Hang On To Your Hosannas
(Palm Sunday 2009)
Good morning. It is wonderful to see you all here. On the way over I saw a Lutheran church marquis advertising that their Palm Sunday service would feature a live donkey. I assume they meant the four legged kind and not their preacher. Kinda gives a person pause.
For our Palm Sunday I am going to ask you to hang on to your Hosannas for just a few minutes. By now I hope you know me well enough to understand that I cannot deliver a sanitized, sugar coated Palm Sunday message. Nothing about the crucifixion awaiting Jesus was G rated. He knew what awaited him as he made his final entry into the city of Jerusalem. The crowds that met him weren’t there solely for him; they were there because of Passover. Jesus was just one of the attractions. News had spread that this man Jesus just raised Lazarus from the dead and that he was coming into the city. Those that made their way to the streets were hoping to catch a glimpse of this Jesus fellow. I’d go see him, would you? I’d stand in line to see him.
I’d want to know if he was for real? Was he the leader I hoped for? The one prophesied about? Some of the people already believed in Jesus. The rest were a mixed bag of revelers and curiosity seekers. With that picture in mind, can we expand our view? Some who shouted Hosanna were taunting him. Hosanna doesn’t mean “Yay, here he comes!” Hosanna means “SAVE” as in “Save us!” “Hosanna doesn’t mean “Blessed is he who comes in the name of God.” That was a separate shout by those who were his followers. In other words, some of the people were not yelling Hosanna out of respect or hope, only ridicule.
Five days later as Jesus appeared before the authorities and drug his own cross through the streets, some of those same people, even his followers, would be yelling “Crucify him!” disappointed that he wasn’t the leader they expected. We humans can be hard on our leaders. If he was who he was supposed to be, why didn’t he pull a miracle out of his bag for himself? Why subject himself to what was happening? The expectations and the disappointments were intense.
As for the disciples; despite Jesus’ best efforts, they were unprepared for what was to come. They were about to understand that being a follower of Jesus is advanced citizenship- Standing with Jesus against lies and oppression isn’t for babies. Jesus never preached a comfortable gospel.
The reality of what Jesus ministry was about and what he calls us to came home to me in an unexpected way, oddly during my recent vacation to Florida. Kathy and I visited Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. It wasn’t Passover or Holy week but it was Spring break. Crowds were everywhere. There were long lines for each attraction. At one point we saw a spontaneous line form so we rushed to see what or who the fuss was about. When we got there it was Chip and Dale, posing for photographs. We shook our head, deciding to enter the line for Mission Space, destination Mars.
Mission: SPACE is a very cool motion simulator ride. It’s as close as you can get to blasting off into space without leaving Earth. Neither of us was familiar with this attraction so we were surprised when a Disney “crew member” asked if we were interested in Team Green or Team Orange. Huh?
I said, “team green or team orange? I don’t understand.” The crew member pointed to a sign that explained that the Orange Team is for those people who want a more intense ride, one where you will experience forces up to 2.4G—more than twice the force of the Earth's gravitational pull. The Green Team offers a more sanitized, sugar coated and less intense experience. Talk about hanging on to your Hosannas! We conferred briefly and picked the less intense team green-the team for babies. I was horrified to see 8 year olds split off into the orange team line and… I was ashamed.
The ride was a blast in every sense of the word and afterwards I thought I wished we’d have gone for the orange experience. That’s when it hit me.
There’s a green team way and an orange team way to be a person of faith and a green team way and an orange team way to experience Holy Week and there is definitely a green team and an orange team way of living in Easter hope.
Which team are you?
Dr. Mickey Anders would ask you WHO Would YOU have been that day in the Palm Sunday CROWD? What kind of Jesus were you looking for? : Pharisees? (keep the law), Disciples? (victorious, long-living) , Zealots? (take up sword).
And today, what kind of Jesus ARE you looking for? A plastic Jesus? (keeps us safe) A prozac Jesus? (keeps us happy, relaxed, secure, etc..) A Mr. Rogers Jesus? (non-threatening). A Savior? A hero? Who is Jesus for you?
If we seek a hero who doesn’t ask so much of us, we’re green team. If we’re willing to look into the face of what Jesus endured as his punishment for speaking truth to power and tearing down walls of oppression, that makes you team orange.
Crucifixion was the punishment for all political subversives and dissidents. Live out your truth in opposition to the power structure and you risk death on a cross. Jesus paid the price for standing on the convictions placed in him by God. Hang onto your hosannas because Jesus was definitely team orange. He didn’t back down. He didn’t turn away. He didn’t remain in spiritual second grade. He modeled for us all what it looks like to fully embody God in every decision and every action.
Team green was part of the Palm Sunday crowd. They were furious with Jesus, even those who did believe in his divinity. They expected him to become a political king, not a political casualty! Hosanna indeed. You can’t save us Jesus if you’re dead! Unfortunately they didn’t get that Jesus lived according to a much bigger picture.
And where was team orange? They followed Jesus’ every move during the agonizing days that lead to the cross. They became part of the cloud of witnesses that watched him voluntarily lay down his life. It was team orange that followed the body to the tomb. It was ironic don’t you think that the captain of the team green, Nicodemus, ended up switching teams, accompanying Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb carrying 75 pounds of spices. He became team orange when he stopped holding on to his hosannas and testified in court on Jesus’ behalf. It was team orange that wept before the risen risen Christ as he stood before their eyes.
That brings me to today. Lent is a 'liturgical roller-coaster ride.' It’s a slow, steady, difficult climb to Palm Sunday. God bless the jubilant crowds of Palm Sunday but we still have to plummet to the depths of Good Friday, before finally returning home at Easter, elated and changed by the ride. Changed people change the world. I want to invite you to take the entire ride this week. None of us are team green. MCC, our denomination, is affecting policy, liberating the oppressed and taking bold action. Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson asks in her Palm Sunday sermon, “Are we willing to be in solidarity today with those facing impossible odds, for those who still dream impossible dreams? We must be a voice crying out in faith that we will not let it be too late for lesbians and gay men in Pakistan, for our brothers and sisters in Jamaica, for kids in small towns and rural places where there is no safe space. . .” end quote.
So Team Orange, here are our orders. Join us for our other two Holy week services before Easter. Come to the Easter vigil. Descend and ascend the roller coaster of liberation. Holy Week is our simulator ride. Jesus wasn’t looking for green team babies; he was building orange team disciples. Amen.