Scripture: Mark 11:1-11 Series: Lent
A Palm Sunday sermon on Mark 11:1-11 that frames Jesus’ triumphal entry as a celebration of arrival that is not the end of the journey. Wilson develops the irony of Palm Sunday: the crowds praising Jesus don’t know what they’re praising him for, which mirrors how we often act without knowing our true motives. The real resistance isn’t just to Good Friday’s betrayal but to change and to love, since we tend to praise Jesus hoping he’ll do the work so we can keep our status quo. He insists love is not a sentiment but a practice requiring discipline, grounded not in proving ourselves but in being first loved by God. Drawing on the Methodist tradition’s union of faith and action, he presents the means of grace (prayer, scripture, fasting; worship, communion, holy conferencing; feeding and clothing others) as ways to meet Jesus here and now. The sermon closes with a Holy Week charge to self-examination, prayer, and concrete action, quoting Leo the Great and Andrew of Crete on Christ’s self-emptying and our becoming the garments spread before him.
Illustrations: finishing-a-marathon, mallory-because-its-there, kennedy-moon-not-because-easy, singing-hosanna-in-a-crowd, love-like-riding-a-bike, iron-man-superhero-juice, atrophying-heart-lace-up-shoes
March 24
Palm Sunday
Mark 11:1-11
”When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.“ Mark 11:1-11 NRSV
It is a great feeling to accomplish something, anything. Running a marathon, completing a family road trip, painting a room.
One of the great things about painting a room is that you can look at it and be like, “wow, that is different. I did that.” You organize your closet and you can immediately see a difference. Finishing a marathon is a great feeling. It doesn’t matter how fast I went. It’s like, I did that. I finished. People cheer you on and it feels great. It’s work to get there, but it feels great.
Today is Palm Sunday. It is a festival, a celebration. We are having a party today. That’s a big aspect of the beginning of holy week. It is a festival. If it seems like Lent has been going on a long time, it is actually over now. We’re not in Lent anymore. We’re in a different season. It is good to feast, to relax a little bit, to celebrate, to lean back in your chair. You just made it. The children waived the palms down the aisles. The eggs are ready to be found. We are celebrating the journey that got us here. And Mark, chapter 9, Jesus goes up the mountain for the transfiguration. In everything after that, there is this steady build up and preparation for the entrance into Jerusalem. After going up the mountain, Jesus turned his face towards Jerusalem, and now he is there. And there’s cheering. People are laying the garments down. There’s a prophecy about a Colt or a donkey that they found, and he is riding on it as a Victor in the war. A long road brought him to this place, but the journey is not finished.
Jesus made it to Jerusalem. He did that. The people cheered him on. We can celebrate something amazing that has taken place, but the journey is not over. Jesus didn’t have to train for his journey to Jerusalem. He didn’t go to the gym. He didn’t run hills. He trained, for sure, but the long road to Jerusalem was about us as much as it was about him. It was about the disciples as much as it was about him. He had to prepare them for what was going to take place, and still they didn’t get it. Palm Sunday is ironic, but the irony of Palm Sunday is not solely found in the reality that the same people praising Jesus this day are going to yell, crucify him At the end of the week. The irony is that they don’t know what they’re praising him for. The irony of so much of the Christian life is found in those moments. When we don’t know what we’re praising Jesus for. The power of the crowds is effective.
You’re in a group of people and they’re all singing the same song. It feels great to sing the same song together. It is like a concert or a church service.. Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna
It sounds cool. Hosanna. It gives me a good feeling in my chest. I would probably join along. Or Maybe you have a fond memory of church. Maybe being in church makes you feel good about yourself and the decisions in your life. Knowing why we do things is a lot harder than it seems. It’s not just about church or Palm Sunday. Why do we do anything? Why do people exercise? There are a lot of reasons. Why do people run ultra-marathons? I don’t know. Those people are crazy and love pain. As Mallory said, upon being asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, “because it’s there.” That sounds really cool but doesn’t make much sense. Or what Kennedy said about the moon race, we do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. This also sounds great, but doesn’t make sense. It would be hard to punch the floor for an hour, that doesn’t mean it is a good idea to try and do that. There are reasons we tell people we do things, as well as reasons we tell ourselves, and these are often different from the real reasons we do anything. Yet for all of us, We usually don’t have a single reason to do anything. There are always numerous motivations. Some people make decisions with lists and analysis, others with their gut, nobody wants to say they are doing something because other people are doing things, but it can be the case.
The irony of the crowds praising Jesus is not just about what we’re going to do. That is, it isn’t just about Good Friday. It really comes down to what we don’t want to do, What we’re not willing to do. And that is change. And that is love. We change what we want to change. We love whom we want to love. We praise Jesus. We sing Hosanna for the one who’s gonna do all the work for us so that we can keep the status quo of our lives. But the mirror Of Holy Week, in which we stare back at our own lives, must tell us that the status quo cannot go on forever. The paths we are currently on do not all end with resurrection. Some paths we walk lead to destruction. And it is a long road from Palm Sunday to Easter. The love revealed in Jesus Christ confronts us wherever we are on that road. Love is not just an idea. It’s not just a fun feeling in your belly. It is a habit. It is like riding a bike. It is like long distance running. Love is not a sentiment. It is a practice. It is something you do. If you don’t do it, you get bad at it.
It takes practice to run. It takes practice to paint. It takes practice to love as Jesus loves. It takes practice to love your enemies. It takes practice to forgive the unforgivable. And this practice is not a competition. Ours is not to compete with the people around us, but to see how far we can go because of who God is for us.
Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death. 1
We don’t love to prove ourselves to others, but because God first loved us. You are forgiven. Even if you came here for not the best reason today, you are forgiven and you are loved. So what are you going to do about it? Covenant comes out of the Methodist tradition. And The best aspect of the Methodist tradition for me, is the way it connects a profound faith with a life of action. God meets us where we are, but God does not leave us there. Doesn’t come down to you in the pits of despair and say, you’re all good. And then voilà, You get a big shot Of superhero juice. And you’re like in an iron man suit and you can do whatever you want. No, God meets you where you are, but God doesn’t keep you there. And he walks with you. So you are stronger. God stays with you, so you’re faster. And then God compels you to look around and see who else is in a pit right now, who is in a pit like the one you used to be in? To whom can you go over in the power of the holy spirit to lift them up. We call these the means of grace. There are some we can do by ourselves: prayer, studying the scriptures, Fasting, Not being controlled by our body. There are some we can do with others. Worship Communion, holy conferencing, which has gathered together as Christians and talking about what matters, How is it with your soul? As well, there are some we can do for others: feeding the hungry clothing, the naked. These things aren’t charity as a separate thing. They aren’t ways to feel better about ourselves, but ways to see Jesus and meet Jesus. If you feel like you are forgiven and you have a new possibility of life, God is offering you a way to meet Jesus here and now, not just in the future. Here and now. If you’re not doing anything for others, you’re not doing anything for yourself. You’re not taking care of yourself. If you’re not doing anything for others, if you’re not spending time seeking those who are hurting, you are atrophying your heart of love, and it is going to be harder and harder to lace up your shoes again and go out.
During this holy week, may you have time to pray. May you have time to discern. May you have time to look at the mirror about ask yourselves how your soul is. What you need to do to respond to God’s grace right now. We’re here. We’re in Jerusalem, but there’s a long road to go. Thanks be to God. The the road is not so lonely. Christ walked that road for us. We are together.
So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him.2
Take the time this week, to call a friend, have a coffee, share about what you can do to live your life more in line with Jesus. How can you meet Jesus more? How can you let go of false expectations more? You are a beloved child of God. You have what it takes, because God is with you.
Let us pray, Heavenly father, thank you for meeting us here. That you for journeying all the way to the cross. Help us to celebrate with you but also to walk with you in the journey of love, even when no one is watching. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.