Palm Sunday is quick upon us. In many churches worship
begins with a retelling of the entrance of Jesus into the holy city of
Jerusalem. In this “triumphal” procession he is acclaimed as the Son of David,
a term that clearly means, King of the Jews.
The liturgy of the day, however, quickly turns its attention
away from such effusive affirmations and toward the rather somber remembrance
of the Lord’s passion and death. Was Jesus still a king? That’s a question only
we can answer.
What kind of king are you looking for?
Traditionally, kings were seen as an embodiment of the
people over which they ruled. Thus, an attack on the king was an attack on the
people. In the Scriptural portrayal, this embodiment is a two way street: when
the king turns from God, the people often pay the price, and, when the people
turn from God, their king suffers.
In Jesus day, the title, Son of David, clearly aligned Jesus
with the first dynastic king of Israel. David, the mythic king, was far from
perfect but was always seen as favored of God. Thus, someone truly of David’s
line, would bring prosperity and victory over oppressors. Perhaps this is the
kind of king the folk of Jerusalem saw riding in on an ass. However,
circumstances proved otherwise. Jesus was the king who suffered not because of
his own wrongdoing but because of the waywardness of God’s people – a people
who valued power and wealth and political freedom over matters of the heart and
matters of true justice.
The year of Jubilee proclaimed by Jesus at the beginning of
his ministry fell woefully short of its promise at the end. For all of his work
and teaching, society remained much unchanged and, perhaps, even more
recalcitrant than when he started. He proved not to be the king of “power and
might” as was his father David, but the king of inward change . . . a king of
hearts and minds.
What kind of king are you looking for?
Is the king we look for the one who will vindicate us or is
the king we look for the servant king that accomplishes change by the sheer
force of example? Is the king we search for one that will bring us prosperity
or is this king a king of service and justice?
What kind of king are you looking for?
How shall we answer as our
Holy Week begins?
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