“After he had said this, [Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Luke 19:28–40

How strange this really is, Amen?

How strange the scene would have been for the crowd gathered on the streets of Jerusalem — as the disciples and the others threw their garments on the road and shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David — Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” as Jesus rode in front and behind them — waving their palm branches and gazing upon this strange scene. This parade, though politically dangerous against the Romans, has been secretly longed for by the Jewish nationalists. So this parade is both revealing and confusing. Consider Jesus, riding into the city on a donkey, or the foal of a donkey, which is an obvious symbol of peace — this gesture connects him to the king foretold by the prophecy of Zechariah. And yet, among the shouts of “hosannas” would be the comments like “Wait — who is that? Is that Jesus, that local Rabbi and prophet from Nazareth?”

How strange indeed.

We too have seen many strange episodes over the last few years — doctors and nurses dressed like astronauts trying care for sick people — Russian troops invading Ukraine and killing thousands of innocent people.

It would have been the same disconcerted feeling for the people on the streets of Jerusalem watching Jesus and his parade pass by. But, this is just the beginning — and for this parade in Jerusalem will lead to the death of an innocent man.

You see, the streets in Jerusalem are just beginning to burst at the seams as people are streaming in from all over Judea and the surrounding areas — coming for the Passover Festival. And with all the extra people, there would be extra measures that people were doing what they were supposed to be doing — sounds familiar? Pilate would be parading around Jerusalem making sure there were no uprisings — making sure people were behaving — not going where they were not supposed to go — sheltering in place — and he has his legions of Roman troops who were enforcing the laws. Tensions would be high……

It is into this powder keg that Jesus is riding into Jerusalem with people shouting “Hosanna” — which of course means “Lord save us” — and shouting this is the Son of David….all the while the people were giving Pilate his due, or there would be Hell to pay for sure — because as the scriptures tell us, Pilate was not afraid to kill the Jews even on the steps of the Temple.

Yes, we are living in strange times — but you see, we have seen over and over again that people have lived in strange and challenging times throughout the millennia. For thousands of years people have encountered the strange — the unsettling — the fearful. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was reading a book about the Bubonic Plague of the 14th century. Perhaps my timing was impeccable. It was startling to read about the parallels of these two pandemics — how it spread through trade routes and relationships — and spread seemingly through invisible means. The parallels are, well, quite eerily similar. And yet, like all plagues, and diseases, and catastrophes….and parades…there is a beginning, a middle and an end. And we are somewhere in the mix — because just like today, and tomorrow and the next day and the next, we get one step closer to the finale.

So, it is good we are watching a parade today — because we need something to cheer about — to cheer for. Parades tend to do that — they give us some hope, some promise, some distraction from the reality around us. For just today we stand, perhaps from a far, and yet we stand and we watch Jesus parade into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entrance.

We know the end of this parade must come, just like the end of our lives must also come. But like Santa Claus comes at the end of the Christmas parade, our savior Jesus comes at the end of this parade. And while Santa brings earthly gifts — Jesus gives us the gift of eternal life.

Pastor Dave