Zechariah 9:9-12 Psalm 80: 1-7, 1-18 Philippians 2:5-11 Mark 11:1-11
Having been a Memphian for almost fifty years, I know the importance Memphis Tigers basketball. On March 1 the Commercial Appeal headline read "Now that Tubby Smith is gone, can Penny Hardaway save the Tigers?" One commentator said that Coach Hardaway was going to bring the city together. This is not hyperbole. For decades, Memphis basketball was uniquely able to bring together Black and White, rich and poor, urban and suburban in common cause: "Go Tigers go!" I remember a game in the 1980's when Memphis played Louisville. I was driving my car listening on the radio and as I looked around at each stop light everyone was celebrating in their cars as Memphis took off to a huge early lead. We shared something in common in those days--not all of us, but many of us--and there was something special about it which transcended sport.
The press conference was jammed and various talk show hosts gushed with superlatives about the event. There is so much excitement, so much positive energy. The only word to convey it is ''hope." Like many others, I found myself glued to the radio last Tuesday as I drove to and from the clergy meeting. I was wondering: Could the Tigers be successful again? Could Tiger Blue help heal the division of black and white? Can it be possible to dream of a National Championship? Yes!
But things don't always go as planned.... So what if he can't deliver? How long will it take those same fans who love him now to start complaining and demanding that he be fired? Enthusiasm and grace have a limited shelf life in the face of disappointment. Friendly crowds can turn hostile quickly.
Jesus, the famed healer and preacher, rides on a donkey into Jerusalem. The people literally saw the prophecy of Zechariah being played out before them in real time. "Rejoice greatly Jerusalem. Your king comes. He is just and brings 'yasha' (Hebrew for salvation, victory, deliverance)." The people were in a frenzy! Here is the Messiah. They just knew that Jesus was going to deliver them from the the pagan Romans and that half breed ruler Herod. Those suffering, oppressed Jews expected a salvation that was as concrete and real as the final score of a basketball games. They expected glory days.
Jesus disappointed those hopes and dreams. Within four days they turned on Him. "Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Hosanna means salvation is near, deliverance is close. When confronted with Roman power He did nothing. They saw weakness, not deliverance. So they rejected Him. "Crucify Him. Crucify Him. Crucify Him...."
Do not be duped, we are no better. We have been disappointed by Jesus at times. Life has not always been fair or pleasant. We have wondered why He hasn't reformed our society, our church, our jobs, our family. Why doesn't Jesus do something as we watch loved ones struggle, suffer or even die. Why doesn't Jesus do something when cry at night, nursing our broken hearts in the silence of darkness... So people lose hope and wander away.
Paul tells us that Jesus, who is the morphe visible form of God, emptied Himself to become one of us. Instead of saving His people from death, Jesus died Himself. He empties Himself and becomes human---a lowly servile human. The Christian life is about love, not victory. Christianity is about serving others, not power. Christianity is about humble trust, not arrogant certitude. Christianity is about death, even death on a cross--His death and our own. Christianity is not an easy fit with our life styles, values or expectations.
I am white, male, and middle class. I have filtered Jesus and His Gospel through my American, competitive, consumer mind. Like my neighbors, I want to be a winner. Paul says we must have "the same way of thinking" as those who are in Christ. In other words, we need to think differently than we do. That is the new nous, the new mind and new heart. Only the Holy Spirit can heal and transform us and it is a battle to be open to the Holy Spirit's work. Theosis is such also a long journey. Rejection, crucifixion and death are not what we are looking for in a savior. Yet in Jesus, God is tearing away the veil and revealing Himself as He really is. Our task is to be purified of false theology and embrace the Lord. The next week is central for understanding God's true nature.
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