Saturday, April 8th, 2017
Peace
If you were standing on the street, waving a palm-branch in the air as Jesus made his procession past you, what would you be looking for? What would you be cheering about?
Remember, you don't get the benefit of hindsight, so you've got to put yourself in their shoes. Pretend you don't know about Jesus' coming death on the cross for our sins. Imagine you've been dealing with those invading Roman armies, their high taxes, their blatant disregard for the traditions of your ancestors.
Those ancient people were looking for salvation, just as we do today.
It's true that they were looking to be saved from the occupation of the Romans, yes, but essentially they wanted to see God's kingdom established on this earth, just as we do. And yet we commonly shake our heads in dismay, saying that their limited view of a messiah was purely political. We say they missed the whole point of the messiah.
You know me, I like to turn things upside-down a bit, so bear with me: I wonder, could we miss the point too?
What are we looking for in salvation? We enthusiastically cheer him into our midst, hoping to see our problems solved, and the nuisances of life, abolished. Everybody hurts and we all have struggles. Each of us needs strength to survive the stresses of life, and Jesus offers hope to bear that pain. But do we stop there?
I saw an interview on YouTube recently where someone went around the streets of Jerusalem asking Israelis why they think Jesus is not the messiah. It was fascinating to hear their replies. Jesus couldn't be the messiah, many said, because there still isn't peace on earth.
Peace on earth.
On Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus entry into Jerusalem, where the people threw down palm branches on the road in front of him. It has come to be known as the Triumphal Entry, and that term actually originates in Rome! Successful generals, after returning from battle with Roman forces, would make a procession through the city to the adulation of crowds.
But with Jesus, instead of riding through town on a war horse, or mounted in a chariot, he is seated upon a lowly donkey. Instead of returning from a time of war, he is precipitating a time for peace.
We cheer him into our life so that that pain from our childhood doesn't hold the same sway over us, or we cry hosanna out to him so that we can be freed from our addictions and our torments. Each of these requests are legitimate, and Jesus wants to take our pains upon himself. But the purpose of our suffering, the purpose of his suffering, is a world of peace.
It looks to me like peace isn't that important to many Christians. In fact, Christians often seem to be the loudest advocates for war.
It's sad, because so many of Jesus' teachings are about peace. For example, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." And, "if someone strikes you on the cheek, turn the other to him as well. If someone asks for your cloak, give them your shirt too. If someone forces you to walk a mile with them, walk two."
He also said things like, "he who is without sin cast the first stone" and "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
See what I mean? We should seek peace in every facet of our life so that it will spill over into those around us. We need to be at peace with our lot in life, with our pain, with our losses, with our envy. We need to live at peace with people we don't like, people who drive us crazy, people who we wish would go away.
Then, just imagine the triumphal entry in a new way! Jesus ushering in a world of peace that will change our planet forever!
Amen.
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