Palm Sunday: A Costly Party

Palm Sunday: A Costly Party Psalm 118: 1-4, 19-29; Luke 19: 28-44 Our psalm this morning, Psalm 118, is a part of what is known as 'the Hallel', the name given by the Jews to the six psalms beginning at Psalm113. These are the Psalms which are recited together at the time of the major Jewish festivals, especially during the Passover, where the Hallel is said on the first day as part of both the morning and evening prayers. It's basically a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God for his greatness and for his wonderful love and mercy shown to his people down through the ages. And at the time of Jesus the Hallel would have been sung by the people both in the temple, when the sacrificial lambs were being offered, and then afterwards in each home over the Passover meal. Psalm 118, then, reflects this attitude of looking back on all God's blessings through the years, with many echoes of different times past being heard in it. So, for example we hear the words of Moses to the people as they're brought by God out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, we catch a glimpse of the experiences of David, the fugitive, as he escapes from a tight corner to a place of safety, or as he leads the people as they bring the Ark of the Covenant to its home in Jerusalem. Then again we're reminded of the Exiles returning from Babylon and laying the foundation of the new temple. And also there're the sounds of the prophesies of Jeremiah who, even though he's speaking in the days when the Davidic kingdom is sliding into ruination, looks to the future full of confidence that the Lord will yet save his people. And of course in the parts of the psalm that we read from this morning we now see how the words point forwards to the one who would come to save the people, and in particular to the triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. The crowds, who were in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover that week, gathered along the road as Christ made his way from Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, heading down and then up to the gates of the city ... and they were very much in a party mood! Because here was the one, of whom they'd heard so much, coming just as Zechariah had said that he would when he declared (Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9): "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" How wonderful. And so our Psalm says ( beginning from verse 19): "Open for me the gates of righteousness", and "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone", "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it", "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." Yes, for those who strew Jesus' way with palm branches that day, welcoming their King, could the party have got any better? Well you know, the trouble was that, just as we did with our reading of the Psalm, in their response to Jesus they'd actually jumped from verses 1 to 4 straight to verse 19 and what follows on from it, without considering the verses that go inbetween. Verses that speak, in contrast to the great joy and triumph of our verses, of great difficulty. If you've ever organised a party, a special get-together, you'll probably know that even though those who came along may have said afterwards what a wonderful time they'd had, and even though this pleased you no end, when it was over you were just exhausted, and you breathed a sigh of relief that it'd gone so well. Because you knew exactly what it had taken to bring about that positive result. You knew the problems that you'd had along the way. The difficulties with the baking that got burnt, the new recipes you'd tried for the first time which didn't turn out like the pictures in the book, the last minute rush around amongst the neighbours to get enough chairs, plates and cutlery. So much preparation had gone in to making the party what it had been, and yet the guests simply weren't aware of all this. No, for them, the enjoyment of the celebrations was everything. But then the fact was that without the preparation there'd have been no party. And here too the crowd simply weren't weren't aware of all the preparation that had gone into this day as they joyfully welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. They weren't aware of all that he'd been through prior to coming to that point. And in fact they weren't aware of all the preparation that was still to take place before the party could really begin; before Jesus' task was finally finished. You see they'd forgotten to consider verses 5 to 18 of Psalm 118. But then the truth was that this, as Tom Wright tells us, was where Jesus was living. In this place where we read: "In my anguish I cried to the Lord" (verse 5), "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes" (verse 9), "I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me" (verse 13), "The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death" (verse 18). You see Jesus the Son of God had experienced such tremendous rejection already throughout his life. As a baby he'd to be born in a mean stable, and then had been forced to flee for his life with his parents into Egypt. And then, from the time that he began his ministry when he was about 30, he'd suffered rejection from his own people when he'd declared in Luke chapter 4, "no prophet is accepted in his own town", from his disciples when on finding his teaching too difficult they began to desert him (John chapter 6), and of course from the religious authorities who just couldn't fit him into their ideas about God and simply wanted rid of him. And Jesus knew that the rejection was only to get worse, because these middle verses of Psalm 118 didn't tell the full story. No he was going to have to go even further, even deeper, into rejection. He'd taken refuge in the Lord (verse 8) but nevertheless the princes of verse 9 would string him up anyway. He was pushed back and he did fall, and then all that happened was that he received more beating. He was chastened severely, and then after that he was given over to death. Yes, despite the fact he'd always taken refuge in the Lord, eventually he'd cry out from the cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But then, along with the psalmist though much more so, Jesus knew that you only get to the joy of the celebrations by living through the pain and the anguish of distress, of opposition, danger and sorrow. He knew that he'd only arrive there by drinking the terrible cups that were given to him, to their dregs. However, as he went along the road to Jerusalem that day, and as he entered through those gates, Jesus was alone with this knowledge. Even his closest disciples didn't yet understand. The fact was that they also would be caught up in the wonderful event that was taking place, only to be later confused and disappointed. And so the Lord rode on, Luke tells us, with tears rolling down his cheeks. And this was because it wasn't only to him-self that he saw verses 5 to 18 of our psalm applying. Rather he saw them applying to the whole of the city, as well. He could see the nations surrounding Jerusalem (verse 10) and yet Jerusalem not being able, in the name of the Lord, to cut them off. And he could hear the "shouts of joy and victory" (verse 15) not though resounding in the tents of the righteous, but rather in the camp of the pagans who'd shortly close in on the city and destroy it, along with its temple. And all because, although its inhabitants had so longed for the great festival of freedom, they hadn't been willing to accept the necessary preparation. Well today, as the world looks on at this, the latest Palm Sunday, the reality, surely, is that the old problems still remain. There are those who continue to reject Jesus, who refuse to accept that he was anyone special. That the story of his life, death and reported resurrection has anything at all to do with them, that it should in anyway impact upon their lives. There are those too who just want to get rid of him altogether, who think the world would be a far better place if the name of Jesus Christ were never again mentioned. And then there are those who really like the idea of a party. Who like the thought that Jesus came and that he died for us all so that we might be set free to live as we should live, so that we might have the assurance of going to heaven and living forever. But then that's as far as their understanding of the matter goes. And so, as a result, unless by the grace of God their eyes are finally opened, they'll never actually arrive at the party. There are even those who once set off full of good intentions, who'd have said, "yes I understand that Jesus had to suffer as he did, I understand what his final death represented for him, and for me". But then when they realised that not only verses 19 -29 of Psalm 118 applied to them, but verses 5-18 also, well that was too much. Joy, happiness, yes, giving thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his love, yes. But not pain, not sorrow. Better to try and avoid these by not taking it all too seriously, by choosing rather to compromise with the ways of the world. Still these are ways in which so many in the crowd are thinking. What about us though, what about you and me? What is our attitude to this "Palm Sunday" as once again we join with the people of so long ago, perhaps not at the moment able to sing outloud our praises, but certainly welcoming Jesus as he rides into Jerusalem on the donkey? Can we see through the joy and exaltation that surrounds us to the pain and suffering that are there in his eyes as he looks upon those who really don't understand, who in just a few short days will either have lost interest or will be baying for his blood? Do we understand? Have we realised that all the preparation that led up to that point, and that would continue until on the cross Jesus would cry "it is finished", was for us? That God himself went through all that suffering and anguish, because of his great love for us. Because he saw that only if he did make those preparations, that only then would the party ever be able to begin? Does our praise and our thanksgiving this morning go further and deeper than the king riding in on a donkey and receiving his rightful praise? Does it take in, too, an appreciation of just how much he'd given up to be there? He who, as Paul tells the Philippians (chapter 2 fron verse 6): "being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" In the midst of our praise and celebration do we remember that cross? And, indeed, not just at this time but as we live out our lives daily, trying to behave and serve in ways pleasing to him, do we continue to remember the cross? Because you know the true party hasn't actually started yet. Yes we have the opportunity to experience the flavour of it. That's what the Church should be about; enjoying the fellowship of likeminded people, being accepted, feeling free to share without the fears of criticism and rejection that are the hallmarks of the world, that are what Jesus himself went through for us. But the real party is yet to come. And it will only finally begin when Christ Jesus the king returns in all his glory to take his people to be with him forever. That's when the latter part of Psalm 118 will truly be experienced. When God's people will know what it means in all its fullness. When, as we cry out "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever", we'll be kneeling at the foot of the throne looking upon his awesome splendour. In the meantime, though, we're still there in verses 5 to 18 of our psalm. Because, as was the case for our Lord and saviour, we'll only get to the joy of the celebrations by living through the pain, by living through the anguish, the distress, the opposition, the danger and the sorrow; through the difficulties that come with being seen as a follower of our God. Through the confusion and heartbreak of knowing that we're his and yet at times feeling so far from him. Because you see this is still the only way to the party. Because it's still the case that without the preparation there can never be a party, neither here on earth nor in heaven. Without the preparation we'll find ourselves in a similar position to the young student who phoned their mum asking how to cook an elaborate dish only to reveal, after she'd given them the full instructions, that the guests would be arriving in half an hour and they hadn't even done the shopping yet. The question of course is, are we prepared to be in verses 5 to 18 of Psalm 118. Or are we just happy to be at the party, along with the rest of the crowd, but not to face up to the difficulties that getting there will inevitably entail? Where do we, where do you, where do I stand today as Jesus passes by on his way to the cross? Are we waving from the edge of the road watching him disappear into the distance with the tears streaming down his face, or are we walking along behind him, our own tears flowing for a God rejecting world, holding onto our own cross and determined never to put it down until the celebrations begin? Amen