On this Palm Sunday, John is inviting us, calling us, as Jesus’ followers, to sit up and observe, to sit up and see, to sit up and take notice of the coming of the Kingdom of God. For it will come to us as we gather around the table at the Last Supper. For it will come to us as we gather beneath the cross at Golgotha. For it will come to us when Jesus is laid in the tomb.
March 24, 2024
God is Doing Something Amazing! Are You UP For It?
“Sit Up”
John 12: 12-16
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
John 12: 12-16
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord – the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
Sit Up John 12: 12-16
For the last six weeks, we have been invited as a community of faith to be up to something good for our community, for ourselves and for our world. We have been invited to store up treasures in heaven by practicing grace and love here on Earth. We have been invited to take up our crosses as we work to build up the Beloved Community here on Earth. We have been invited to rise up, knowing God is there to strengthen us. We have been invited to light up the world, sharing the light of God, the love of God with others. We have also been invited to lift each other up as Beloved Children of God, bringing healing and wholeness through all we do and say. And now…as we draw closer to the gates of Jerusalem, we are invited to sit up and pay attention, to sit up and observe the dynamics at play in our community and in our world. From the powers that be to Jesus’ disciples, we are invited to sit up and take notice of the coming of the Kingdom of God.
The irony of John’s version of the Palm Sunday story is that this isn’t the first time the crowd wanted to make Jesus their king. Earlier in the Gospel narrative, the crowd tried to force Jesus to be their king. This crowd had seen Jesus do signs of healing. They had heard Jesus preach about the coming of God’s Kingdom. They had witnessed miracles beyond belief. And at another Passover festival, they tried to force Jesus to be their king. They tried to make him into the Messiah of their long held expectations. They tried to force him to be a king of power and might. They tried to force him to be a king which they controlled. Earlier in the Gospel of John, the crowd who had seen the miracles Jesus had done tried to make Jesus into something he was not.
But rather than allowing this to happen, Jesus withdrew to the mountain again by himself. Jesus knew that he was called to usher in a different way to be, a different way to connect, a different way to be in relationships, a different way to view the world. Jesus knew that at that point, even though the crowd had seen the signs, had experienced the miracles, they did not understand, that if the crowd had forced him to be king at that point, then he would never be able to be the Messiah, the world, that we so desperately needed him to be.
That’s why only after more preachings, after more teachings, after more healings, when the timing was right, Jesus sat up and rode into Jerusalem as the crowd waved palm branches, as he ushered in the Beloved Community. It was only as his true authentic self was Jesus able to bring about the transformative power of light and love. It was only when he defied the people’s expectations did Jesus become the Messiah they had long awaited, did Jesus become the Savior that we so desperately need, a Messiah who calls us to sit up and pay attention; a Savior who encourages us to sit up and notice the disparities in our communities, a Messiah changes the narrative as he brings healing and wholeness to all of God’s people.
John hints at this as he tells his version of the Palm Sunday story. He points out that it was not his disciples who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. It was a crowd of people, a different crowd than from before, a different crowd than from that previous Passover festival. What made this crowd different was that they had experienced Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life. They had seen how Jesus overcame death. They understood that death would not have the last word. This crowd that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, this crowd that waved palm branches, this crowd that shouted Hosanna had seen, they had experienced the Kingdom of God made real in their midst. They understood how the Kingdom of God made real in our lives and in our communities changes everything.
In just these few lines, John describes that moment at the gates of Jerusalem, when the Kingdom of God is made real. He describes it as a march which told the powers that be that their days were numbered. He describes it as a march which was made up of ordinary people who had seen how things could be, who understood that they could bring about change. John describes this moment at the gates of Jerusalem when the Kingdom of God is made real as a march where the people proclaimed that it did not have to be this way, that Power and might does not have to be the way of the world. The powerless and innocent do not have to be ignored or mocked.
At this moment, as the crowd gathers, John is inviting us to join in the celebration. He is inviting us to sit up and pay attention because there is something different about this man…this man who humbly ushers in the Beloved Community of God. This man who does not enter into the holy city surrounded by armies and weapons. This man whose true power is shown when he sat up and claimed who he was, when he sat up and claimed who he was. John shows us that Jesus’ power comes not from fulfilling our long held expectations but rather when he sat up, when he showed up and in doing so, showed one and all that there is a different way to be king.
Or let me say it this way…On this Palm Sunday as we wave our palm branches, as we shouted Hosanna, the author of John is reminding us that some two thousand years later, Jesus will never be the Messiah, will never be the King we expect him to be. He will not take the easy way out. HE will not take up the sword and fight. Rather instead, Jesus will usher in his kingdom while riding a donkey. Jesus will usher in his kingdom while washing his disciples feet. John is reminding us that Jesus is and will continue to be the Messiah, the Savior, we so desperately need him to be by dying on the cross, by bringing healing and wholeness to and for all God’s people.
On this Palm Sunday, John is inviting us, calling us as Jesus’ followers, to sit up and observe, to sit up and see, to sit up and take notice of the coming of the Kingdom of God. For it will come to us as we gather around the table at the Last Supper. For it will come to us as we gather beneath the cross at Golgotha. For it will come to us when Jesus is laid in the tomb.
On this Palm Sunday, John reminds us that the Kingdom of God is coming , not exactly how we expected but it will be exactly what we need. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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