Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
Who is This?
There were thousands of people walking around Lexington Avenue and 49th Street. Thousands, far more than the normal lunch hour crowd. Thousands, speaking many languages and craning their necks to see …. I don't know what. The hotdog and hot pretzel vendors were swamped with customers. The traffic was completely snarled. And the police? There were hundreds, hundreds, from the NYPD and as many from surrounding cities and boroughs. They stood no more than three or four feet apart all around the city block. So many different uniforms, different colors, different hats – and all were especially crisp and polished.
What was going on? My first thought was that there was a huge police convention at the Waldorf Astoria. But a police convention at the grand, old Waldorf? Then I noticed limos – lots of them. And liveried drivers leaning against the limos. Limos lined the avenue and the side streets. Who was in the Waldorf? What was going on? "The whole city was in turmoil," writes Matthew, "Who is this?
Then I saw limos bearing American flags. The first carried Henry Kissinger. Next was Richard Nixon. There were flags from another dozen nations. The news that night reported a meeting of heads of state from around the world at the Waldorf. And I thought it was a police convention!
Today, we celebrate with another city in excited turmoil, Jerusalem. Pilgrims crowd its streets to commemorate Passover, to praise God for their liberation from the Egyptians so long ago. Pilgrims gather to make sacrifice in the Temple, the sure location of God, the holiest place in all the world.
Liberation. Freedom. The place of holiness.
There is a commotion at the city gate. A crowd surges around a single figure. "Who is this?" they ask. "Can it be the Messiah who will free us from the Romans?" He is riding humbly on a donkey, just as Isaiah foretold. The Jesus stories are shared: He has cured so many. He has fed thousands with almost nothing. He has even raised Lazarus from the dead. "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven."
With a communal memory of liberation and this astonishing Jesus of Nazareth at the gate, a buzz of expectations begins. Maybe Passover will become more than an ancient recollection. Maybe this Passover will return the Messiah who will free them again.
Hosanna in the highest heaven, Hosanna, Jesus of Nazareth. Save us from this life, Jesus of Nazareth!
Expectations soar, fueled by a glorious story or freedom, current oppression, hope, and the excitement in the air. His followers and complete strangers, swept up in the moment, cover the ground with cloaks and palm fronds and honor Jesus as a king of Israel. Their hearts burn with the prayer that this will be the last Passover pilgrimage to the temple under the Romans.
Why then will the hosannas of today become calls to "crucify him" in just four days? How is it that the story will careen from this day of glorious celebration to betrayal, suffering, murder, and silent despair? I invite you to attend as many of the services this week as you can to relive the sacred story that is Holy Week. We have prepared our hearts and minds and souls during these weeks of Lent to clear out what separates us from God. We have considered what we have done, and what we have failed to do, that separates us from God. We have compared our lives to the promises we have made in our Baptisms. We have seen how Jesus has modeled all the Baptismal promises for us, in the simplicity of a shared meal and the decisiveness of embracing those who seek God above all. Celebrate what you have embraced and what you have discarded as you have prepared for this most Holy Week.
Today, we reflect on the sixth of our Baptismal promises, to strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being. This is what Jesus has done in embracing all those who strive for God. It is what he has done in inviting all others to strive for God as well. It is his outreach to the marginalized; his active concern for people even when it meant conflict with the law. It is his welcome to his new kingdom, one based on our living in justice and peace, one based on our actions of respect for the dignity of every human being.
How can a way of life that puts God and one another first, a way that is loving and peace-giving end in death? What happens? In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus and the enthusiastic followers enter Jerusalem. He approaches the Temple where pilgrims from throughout the world offer sacrifices. Only Jewish money is approved for Temple use, so visitors with Roman and Greek coins must first convert their money. The eyes of so many are on Jesus as he approaches the Temple. But rather than purchasing a sacrifice, Jesus overturns the tables of the money changers and knocks the chairs out from under the dove sellers. Why? All he asks is that we love God above all else and love our neighbors as ourselves. Charging exorbitant Passover rates, cheating foreigners and the poor, and distracting people from adoring God contradicts all that he asks.
Imagine the faces of those who think that Jesus is the new David of Judaism. Imagine the reactions of the temple authorities. Imagine the Romans, as they watch the surge of Jewish humanity around Jesus.
Who is this? Savior, traitor, insurgent? Who is this? Miracle worker, teacher, embracer of all, Christ? Who is this? God and man who invites us to his last supper at this table? He is all these and more. Journey with him this week. Stand with him as others abandon him. Discover him as the turmoil gives way at last to silence, and welcome our new kingdom with the Easter dawn.