Rebellion

 

When Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he was greeted with great shouts of “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!” “Hosanna” in Hebrew translates, “Save us!” The crowds were tired of Roman rule and oppression. There was always a new messiah (king) that sprung up to free the people of Israel and bring their nation back to its former glory. Even Peter himself was carrying a sword on the night of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and sprang into action, cutting off the ear of a Roman official. The crowd, the disciples were primed and ready to throw off their overlords by taking up their arms and fighting for a better tomorrow.

Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a young colt or donkey, depending on which gospel you read. Many expected him to ride a battle tested war-horse or beautiful specimen that befits the new King of Israel. But he rode in and greeted the people as he entered, went to the Temple where it stood empty in the evening and left Jerusalem for the Mount of Olives. When he overturned the money changers’ tables inside the Temple, he was not attacking Roman rule, Jesus was showing displeasure of how his own people acted. Each day, he met with people and answered their questions and engaged them in self-reflection.

On that night of betrayal when Peter arose to defend his new ‘king,’ Jesus told him to put his weapons away and then he healed the one who was maimed. Though Jesus suffered at the hands of both religious and government authorities, he showed love and compassion, even asking that those who were driving the nails into his flesh to hang him on the cross, that they might be forgiven, for they know not what they do.

Jesus calls on his followers beforehand to take up their own crosses if they want to follow him. Jesus tells them to be great, one must be a servant to all. Jesus tells us that all the laws and prophets are summed up in this way: “To treat others as you want to be treated.”

Yes, Jesus called his disciples and others to pay attention to the weightier matters of justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick and in prison. It wasn’t a private code of conduct for the chosen and it wasn’t nation building that Jesus came to create.

“Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near!” is a way of life that involves others, that welcomes, feeds, heals, forgives, and lifts up. We turn toward love, away from selfishness, security, and sanctimony, humbling ourselves just as Jesus did on the young donkey, just as he did on the cross. Have a blessed Holy Week.

Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month’s contributor is Pastor Enno K. Limvere, Designated Pastor of First Congregational Church of Grand Marais, United Church of Christ.