Palm Sunday: Beyond Our Wildest Expectations

I once knew a guy. A guy who always made excuses for not coming to worship. His biggest excuse was that it interfered with his fishing. So, I decided to start praying for him. I prayed, “Lord, make his fishing trips horrible. If he catches anything, let it be so small that there is no way possible for him to brag. Lord, put a crack in his johnboat. Not a big crack where it sinks, just one small enough where he notices. Lord, make it rain on the lake but just on the lake because it is hard to get anyone to church when it rains. In Jesus name, Amen.” One day about a month after I started my prayers I ran into him. I asked him about his fishing. He said, “Preacher, you won’t believe it. I have caught some of the biggest fish of my life and have had some of the most beautiful mornings out on the lake. My fishing has never been better.” On my way out I just gave the Lord the look. ”He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

On Palm Sunday they wanted to make him king but by Friday they were ready to kill him. His teaching of peace and turning the other cheek was more than they could handle. His talk of forgiving ones enemies made them want to puke. His talk of grace and forgiveness was just too much to handle. They wanted a destroyer. They got a redeemer. They wanted a warrior. They got a savior.

God just doesn’t do things like we do. Jesus disappoints. We want a hero and we get a suffering servant. We want a warrior to swoop down and destroy all our enemies and Jesus teaches us how to love our enemies. We want Jesus to be supportive of our middle class morality and he says stuff like “blessed are the weak and the poor for they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.” He simply refuses to be forced into our mold. He does not allow us to use him to support our own way of thinking of what we need in a savior. Anne Lamott says, “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

It is the Sunday before Easter, the Son of God is to be handed over, betrayed, abused, and murdered. As he rides toward Jerusalem, the host of heaven hold their breath to see how this turns out. The angels watch with anticipation as the start of Holy Week begins. The disciples are confused. The crowd gives a shallow praise. This is the calm before the storm. Jesus rides up to the gate of the city. Once he enters there is no turning back. There is no back tracking. This is the moment. If you pay attention, if you look closely, you will notice his eyes are on you. His hand is extended towards you. He is inviting you to enter this final week with him. Will you go? Will you let go of your expectations and walk with him the way of salvation? Before you say, “Yes,” take a deep breath, hold on to the hope of resurrection, and let go of all your expectations. Let Jesus show you the way toward a resurrection beyond your wildest expectations.

(Mark 11: 1 - 11)