Sunday 24/03/24

Palm Sunday 

Mark 11:1-11 Philippians 2:5-11

When you follow the news – as I’m sure you do – you will have noticed that many countries are holding general and presidential elections this year. In some, the outcome is clear even before they are held, and the outcome is not necessarily a democratic one… The vox populi (the voice of the people) is not always heard or reflected in the outcome of the elections. In preparation for elections, there are hustings and the like; debates possibly on television between candidates, and an attempt of political parties and candidates to make their points as strongly and as convincingly as possible. The party programme promises that are made, are not always realistic and it is up to the people to make up their mind about them. They have to ask themselves if the direction that the candidates are saying they want to take is the right one for them and the country. Whatever the result of the election is, there will be some who are happy about it and others who are not. Time then has to tell whether the whole thing is beneficial or a total disaster… In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, though, it is exactly the vox populi that is heard. There isn’t an election as such, but the people have made up their mind about the change of direction that should be taken – and they are seeing Jesus as the answer to many of the questions that they have. The passage in Mark’s Gospel is painting the picture of a messianic demonstration. Jesus is entering into Jerusalem, the capital city, in fulfilment of the prophecy of Zechariah, of a king riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9-10). The choice of a donkey indicates peaceful intentions, where a war-horse and –chariot would have a different tone. It had quite an effect: ‘many people spread their cloaks on the road, 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!’ They are words from Psalm 118 (vv 25-26), giving thanks for victory over Israel’s enemies, and that was sung at the Passover Festival. So to all intents and purposes, we can see how the people had ‘cast their vote’ for Jesus, and were already celebrating the victory that they wanted him to win. They were correct in seeing in him a connection to the king of their ancestors, David; but they were wrong in the nature of his kingdom and the way Jesus would come to the throne. It would not even be the throne of the kingdom of Israel, but that of a far greater kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, established by God, not by human hands. In their attempts to change the direction of the nation, the people were saying that the status quo was wrong. They were in a state of slavery to an oppressor, Rome, and especially at the time of Passover, this would have grated. The people were to celebrate the Passover Festival, reminding them of their escape from slavery in Egypt. But their present situation was a double oppression: that of unwanted foreign rule and the wrongs of sin. Jesus was going to go to the root of their plight and deal with the way that people lived their lives. His battle was with evil itself, and his victory over the power of evil would be for the whole world and for ever. At this occasion, when Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the people are spreading and waving their palm branches, the air was filled with hope – hope for a restored and independent new Israel, led by the anointed ‘son of David’. But a far greater Son was here, who would give an even greater hope: the hope of life itself. Jesus was and is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and the one through whom we come to the Father. Jesus is working out God’s plan for our reconciliation and redemption. This day, Palm Sunday, is only the beginning, leading to hope and life. May you enjoy this hope and this life even now. Amen.