Palm Sunday Sermon, March 24, 2024, by the Rev. Dr. Tara W. Bulger

Mark 11:1-11

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’”

They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it.

Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

It has been said that there are only seven stories in the world. All of the books, all of the novels, all of the movies, television and even songs—all of them are just one of seven types of stories. The types of stories are: overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. Think of Shakespeare’s Macbeth: a story about a Scottish king who tries to kill everyone who might stand in the way of his power, and who goes mad in the process. Defiantly a tragedy. Or, I just saw Dune 2 last weekend—its the story of Paul Atreides who seeks to avenge his father’s death. Defiantly a quest story. 

And each story has an arc that many of us could name or identify. We know how the rags to riches storyline goes, for the most part. Some stories are so familiar, that we feel like we know the ending of them from the beginning.

There are two stories happening in our Palm Sunday text. One story looks really familiar. One story will surprise us all.

The first story isn’t explicitly described in our text today but it is in the background and it is integral to our story. The setting for this story is the Pax Romana—the Peace of Rome. The Pax Romana is a roughly 200-year-long period of Roman history which is identified as a period of increased and sustained Roman imperialism, relative peace and order, prosperous stability, hegemonic power, and regional expansion. Its the golden age of Rome. The Pax Romana may have been a time of peace, but make no mistake the peace was kept with violence and subjugation. To step outside the Roman laws was to be punished severely and ethnic groups like the Jews were oppressed and mistreated. This is the Jerusalem in the Roman Empire that Jesus is entering.

And this story, of Rome’s peace kept through violence, has a leader—in this case, the Roman governor. This passage from Mark’s gospel takes place at the Jewish festival of passover and the city is teeming with people. People are excited to celebrate the Passover and visit with friends and family and the city is filled with excitement and energy. Jerusalem, at the passover, is not unlike Auburn or Tuscaloosa on a game day—filled with so many people the crowds could easily get out of hand. The Roman governor, who usually resided in Caesarea on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, comes to Jerusalem for the Passover not for religious reasons but because he is worried with keeping the peace when the city is so full. He comes into Jerusalem to control the crowds and keep everyone in line. He comes to keep the peace.

When the governor comes into Jerusalem—in his story—he enters the city from the west with an excessive show of military power—pomp and circumstance— and he comes riding on a stallion. A stallion bedecked with Roman armor. The story of the Roman governor is the story of power held through might and the threat of that violence is shown in everything he does. He comes in glory. This story has all the makings of a tragedy for anyone who dares fall out of line.

Our other story is the story of Jesus coming into Jerusalem, which we find in our reading today. Jesus enters the city from the east, riding on a colt. He is humble and people lay their cloaks on the ground for him. The procurement of the colt, the children lining the streets shouting Hosanna—those are all echoes of Old Testament prophecies. It is clear to us, who are looking at this story with the advantage of time and distance, that there is a statement being made about Jesus —that he is clearly the opposite of the Roman governor.

But the crowds who gather around Jesus and yell for him do not grasp that. All they see is the fulfillment of the prophecies and the hope that Jesus will overthrow the Romans and end their oppression. When the people shout, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David,” they mean that they want Jesus to become a king like David—another king who also ruled with military power. The people gathered around Jesus are used to only one kind of story—one in which power is overthrown by a greater show of power—and that is what they hope for.

But our king is on a colt. This story is not like the other story. And if you travel with us this Holy Week, through Maundy Thursday to Good Friday, from the Last Supper to the tomb, you will find that Jesus’ story is not like anything you have heard before. And his story does not end in military might, but in servitude and death. And, thank God, resurrection.

So I mentioned I saw Dune last week. There is a scene in the movie where the young hero Paul is talking to his mother. His father has been killed and Paul is now in charge of leading his people. As Paul talks to his mother he asks her, “What do you think Dad would do if he were in my shoes?” And his mother says, “Your father didn’t believe in revenge.” And Paul stops and looks at her and says, “Well I do.” And that is the premise of the whole movie—-that’s the best part of the movie, watching him take revenge on the evil Harkonnens. We root for him in his quest. Because we understand revenge. We understand being hurt and wanting to lash out.

But Jesus doesn’t believe in revenge, or military conquest, or a return to the Davidic kingdom. He is here for something much larger, much more world changing, much more radical. And I invite you to come to our services this week to fully experience the story of Jesus and his suffering, so that Easter morning may be met with the greatest joy.