When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ²and 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. ³If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” ⁴They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, ⁵some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. ⁷Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.⁹Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹Then 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

³²They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. ³⁴And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” ³⁵And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” ³⁷He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?³⁸Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. ⁴¹He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

⁴³Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. ⁴⁴Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”  Mark 14:32-44

“This procession down to Jerusalem is one of those very public moments in Jesus’ ministry. It could be called his most brilliant act of political theatre. Jesus proceeds toward Jerusalem, with a crowd that undoubtedly boasts some of the same sorts of outsiders Jesus has been connecting with all along: sinners, the possessed, the sick and blind, women, and foreigners. The crowd that shouts Hosanna would have been laughed at by any sensible members of society who happened upon this odd ritual. Much like I imagine today those with a high sense of their own political value would little understand what compelled these odd folk to gather as they had, creating trouble when they had little to gain but jail cells and crosses.

The work of Borg and Crossan in their book “The Last Week”, makes the case that this peculiar celebration does not happen in isolation, but is rather a counter procession, mimicking an imperial procession entering the other side of Jerusalem at the same moment. So here we have Jesus’s follower’s celebrating their weakness by way of taking power from imperial forces that would seek to impugn it. The grandeur of Pilate’s procession was meant to highlight his superiority over the weak. He held the reigns of a warhorse to signify his mastery of statecraft. But Jesus and his followers creatively re-imagine their weakness as strength. They do not deny their poverty, the very instruments of their celebration proclaim it publicly, but they deny the authority of the empire to define their reality for him. They celebrate their own hero rather than worshipping at the feet of political power. Perhaps Jesus learned this tactic from the Syro-phoenician woman, who turned Jesus own insult around and claiming it in a new way secured healing for her daughter (Mark 7).

Since the time of Jesus though, the script has been reversed. Christians now occupy the halls of power. We enter our sanctuaries in revered processions. Christians now hold the reins of the horses of war. Perhaps this should give us pause and cause us to cast our gaze outside the city walls to hear the protests and see the theatre of those who have been cast aside and ignored by society. Christians ought never let access to power rob them of their roots with these folks, who had nothing but palms, blankets, and a borrowed mule at hand to make their point. This celebration of Palms shows a way of disrupting empire without access to political power: you change the script, make those things that seek to impose themselves upon you your own. We can decide which procession to attend this week. I pray we all make the less respectable choice.” (John Allen, Master of Divinity Student in New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and a chaplain to the Occupy Wall Street Movement, Hosanna!)

Pastor Dave