“A Parade On A Collision Course”

“A Parade On A Collision Course”

Text: Luke 19:28-40

© April 1, 2007 by C. Edward Bowen

A riot had broken out. A riot had broken out at the La Mesa prison in Tijuana, Mexico. Twenty-five hundred prisoners, who were jammed into a facility that was designed for just six hundred, started throwing broken glass bottles at the police, who then responded by firing their machine guns at the inmates.

But at the peak of the pandemonium, as glass and bullets were flying back and forth, a tiny, five-foot-two, 63-year-old woman, dressed in a nun’s habit, walked right out in the middle of all that chaos and bloodshed, and held up her hands to signify to both sides that enough was enough. And somewhat miraculously both sides in that conflict stopped.

You see, for 25 years Sister Antonia had voluntarily chosen to live in that prison, staying in a ten-foot by ten-foot concrete cell with no hot water, and being surrounded day in and day out by convicted thieves, murderers, and drug lords. And for 25 years Sister Antonia had devoted herself to caring for the sick, counseling those who were contemplating suicide, and washing the bodies of the dead for burial. For 25 years, Sister Antonia was convinced that it was in the midst of that dangerous and violent place that God had called her to serve.

After that riot ended, many of the inmates and police officers agreed that Sister Antonia was the only person they knew on the face of the earth who could have pulled something like that off. She was the only person they knew on the face of the earth who could walk out between two angry groups – two angry groups that were both intent on hurting and even killing those on the other side – and who could bring about an end to the violence, who could bring about peace.[1]

When I came across that story about Sister Antonia, it made me think: that’s what the church is supposed to be like. In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, the mission of the church should be to have the courage to walk out into the middle of the fray and say to people, “Enough is enough.” In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, the mission of the church – the mission for us Christians – should be to do what we can to take a stand for peace.

We call today, of course, Palm Sunday. And on Palm Sunday we remember the joyful parade that took place as Jesus entered into Jerusalem as the Passover festival was set to begin. But what you might not be aware of is that at the same time that Jesus was having his parade, heading into the city from the east, from the Mount of Olives, there was another parade heading into the city, but this one was coming in from the west.

That other parade, the one coming into the city from the west, was for the Roman governor, a man by the name of Pontius Pilate. You see, during most of the year the Roman governor lived in his palace along the Mediterranean, about 60 miles west of Jerusalem. But it was customary at Passover for the governor to make the trip to Jerusalem to be there during the festival. But he didn’t go so that he could take part in the religious observances. No, he went because at Passover tens of thousands of visitors flooded into Jerusalem, and the governor always wanted to be there so that he could deal with any kind of disturbances or uprisings that might take place.

And so as the governor, Pontius Pilate, made his way into the city, he did so riding in on a mighty horse. And in his parade were hundreds of armed troops, carrying their spears and swords. And the message that Pilate’s parade was trying to communicate was quite simple and direct. The message they were trying to communicate was: Look out! We stand for the Roman Empire’s way of doing things. We stand for violence, for revenge, and for intimidation.[2]

But as Pontius Pilate’s parade was headed into Jerusalem from the west, announcing a message of violence, revenge, and intimidation, coming in from the east, from the Mount of Olives, on a direct collision course, was Jesus’ parade, a parade that was seeking to communicate an entirely different kind of message.

And to understand what message Jesus’ parade was trying to communicate, I want to ask you to open the pew Bibles in front of you to page 884 in the front part – Zechariah 9:9. That’s page 884, Zechariah 9:9. Because when Jesus’ parade entered Jerusalem and people saw what that parade looked like, there’s no doubt that these verses – verse 9 and verse 10 – would have immediately come to the people’s minds. Because starting with Zechariah 9:9, it says: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! (Zion is the name the of hill where the city of Jerusalem is.) Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

You see, normally a king or a mighty ruler would come riding into the city on a fine, strong horse – like Pontius Pilate did in his parade. But here Zechariah says that the real king, the king that God is going to send, is going to arrive in a much more humble way, riding on a donkey, riding on a colt. And so when the people of Jerusalem saw Jesus on that donkey, that made them think: this must be the special king that God has sent to us.

But what kind of king? In verse 10, it says: “He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations.” According to Zechariah, what kind of king was God going to send into the world? Not a king with armies and weapons and a thirst for blood. No, the king God was going to send would be a king who would stand for peace, who would bring an end to armies, who would bring an end to weapons, who would bring an end to the thirst for blood.

And then if you would turn into the New Testament, in the back part of the Bible to page 83 – to Luke 19:41. Because what do we find Jesus doing as soon as his parade is over? On page 83, starting at Luke 19:41, it says: “As Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes!” In other words, Jesus was lamenting the fact that he was coming with a message of peace, but the people of Jerusalem weren’t seeing it. They had become so used to the Roman way, the way of violence and revenge and intimidation, that they couldn’t bring themselves to realize that another way was possible – a way of peace.

A basic question seems to be: In our lives, which parade are we a part of? The parade led by Pontius Pilate – a parade of violence, revenge, and intimidation – or the parade led by Jesus – a parade where we’re called upon to stand up for peace?

By looking at the world around us, it certainly appears that there are a lot of people who are a part of Pilate’s parade. For instance, recently I read that a fast growing trend among some teenagers is for them to get together with their friends and go out and beat up, or even kill, homeless people on street. They’re not doing it for the money – homeless people don’t generally have any money speak of. No, those teenagers are doing that simply because they figure that it’s a violent world, and going out and attacking homeless people is an easy and convenient way for them take part in some violence themselves.[3]

But even Jesus’ own disciples were guilty of that same sort of thing. Maybe you remember that when the soldiers came to the garden to arrest Jesus, what did the disciples do? In an attempt to defend Jesus, one of them pulled out a sword and cut off the ear of one of the guards. But right away, Jesus snapped at the disciples and said, “Enough is enough.”

At that moment, at least, the disciples must have been thinking, “The world is a violent place, and the only way to respond to violence is with more violence.” But Jesus was trying to get them to see that, despite what they might think, there is another way – a way of peace. And that way of peace was something that Jesus believed so strongly in, that he wasn’t willing to kill for it, but he was willing to do something even more – he believed so strongly in the way of peace that he was willing to die for it.

Even on this Palm Sunday, there are two parades taking place in the world today – each of them headed in entirely opposite directions. There is the parade headed by the likes of Pontius Pilate – a parade of violence, revenge, and intimidation – a parade that has many, many followers. And there is the parade led by Jesus – a parade of peace. Which parade are you a part of? Which parade do you want to be a part of? In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, have the faith to follow in the way of Jesus. In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, have the faith to say “Enough is enough.” In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, have the faith to believe that there is another way – the way of peace.