Date: April 7th and 10th
Preacher: Pastor Ashley Rosa-Ruggieri
First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalmody: Psalm 31:9-16
Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11
Gospel: Luke 19:28-40
The Kingdom is yours, now and forever. Jesus rides into the city of Jerusalem, on the back of a borrowed donkey, trampling the cloaks from the crowd that have been spread on the road. His arrival is like a parade, he is stately, royal even, and the people acknowledge this. They bless this man, whom many have heard about, and some have met, stating that he is God’s king. His entry into Jerusalem is met with joy, celebration, elation, and reverence. This is God’s King, riding a donkey among us. The Kingdom of God is Jesus’s forever and ever.
The Power is yours, now and forever. Before Jesus has fully made his way into Jerusalem, when he is only starting to enter and a crowd is starting to draw near, they do so because of what they have seen Jesus do among them. Today’s passage specifically says, “As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen.” The power that they have seen reflected in Jesus’s deeds among them has led them to form a joyful, shout-filled procession of sorts. They recognize the power in Jesus’s actions, and so they declare not only his kingliness, but the power that he has shone. Power that now has been attributed and given to him. The Power of God flows through Jesus, forever and ever.
The Glory is yours, now and forever. They regale Jesus’s entry with shouts of blessing and admiration. Then they praise the place he has come from, shouting for peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven. Prayers for the glory they recognize from God above, paired with shouts of peace. But soon enough this joyful crowd praising Jesus’s life will transform into a riotous mob screaming for his death. But in today’s reading, they shout for blessings of peace and glory in heaven. Glory that is given to God, and therefore lives through the person of Jesus, forever and ever.
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are yours, now and forever. This final petition of the Lord’s Prayer seems to be so fitting as we commemorate this ride into Jerusalem with our own Palm Worship Service, and then enter into Holy Week where we remember again what Jesus has done for us and how death and sin were defeated. The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are all meant for God now and forever, Amen. Lent is coming to a close, as is our study of the Lord’s Prayer, and so we conclude here, with Jesus riding into Jerusalem where he is surrounded by people acknowledging his kingdom, power, and glory. Our exploring of this prayer and our story of faith does not stop here but opens up to new possibilities of living into this prayer that we use so frequently. After exploring each of the petitions in turn during the weeks of Lent and reflecting on how our lives and this prayer and scripture work cohesively to form connections and lessons for us in our faith, we now get to welcome the opportunity to continue that reflection ourselves. We get to ask questions, discuss with friends or family, and while doing so we continue to pray the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus taught us and then go out and turn those prayers into the actions that go along with them.
Although we are looking at the final petition in the Lord’s Prayer, this story of Jesus’s final week-long journey to the cross is just beginning. This is a story that we tell each and every year, a reminder of our faith. Humanity may have welcomed Jesus among us, and even praised him on this entry into Jerusalem, but their acclaim and exhortation fall flat in the face of the cross. And yet today, as Christians, we tell this story over and over because in the end it is our Gospel. Good News that we have a savior who came to Earth, felt what it was to be human, and then through substantial humility died on a cross because that is what the powers of this world saw as a fit punishment. Jesus accepted this condemnation, though blameless, to save humanity from itself and free us from the power of death forever. This story is powerful, these words are important, and this message is meant to be one that jumps from our lips like the praises of the people in our Gospel reading today.
The people along this path were so loud and fervent in their praising and shouting that the pharisees around them ask Jesus to quiet his disciples and the crowd. It is not only that they are too loud, but what they are saying about Jesus is blasphemy. It is treason against the rightful Roman rulers occupying this place. These pharisees worry for what might happen should the Roman authorities hear the things being shouted about Jesus. In fact, they are not wrong because the very beliefs that are shouted by the crowd are a key reason why in this coming week we will remember the journey that Jesus made to the cross. All of the acclaim given to him in this spectacle was too much. He was given too much in the eyes of the glorified powers of this earthly kingdom. Jesus was given too much Kingdom, too much Power, too much Glory.
And yet, Jesus responds to these Pharisees saying, even if he were to tell the disciples and crowd to quiet, the stones would cry out. Creation would not be able to be hushed about these claims if the humans currently proclaiming them were forced into silent submission. The truth of these statements is so sure and worthy of announcing that if humans would not or could not do it, creation would take over and make sure the message was out anyway. The stones would shout out in the same way, declaring him God’s King of the Kingdom, praising the powerful deeds of Jesus, and wishing peace and Glory to heaven.
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are yours, now and forever. We proclaim this whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer, the crowd in our Gospel proclaimed it as Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and even if they were silent, creation itself would take up the shouting and proclaim these truths as well. May we now and forever remember that the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory belong to God, and join the rest of creation in joyfully and loudly proclaiming God’s praises forever and ever. Thanks be to God.