SERMON (29-03-2015)
JESUS’ HUMBLE JOURNEY (From Mark 11.1-11)
Today our joy is real. Our King is come. For many years, Jesus seemed to take a
furtive and shy approach to his public ministry. Our Lord would give explicit instructions to
others not to say a word about his healing words or his declaration to sinners that their sins
are forgiven. He did appear in glory on Mount Tabor, transfigured in uncreated Light, and
yet that was only for a few of the disciples, not even all twelve. Jesus maintains humility and
a low-profile throughout his life.
But today it’s a different story. The joyous acclamation spread throughout
Jerusalem and Jesus let it come to him. The crowds rush in and publicly declare before
Jesus, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom
of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!’ Jesus must have known well how fickle this
praise was, from fair-weather friends, and yet he doesn’t rebuke the crowds. He lets them
conspicuously honour Him, fulfilling their humanity in adoration of God in the flesh, the eikon
of the invisible Father. I think that we should thank Jesus that He graciously accepts their
praises, knowing that soon the crowds will be at his throat. For likewise, God also accepts
our praises, our singing on Sunday despite our sinning on Monday. Were God to only
accept perfect praise, then none of us could experience the joy of glorifying our King.
Jesus accepts this great praise, and doesn’t merely walk into Jerusalem as he
would have done many times before. He arranges to ride in, and so legitimises the heroic
welcome, as he seeks and legitimises our praises too.
But in the middle of praise, Jesus’ journey still remains humble. His choice of
animal is low to the ground, a donkey. He chooses not to address the crowd, tempting as it
must have been to spur them on and feed on their adulation, like a rock star at a concert.
Indeed instead of speaking to the praising masses, he goes on the Temple. He’s not
distracted from the spiritual, from his deeper calling. And then, as we heard, he doesn’t
even stay in the city. He could have been hosted by anyone that night, but instead he
leaves for the satellite town of Bethany. A small place, a humble place.
OUR HUMBLE JOURNEY
Jesus provides a model here for all of us. Humility amid the celebrations of life.
Or, put the other way, joy and praise but with a humble nature. Not avoiding the
celebrations, but nor shirking the humility. I think that sometimes in life it can seem as if it’s
a choice between one or the other. We can meet people who seem to be so self-focussed
that they can’t get enough praise, seeking it wherever they can possibly get it, drawing
attention to themselves in whatever way they can. Or then there are those that seem
incapable of joy and celebration, being too caught up in a down-cast spirit that never lifts its
head to glorify God in the highest. Too caught up in the suffering of the world to celebrate its
wonders. And of course, not just other people. All of us should recognise our own
temptations here too. Temptations to despair, temptation to live by the praise and opinion of
others. But Jesus shows us a better way.
He shows us that, as Christians, joy and humility need each other. He doesn’t
say tone down the joy a bit, tone down the humility a bit, and then you can meet in the
middle. Instead He shows that full joy needs full humility. That to be fully humble requires
full praise. Blessed are the poor in spirit, our Lord declares. Joyous are the humble. And
humble are the joyous.
The English writer GK Chesterton loved this seeming paradox of the Christian
life. He it expressed it once by saying, ‘One can hardly think too little of one’s self. One can
hardly think too much of one’s soul.’ Or, in a more imaginative way, he put it this way: ‘the
angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.’
Jesus can take the praise today, because he is humble and rides on a donkey.
And he can take the humiliation of the cross because he is filled with the Holy Spirit whose
fruit is joy. Jesus even leads us in cultivating both humility and joy in our liturgy every week.
We draw near to God in repentance of our sins, but also in unfathomable joy as Christ takes
away our sins by His blood. In utter humility and humiliation that we are chief of sinners, and
in utter levity and joy that in Christ we are nothing less than temples of the Holy Spirit, the
holy of holies where God dwells in all of his power and grace. We are anguished at the
suffering Christ takes for us, and yet we call this Friday Good and sing joyfully with tears at
the miracle of miracles he won that day.
We stand today on the cusp of Holy Week, full of both joy and humility, led by our
joyous king who is humble and rides on a donkey.
OTTO VON HAPSBURG
A few years ago, in 2011, Otto von Hapsburg died. He was the last Crown-Prince
of Austria-Hungary, reigning only for a few years when he was a child before the dissolution
of this illustrious monarchy in 1918. He had been exiled then to Spain, but had since
returned to Bavaria where he died. According to long-standing custom, his casket was taken
to the Church where the Imperial Crypt lies, surrounded by mourners, and led by a Herald
who knocked loudly on the church door. ‘Who demands entry?’ called the priest from within.
The Herald responded: ‘Otto of Austria; former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary; Prince
Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria, and
Illyria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg’, and the list went
on for a while. The voice from inside responded, ‘We don’t know him’.
And so the procedure was repeated, this time with the Herald more simply
introducing the deceased with ‘Dr Otto von Hapsburg’, President of the Pan-European
Union, Member of the European Parliament. The priest again responded, ‘We don’t know
him.’ A third time, the Herald was asked who sought admission to the Crypt, and this time
he responded differently. ‘Otto, a mortal, sinful human being’. At this, the priest finally
opened the gates, exclaiming, ‘Thus he may come in’.
The door to God’s kingdom is open to you, but the bar is low. We enter Holy
Week with great praise, and with deep humility.
CONFIRMATION ‘YES’
Anne, Skye and Mary, together with your Mum you will soon be standing up
publicly and joyfully saying ‘Yes’ to God. Your hosannas are joined with the Palm Sunday
crowd, and with all of us, as we adore our glorious King with you, who comes in grace and
peace. Already you have been claimed by Him in baptism, marked by His cross. And today
you are confirmed in that faith, by your vows, and by the church’s blessing of you with the
Holy Spirit.
Will you always remain faithful to the Lord? We always pray that all Christians will
remain faithful, and yet we know well our own hearts, we’re humble and realistic about our
sinful nature. Indeed the holy week ahead shows the trials that are waiting for us as the
crowds, like us, abandon our Lord.
Well, we pray you will always be faithful, but that’s not what our confidence today
is in. We are humble because of our faulty faithfulness, but we are full of joy in God’s perfect
faithfulness. Faithful to you, faithful to all of us, faithful to His Church, faithful to His
promises, faithful to the grave. He will never let you go.
So even when we are like the people of Jerusalem, fair-weather friends, our Lord
still goes about his saving work. Even when your hosannas change to ‘crucify him’, this king
is still working for you, calling you back, gracious and gentle, not to condemn you but to
save you.
We are full of humility. And we are full of joy. Hosanna to the Son of David.
Amen.
Proclaimed on Palm Sunday, 29 March 2015 at St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Grovedale by Pastor Tom Pietsch.