13th April 2025
Reflection with readings for the liturgy of the palms below
The collect for today tell us that for love of us, God sent Jesus into our world to give us a lived example of how we as human should inhabit the world.
In today’s first gospel reading, the parable Jesus has just told is that of the money (talents misdirects us into thinking of gifts or aptitudes not metal coinage) where the one who buries the money he has been given, is punished for not earning his master a rich profit. It is not a straight forward parable. Does the rich merchant present God who has given us gifts of varying value, or does the rich merchant represent the ungodly ‘world’ in which inequality is rife? Is it a parable that calls on us to make a profit for God, or one that invites us to challenge the concept of unearned profits?
This is how the parable begins: A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us”. Not an image that reflects our idea of God. And ends “But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.” Again not an image that suggests a forgiving, loving God.
Is it maybe a parable about power and kingship? In the wilderness Satan has already offered Jesus the power and wealth of all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus refused that offer then; is he also challenging what is meant by power and kingship as he prepares to enter Jerusalem? The image of power and kingship represented by Caesar, or by Herod, or by the chief priest?
Just as Jesus’s parable about financial investments is not easy to understand, I’m not sure that the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples about securing a donkey were easy. Following his instructions required a lot of faith and a lot of humility: trusting that doing what Jesus asks will not result in ridicule and that even if it does, would you will still complete the commission or look sheepish and sidle away?.
But once they have secured the donkey – once they have taken that risk and stepped outside conventional, ‘worldly’ behaviour – it is easier to enter into the spirit of the occasion. Quickly they deck the donkey with robes, and lay a red carpet of palms and yet more robes. Now they feel part of something that is both radical and special. Stepping of the pavement into the road at the start of a march can be nerve wracking – we have been brought up to walk only on the pavements – but once everyone is marching along the road, chanting and waving banners, it all becomes so much easier, so much fun: “Here we are! We’re the change that is already happening!”
The disciples are beginning to see Jesus’s plan. He is going to enter Jerusalem on his own terms. And yes it will be a triumphal eye-catching entry – no sneaking in undercover. But equally it is going to challenge the status quo. Yes Jesus is a king but not like any king that the authorities might imagine. This is a king who will humbly ride in on a donkey. He is not going to laud his authority overs. His route into the city is not going to be created by armed troops, nor is he going to be accompanied by an armed body guard that would ensure an appropriate degree of distance between king and people. This king is going to be surrounded by the ordinary people – the people of the street and the land – by people who willing choose him as their king. Jesus is not going to become king through force of power. His entry will be surrounded by genuine shouts of joy, by a widespread celebration that here at last is someone who knows their needs and will satisfy them. This is the king chosen and endowed by God as their messiah.
The example Jesus gives us is, in terms of worldly convention, not straight forward. Rather Jesus is challenging us to rethink whether we should be aligning ourselves with worldly conventions and practices. As followers of Jesus we should be thinking outside that box; we should be challenging the world’s assumptions. Power that is controlled by a small and rich elite is not how things should be in God’s kingdom. Support should not be gained through the exploitation of fear and/or greed. Kingship – authority – should be about humility and should reflect the voices of the many. Kingship/ authority should be about joy and celebration, about meeting people’s needs, restoring hope and ultimately renewing our relationship with God.
As followers of Jesus we need to find ways of supporting the incoming reign of God’s kingdom and of countering the corrupting, destructive power of the current ‘worldly’ order that we see flaunted by so many world leaders.
Luke 19:28-40
After telling a parable to the crowd at Jericho, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.'” So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
“His mercy endures for ever.”
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them;
I will offer thanks to the Lord.
20 “This is the gate of the Lord; *
he who is righteous may enter.”
21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing, *
and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 On this day the Lord has acted; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! *
Lord, send us now success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; *
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord; he has shined upon us; *
form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.
28 “You are my God, and I will thank you; *
you are my God, and I will exalt you.”
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; *
his mercy endures for ever.
The Green Tau 