Sermon: The King
they wanted, and the King we got
Grace to you and
peace, from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen
“Hosanna to the
Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
With these words
on the lips of the crowds, Jesus entered into Jerusalem.
And make no
mistake about it, to proclaim Jesus “the Son of David” was to praise him as the
Messiah, God’s anointed, who would establish his Kingdom in Israel and reign
from the palace in Jerusalem.
“Hosanna to the
Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
That the nation
of Israel would be free from the Roman occupation—
That the nation
of Israel would be at peace—
That the nation
of Israel would once again experience the glory of David and Solomon’s Kingdom—
That the nation
of Israel would prosper—
These were the
hopes of those people welcoming Jesus as the Son of David.
A victorious King
and a land flowing with milk and honey.
And then Jesus
came, humble and riding on a donkey.
A servant King.
There is an
incredible irony in this story, and that parade welcoming Jesus as the Messiah.
And that is that
the King they wanted was the king they actually had, not the one mounted on a
donkey.
Rome ruled.
And during this
time, the whole Mediterranean world was united under the rule of Rome, and
enjoying what historians would later call the Pax Romana. The peace of Rome.
It was a time of
prosperity and peace almost unknown in the ancient world.
The Romans built
a glorious empire.
Remnants of that
Empire remain to this day.
There were
palaces and ampitheaters. And of course,
the Coliseum.
But actually two
of the most impressive accomplishments of the Roman builders were the roads
which united the Empire and paved the way for commerce, and the aqueducts that
provided fresh water in abundance and made modern cities possible.
The Glory of
Rome.
That’s what the
people wanted. . .only they wanted it to be their own Kingdom. Israel.
They longed for the glory of Rome, but the freedom of Israel.
“Hosanna to the
Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
And there was
Jesus.
5Let the same mind be in you that
was in Christ Jesus,
6who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
6who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
What
we know now, that those crowds did not know then, is that Jesus did not come so
that the people might prosper, but that they might be saved.
Fast forward two
thousand years to today.
It was in 1992
that James Carvelle, Bill Clinton’s political strategist coined the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid.”
What Carvelle and
every politician since recognized is that what the people want is prosperity.
The people
welcoming Jesus as the Son of David wanted prosperity.
The people who
elected President Roosevelt during the Great Depression wanted prosperity.
The people who
followed Hitler wanted prosperity.
The people who
voted for Bill Clinton wanted prosperity.
And so it is in
our day that every president is judged on the relative health of the economy.
We elect that
person we believe will prosper the economy, and their re-election is dependent
on whether the economy is thriving or not.
But what is more
important?
That we prosper?
Or that we are saved?
That is one of
the most important questions facing, not only us, but the whole world today.
The economy was
great.
Just a few short
weeks ago, the economy was great.
Our president,
Donald Trump, like all the presidents before him was banking his hopes for
re-election on the thriving economy, because, after all, “It’s the economy,
stupid.”
And then COVID 19
transformed the world we lived in to a world we could never have imagined.
It is now illegal
to gather.
Were I to hold
worship services in public today I could be fined $5,000 and sent to prison for
up to 364 days.
You could be as
well.
We are taking
precautions to stem the spread of this virus, and the cost is high.
Two fears
dominate our world today:
·
The fear for our
health, and the health of our neighbors;
·
And the fear of an economic collapse.
What a choice.
What a choice we are faced
with.
This dilemma is not playing
out in Washington alone.
Every
congregation across the nation faces this choice as the people of God.
We cannot
gather together for worship. We are
trying our best to find other ways of being the Body of Christ, but it is not
easy.
We are
isolated, not only from each other, but from our families and friends.
And we
long for better times. We want to gather
around the Lord’s Table for communion.
We want to sing the hymns of faith.
We want to pray together. And we
are worried about the future of the Church.
Can we weather this storm? How
will our finances fair?
Our
hearts yearn for life to return to normal.
How long
will this last? You’ve asked that question. I’ve asked that question. Everyone is asking that question.
The most
soul searching question of all at this time is how many lives are we willing to
risk for the sake of the economy?
The second
question is like it. How much suffering
are we willing to endure to save lives?
Jesus emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
The people longed
for a King that would bring glory and prosperity to Israel.
What they got in
Jesus was a savior.
One who was
willing to suffer and die so that we might live.
And it is this
one who we call Lord.
Jesus said that
we should take up our cross and follow him.
What does that
mean? For us? Today?
It means that we
be willing to love one another and to make sacrifices so that lives might be
saved.
It means that we
stay home and stay healthy.
It means for us
as a church that for the present time we will not gather together to worship
God, so that in time, all of us, might gather again.
That’s the bottom
line. If we rush back to worship some of
you might die. If we care for one
another and accept this time of being apart hopefully all of you will live.
Tough times. Tough choices.
There are two
things that give me hope in the midst of my fears.
First, that
healing was such a major part of Jesus ministry. He cares about our health. He touched people and made them well. We need that now.
And second, that
throughout history God has led his people through one ordeal after
another. Economies have collapsed. Empires have fallen. And lives have been forever changed.
But through it
all, God remained faithful to his word, that nothing in all of creation can
separate us from his love.
May this peace
which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our
Lord. Amen
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