A City in Turmoil

Matthew 21:1-11
21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,

21:2 saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.

21:3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately."

21:4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

21:5 "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

21:6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them;

21:7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.

21:8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

21:9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

21:10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?"

21:11 The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Jesus has entered our congregations this season of Lent and Easter.  Jesus has entered into the culture and our lives.  He has entered into our fasting from chocolate and wine, from Facebook and Twitter.  I have a feeling that Jesus has entered in and found us all in a state of turmoil.  Some people, in the gospel story above, were ready for Jesus' arrival.  They may have even played a part in ushering in this dramatic protest, because it was most definitely a protest.  They were ready to lay their coats on the road and branches under the donkey's feet while shouting "Hosanna in the highest heaven".  Most probably saw that Jesus' peaceful and humble entry was in stark contrast to the entry of powerful leaders through the cities gates, and were willing to risk their participation in such a protest because they were ready for the winds of change.  I think our churches have been found in a state of turmoil because we are more prepared for the entry of powerful leaders and dignitaries than for king Jesus.

Jesus' preparation for this event, really started in the announcement of his coming.  Jesus would enter this world in hushed scandal.  He would be carried by a young girl who carried not only the Son of God but the shame of a judgmental culture.  The rulers and kings wanted him dead before he had breathed life.  His parents would have to move and become foreigners and strangers in a scary culture and time.  Jesus would be born among the animals and their waste, wrapped in rags and on the run again before he could walk.  He would enter the temple where he challenged the understandings of men more than twice his age.  He would share a table with prostitutes and thieves, share water with a woman looking for escape in the noon day sun.  He resisted the desire to build an altar and temple on a mountain of transfiguration with the voice of his father and the presence of prophets past.  He risked being called unclean as he entered the tomb of a friend, dead four days in a valley of dry bones and called him to rise and walk again.  Many people lived in the middle of this story and still missed it.  And today, many people live surrounded by this gospel story in their congregations, week in and week out, and still miss it.  So how do we make sure we aren't missing it, how do we make sure that we don't just react to the arrival of Jesus, in turmoil.

First, move outside of the city gates to receive him.  Just like much of the gospel stories, there is a familiar call to go outside the gates.  Leaving the gates means moving outside the comfort, the security, the known and the recognizable to be surprised.  For those crowds that received Jesus, they saw with their eyes the announcement of a new type of king.  A king that came on the back of a donkey and not a steed.  A king that was of the people, for the people.  A king who was taking the form of a slave, that would humble himself and taste in death, even death on a cross. 

Second, be ready for something completely different.  I think the people that went ahead of Jesus and those that followed behind him, had a major decision to make when they saw him.  They could have seen this ridiculous image of the Messiah riding on the back of a donkey and said, "this isn't what I expected, I don't know I can get behind this kind of king".  The fact we know that people followed after him, towards Jerusalem, we know that people were willing to get past any preconceived ideas of what a triumphal entry would look like and follow after a humble king. 

Lastly, be aware turmoil is often the only response that makes any sense.  Jesus entering into the city, at the time that he did, in the way that he did, proclaiming the message that he was proclaiming, was no doubt going to cause turmoil. Jesus didn't just enter the city as a Messiah that the prophets had proclaimed.  He entered as Jesus, son of man, the one who drank too much, the one who had twisted scriptures in dangerous ways, the one who used blasphemous language about his divinity, the one who forgave sins and was merciful to the meek.  To a brutal society, grace and mercy are tools of the resistance and turmoil is the only reasonable response.  We have to be honest with ourselves that we are often more shaken by Jesus than we care to admit.  If we can't be honest with ourselves we have a tendency to water down Jesus until he is something palatable and much less dangerous. 

The response, from the city in turmoil, was to ask "who is this?".  I have a feeling that the majority of churches in this country would kick Jesus out if he showed up on Easter Sunday.   When Jesus says things like, "whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me", I think Jesus is speaking literally.  Whoever is the least in your community, or who you have rejected from your community, that is Jesus.  Jesus is the visitor with an intellectual or developmental disability.  Jesus is the gay person that showed up for Easter Sunday.  He is the transgender potential church member wondering how you will handle the "bathroom situation".  She is the woman who has been hurt more than you can imagine by a patriarchal society that is asking her to "get over" her rape and abuse by her ex-husband and submit again to male leadership.  He is the young black man wearing his pants lower than you feel comfortable with and he is noticing the way that people are following him around the church hallways, all for the sake of "security".  Jesus is the drunk homeless man who smells of urine and takes too many bagels because it is all he's eaten in a few days.  I hope your church is in turmoil this Easter Sunday.  I hope you find yourself asking, "who is this?" when these visitors enter your door.  I hope, more than anything, that you have eyes to see that it just might be Jesus.