
this is a big group,
and wonder, will they riot?
Will there be another massacre on their hands.
So they tell Jesus to make them quite.
But he says: “Look something so big is happening in God’s realm,
and on earth,
something so miraculous,
that even the stones will shout if you try to silence the voices of these people.”
And today,
because of the lengths that God went to to save us,
we testify to what God has done for us in Jesus.
To make sure no one can confuse his motives,
and to make sure that people understand that Jesus is not leading a revolution of violence,
to make sure that they understand that he is not coming with weapons,
like the last lot that died in the temple,
he rides in on a donkey,
and his army wave palm branches,
not swords, but palm branches.
So this is not someone who has come to lead an up-rising.
Even so,
the leaders are concerned.
So they tell Jesus to make his disciples quite.
But he says: “Look something so big is happening in God’s realm,
and on earth,
something so miraculous,
that even the stone will shout if you try to silence the voices of these people.”
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He then moves into Jerusalem and weeps for it.
They have not recognised him,
God’s own nation,
his own people have not recognised the movement of God.
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And he says:
“When you don’t act on God’s will in your life,
others will over run God’s purposes,
and you will experience heart ache and agony,
you will feel isolated and alone from God,
turn back,
turn back!”
And he cleanses the temple.
This was because the business vendors were in the part of the temple that the gentlies,
then non-believers were allowed into.
With all the vendors and sales people,
there was no room for the non-believers to hear the message of God.
So Jesus cleanses the temple,
and then he teaches.
“Turn back to God he says.”
Not only does he condemn the exclusion of the gentiles,
but he also teaches them and the Pharisees and tries one last time in a peaceful way to teach
and reconcile
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But Jerusalem,
in the leadership of the temple are looking for a way of purging Jesus,
of purging God from their life.
And their efforts take them to the edge of the abyss.
They stare down a long dark hole and see no hope for the temple;
and all the while God is saying: “I am here, open your eyes.”
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In faith,
what will your decision be today?
Will you choose to see God in your midst,
to listen to that problematic voice?
Or will you only stare into the abyss?
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Of course in Good Friday and Holy week we all end up peering over the edge of the abyss.
The hope comes on Easter day.
The thing is though,
sometimes we only see the miracle of new life,
of what God offers when we stare off into the darkness.
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Jesus taught in the temple saying:
“God is here in your midst,
open your eyes.”
Today Jesus is in midst of us through the Holy Spirit.
What do you want the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to today?
May you this week be faithful to the call of Jesus to journey with him in faith.
May you be open to the Holy Spirit,
and what God wants to open your eyes to,
and what you want God to show you,
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Now is your time to pray for this:
In Silence we will pray together….
If your mind had drifted,
– we are praying for what we want the Holy Spirit to open in our eyes
– and also, that we will be open to what God is showing us.
LET US PRAY: