Palm Sunday

Hosanna!

Mark 11:1-11

Opening Words: There are 52 weeks every year. Each one is important and not a single one should be wasted. Have you every stopped to consider how many weeks have occurred in the history of the world? However, there is one week that changed our world forever, Holy Week! On the Christian calendar Holy Week is the last week of Lent, beginning on Palm Sunday and ending at dawn on Easter. It is the week the church remembers the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It recalls the expectations of Palm Sunday, the rejection of Maundy Thursday, the devastation of Good Friday and the final victory of Easter morning.

This is Palm Sunday and on this day we remember how Jesus boldly rode into the Golden City of Jerusalem and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice. Each one of the Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) record the event because it signaled the beginning of the end. May God give you ears to hear these words from Mark’s account in the first eleven verses of the eleventh chapter. Let me call this message this morning Hosanna!

Mark 11:1-11 1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.' " 4They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" 10"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"

I love the story of Alice Vanderbilt who was at lunch one day with her son, Reggie, and her new daughter-in-law, Gloria. Alice asked Gloria if she had received her pearls. Reggie replied that he had not yet bought any because the only pearls worthy of his bride were beyond his price. His mother then calmly ordered that a pair of scissors be brought to her. When the scissors arrived, Mrs. Vanderbilt promptly cut off about one-third of her own $70,000 pearl necklace and handed them to her new daughter-in-law. "There you are, Gloria," she said. "All Vanderbilt women have pearls." I love that story because it is a story of sacrifice. If someone has ever sacrificed so that you may benefit say, “Hosanna!”

When was the last time you sacrificed something so someone you love would benefit? It may have been the time you sacrificed and entire night at the opera to make someone in your life happy? It may have been that afternoon you sacrificed watching March Madness because it was important to him? It may have been that time you went to the dance recital, middle school concert or baseball game to watch a child in your life? (Have you ever noticed they are all budding superstars?) It may have been that time you charged that expensive Christmas present to make the holiday extra special for someone you love. It may have been the time you sacrificed your pride and didn’t say a thing because those words would hurt someone you love. I talked to someone lately who told me their spouse was willing to sacrifice their retinas causing them blindness so their spouse could see. I talked to someone lately who told me his daughter sacrificed a healthy kidney so he could live dialysis free. In the name of love we sacrifice all kind of things. When was the last you sacrificed something so someone you love would benefit? When was the last time someone sacrificed something for you?

If you really want to understand the Gospel lesson for this morning then you have to understand the word sacrifice. Webster defines a sacrifice as a giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance. In other words, a sacrifice is a trade. You are trading something of value for something else of greater value. It is why one would give up a retina for sight or a kidney for life. A the very heart of the Palm Sunday experience is the word sacrifice! Jesus was trading his life in this world so we could live for eternity.

When you came to church this morning, you expected to hear this particular piece of scripture. It is part of the tradition of the day. We have examined the text many times in the past. Let us look at it one more time today. Jesus is on his way into the Golden City, Jerusalem. To say the least he had a high approval rating among the folks on Main Street. The reason is obvious. The people are hungry for change. They had grown tired of the same old thing. They had grown tired of foreign domination. The people on Main Street wanted Roman rule to end and Jesus seemed to be their best chance. The Master was a charismatic leader with a powerful message. On that day everyone believed in him. They had heard of his healing power and his lessons. Everyone believed in him. Let there be no doubt about it. Their world was hungry for political change and Jesus seemed to be their best option. So when Jesus rode in they did political things. They did what they had always done in that little corner of the world to welcome conquering soldiers. They spread their robes on the ground. They waved palm branches and chanted political sayings, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" "Hosanna in the highest!" It is one of the great scenes in the Bible!

There is only one problem with this scene. Jesus didn’t come for political change. He didn’t come to liberate that generation from Roman rule. Jesus came to liberate all generations from the burdens of sin. He didn’t come to be the President of the United Nations. He didn’t come to lead a political revolution. He came to forge a relationship between God and mankind. That generation cheered “hosanna” because they hungered for political liberation. Two thousand years later our generation has a clearer understanding of that sacred day. Our generation cheers “hosanna” because we understand the need for spiritual liberation. Palm Sunday is the beginning of the end for Jesus. There would be no turning back. By week’s end the long awaited Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God, the perfect one would die like a common criminal so that we could have a relationship with God, himself. It is the greatest sacrifice in the history of the world. Jesus trades his life so that we live forever. So he rode into Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday on a simple smelly animal offering himself for the ages. And all of God’s people said, “Hosanna!”

It is said that Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the monarch asked the prisoner, "What will you give me if I release you?" "Half of my wealth," was his reply. "And if I release your children?" "Everything I possess." "And if I release your wife?" "Your Majesty, I will give myself." Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, "Wasn't Cyrus a handsome man!" With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, "I didn't notice. I could only keep my eyes on you- -the one who was willing to give his life for me.”

As we come to this communion table and begin this Holy Week together let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the one who was willing to give his life for us! And all of God people said, “Hosanna!”