March 28: Palm Sunday: Cheers to Jeers
Read: Psalm 118:1-2; 19-29; Mark 11:1-11
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
After World War I, President Woodrow Wilson made a visit to Europe. The United States had come to the rescue of Europe and he was greeted by large crowds everywhere he went. People viewed him as an icon of hope. He was more popular than even the greatest war heroes.
In a Vienna hospital, a Red Cross worker told the children that there would be no Christmas presents that year because of the war and the hard times. The children didn’t believe her. They said that President Wilson was coming and they knew that everything would be alright. HE would make Christmas as it should be. HE was the new Santa Claus!
A year later, things began to change. Political leaders throughout Europe were interested more in their own agendas than a lasting peace and the people slowly lost hope. On the home front, Wilson met opposition in the Senate, and his idea of a “League of Nations” was never ratified. Under tremendous stress, his health began to fail. In the next election, his party lost. Woodrow Wilson, who almost two years earlier was heralded as a hero, came to his last days as a broken and defeated man.
For Jesus, the time frame was shorter. He entered Jerusalem on a Sunday to cheers and hosannas. By the end of the week the crowd’s cheers became, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
After WW I, people had wrong and exaggerated expectations of President Wilson. They had their own agendas and their own “wants” of who he would be and what he would do and Wilson couldn’t satisfy them all.
The crowds in Jerusalem had wrong and exaggerated expectations of Jesus and of the Messiah. They had their own agendas and their own “wants” of who he would be and what he would do and Jesus wouldn’t satisfy them all – not at the expense of God’s will and God’s timetable.
Have you ever been disappointed with God? Have there been times when you expected God to show up – answer a prayer or bless a situation important to you – but he didn’t?
Perhaps it’s hard to imagine joining a mob yelling “Crucify him!” We wouldn’t have done that, right? Yet when I’m frustrated with God because he isn’t acting as quickly as I want or in the ways I want, I sometimes do my own private rebellion. If God won’t give me what I want, then I’ll….do my own thing…I’ll sin…I’ll show him!
Palm Sunday brings us to the end of Lent. We turn our hearts to the hope that the King has come – not the king we expected or wanted or deserved, but the King we need. He is the King who suffers and dies and saves and serves. He is the King who lays down his perfect life so we can find forgiveness and healing for our broken lives.
Henri Nouwen wrote, “Lent is a time of returning to God. It is a time to confess how we keep looking for joy, peace, and satisfaction in the many people and things surrounding us without really finding what we desire. Only God can give us what we want. So we must be reconciled with God.”
Palm Sunday reminds us that not only does God give us the things we need, he does so in the very best ways. We have to confess that we too often expect Jesus to be “the new Santa Claus” rather than the suffering servant who calls us to take up our cross and follow him. We expect him to be the conquering warrior who removes every obstacle in our way and keeps us free from pain and sorrow. Instead, he suffered and died and calls us to us to follow him knowing that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
May our hosannas this Palm Sunday be for the one who truly is King of kings and Lord of lords. May they be for the King who came first into the world humbly as a baby and later entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey; the King who will come again a second time in a cloud and with power and great glory (Luke 21:27).
Questions for Reflection
What expectations do you have for Jesus? When has he let you down? When has he exceeded what you expected?
How do you look for joy, peace, and satisfaction in things other than Jesus? Have you reconciled with God during this Lenten season?
Have you been “on mission” with your Salem family during Lent? Are there any relationships that you could follow up on this week?
Readings for this week:
March 29: Isaiah 42:1-9; Hebrews 9:11-15
March 30: Isaiah 49:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
March 31: Isaiah 50:4-9a; John 13:21-32
April 1: Exodus 12:1-14; John 13:1-17; 31-35
April 2: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; John 18:1-19:42
April 3: Job 14:1-14; Matthew 27:57-66
April 4: Isaiah 25:6-9; John 20:1-18