PALM SUNDAY

PALM SUNDAY-

Jerusalem was to that time, place and religion as Mecca and the Kabbah is to Islam. It was a place that a faithful Jew ought to go.

Judaism at the time was a sacrificial religion- meaning it was not unusual in that time and place to offer sacrifices – and in this religious custom – you did this in one central (meaning main) place. In this case, the time and place where one came to celebrate Passover- Jerusalem, and you came to the temple to offer these sacrifices. The idea here was to “get right with God”.

To even get to the temple you had to go through an expensive and elaborate process. One thing you had to do prior to arrival to the temple was to get through an expensive and elaborate ritual cleansing process. You were not allowed in, unless you were ritually pure, meaning not a sinner. But remember, unlike our time, here a “sin” did not necessarily mean a moral failing. In fact, religion was not generally “about” morals or morality. This whole issue of morality seemed to have been an aside – which sounds strange to us, where morality, and helping to solidifying ones moral development is often an integral point of religion today. The main idea of religion had to do with keeping order in society, and making a person ritually right with God.

Being ritually impure meant one had broken some religious law or rule – like touching a dead person or a pig. If you were a woman and you had your period, this made you impure… or if you touched a woman who had her period. If you mingled with “disreputable” people, collaborated with the Romans, blasphemed against God, etc., some examples of what made you a “sinner”.

So, as you can tell, some things you could avoid, but some things you could not. But one way or another, you had to get cleaned in order to make it right with God. This often involved something akin to baptism. At that time and place and religion, part of the purification process involved baptism, which would allow you to get close to God – in a physical sense… meaning the temple. Proselytes got baptized, converts got baptized, people who needed to get to the temple and couldn’t (due to having broken some ritual rule), got baptized. There was a ritual purity difference between the person getting baptized and the person doing the baptism.

Getting “pure” only allowed you to approach the temple and God… it was the offering of the sacrifice that made you “right” with God again. One offered an animal as a means to do this. And the animal chosen for this depended on the degree of “not right” one was with God. So, lesser “sins” demanded small animals like doves or similar animals. But you had to buy these animals at the temple- raised specifically for sacrifice. And in order to buy them, you had to use “temple” money- special coins just for the temple precincts and functions – like buying sacrificial animals… which meant changing the coins people normally carried around for the temple coins. We have our military industrial complex (or our automobile industrial complex, or our medical healthcare complex…) and they had their temple industrial complex.

Jesus comes into Jerusalem in a very specific manner – one designed to remind people of the prophetic words about the king coming into Jerusalem (on a donkey- in humble fashion, rather than as a conqueror). Matthew and Luke give a genealogical pedigree to Jesus – and both have Jesus coming from the Davidic line. This makes him (from the Gospel writers point of view at least) a legitimate heir to the throne – on which sat a man (Herod) placed in his post by the Romans. John’s Gospel, Jesus is not only given political legitimacy, but divine legitimacy (Son of God).

Needless to say he challenged the political system! But he also challenged the religious system as well. Although he was an itinerant preacher/healer, his mission was to preach the Gospel of repentance. The Kingdom of God was coming! He spoke of what this kingdom was like. He talked about the just use of power (both political and religious). He talked about the just use of money – in fact Jesus talked more about the use of money than anything else! As far as he was concerned, as much as the temple was the house of God, those running it were abusing their power. This was not, by the way, a new idea. Correcting and righting the abuses of the temple system were voiced often by those being abused by this system (rabbis and others)… but who had the power to change such an engrained system?

The temple was the place where ones sins were forgiven… but Jesus claimed to do this as well! If he could forgive sins, then then what did you need the temple system for? It is possible he gave people another hope to hang on to.

At that time, a fragile peace existed between the Judeans/Israelites, and the Roman conquerors. When Rome conquered, they did allow the conquered people some special privileges (no longer rights); “We (meaning the Romans) will let you have your religions, and some of your leadership positions still… but you have to pay us tax, recognize that Caesar is divine… and … very important… NO rebellion! Or we’ll destroy you totally! Deal?” “Yes sir… thank you, sir… may I have another?” It was a deal they couldn’t refuse.

Well on this day (at least we commemorate it on this day) Jesus comes into town – with the people proclaiming him as king. At least some people. Bart Ehrman the New Testament Scholar (from Duke University I believe) says that had this crowed that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem been very big, or at least as big as seems to be portrayed in the Gospels, then the Romans would have FOR SURE heard about this and crushed it VERY quickly!

Here’s the thing- during Passover, the population of Jerusalem would have grown many, many times it’s normal size. It raised the potential for – in the Romans eyes – a lot of trouble! The last place and time they would have wanted any trouble would have been in Jerusalem during Passover! And guess what, here comes a guy who’s already not made friends with the religious leaders, and now was pushing the limits with the Romans by coming into town in this manner – with the people calling him their legitimate king (sedition under Roman law).

And yet some people recognize this entry – with cheering and palms. Perhaps they had high hopes; to get out from under Roman rule, to change the political or religious system, to bring back God’s just on earth (or at least Jerusalem)… to do so many things. But by the end of the week, Jesus has been arrested, tried, and is executed. By the end of our week, there is a very different “feel” that what we had on Sunday! No celebrations or happy music! By the end of this week – Holy Week – the hope that this new “king” had brought… seem to die with him! Hopes have been raised for a New Kingdom… and by Friday they are dead along with Jesus. His followers, particularly his disciples, are scared for their lives! The Romans did not play around – they crushed insurrection severely!

Jesus knew his work would eventually lead him to Jerusalem. He knew this would lead to his death. If you come to the Holy Week services, you’ll recognize more the sense of what he was trying to teach in that last little bit of time he had with them; the last supper, the foot washing, etc.

The Romans killed Jesus – with the encouragement of the Hebrew religious leaders. I think the idea was something like, “Better this insignificant preacher/healer dies, than him putting our whole culture and people at risk of losing it all!” Unfortunately, about 40 years later, there is a rebellion… and not only is it put down violently, but the Jewish people are then dispersed through out the known world – the diapsora.

So now we come to the questions for the week… WHY did Jesus have to die? DID he have to die?

This is the week to look at these questions. Have you ever asked them? How have you answered them? Have you affirmed your answers over the years? Or has time –and all that time brings with it- caused you to change your answers?

What did Jesus have to say? About God, and politics, and religion, and money, and justice, and life?

What did his LIFE have to say? How he lived it, what he did or didn’t do?

Did his death add or take away from his words and his life?

Questions to look at – especially this week.