Prayer: In this day of celebration and worship, may we be reminded of your realm and ways of life. Amen.

I start today with a little tidbit of American history. In 1918, when World War I war was over, President Woodrow Wilson was an international hero. World War I, of course, was, in Wilson’s words, “the War to end all wars,” (oh, if only that were true!). People actually believed that the last war had been fought. President Wilson went to Paris to promote his peace-keeping idea called “The League of Nations,” something for which he was to win the Nobel Peace prize. When he arrived there on his first visit, he was greeted by cheering mobs. The same thing was true in England and Italy. There was a strong spirit of optimism. Apparently, in a Vienna hospital a Red Cross worker had to tell the children that there would be no Christmas presents because of the war and the hard times. The children didn’t believe her. They said that President Wilson was coming, and they knew that everything would be all right.

The cheering lasted about a year. Then it gradually began to stop. Back in the US, Woodrow Wilson ran into opposition in the Senate, and his League of Nations was never ratified. Under the strain of it all, the President suffered a debilitating stroke. In the next election his party was defeated. So it was Woodrow Wilson, a man who barely a year earlier had been heralded as the new world’s Messiah, came to the end of his Presidency a broken and defeated man (Sermon Resources for Palm Sunday, www.esermons.com, retrieved March 14, 2008, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson retrieved March 15, 2008).

Does that sound familiar? When Jesus was in the heyday of his ministry, there were crowds of followers. There were throngs of supporters. Jesus was BIG. People followed him everywhere, even when he tried to have some quiet time. He was not unlike some of our political candidates or celebrity preachers. People came in droves to see Jesus, to hear him, and be with him. On Palm Sunday, they spread palm branches and their coats before him. There were shouts of Hosanna, which means “Save us!”

The trouble was that the crowd following Jesus had a well-established idea that “Save us!” meant “save us from the oppressive imperialism of the Roman Empire. Give us success!” Oh, they loved that idea! In their minds, Jesus probably was thought of as someone who followed in the great footsteps of Moses, who upon raising his staff, called upon God, the waters opened, made a way for Israel and come back to drown the Egyptians. Jesus could call upon God and may be able to turn the tables like that on the Romans! Or, like the great prophet Elijah, Jesus could just say the word to God in prayer, and a holy, powerful, column of holy fire from heaven would come and consume the Roman oppressors!

What about Jesus? I don’t believe he had any delusions about what he could do regarding the Roman Empire. It was not his intention. In large part, I think Jesus came to Jerusalem for the sake of Judaism, the Jewish religion… to bring the proper focal point about Judaism into perspective for the leaders of Judaism. The proper focal point about Judaism was this: to bring God’s people into a lasting, renewing, ongoing, life-giving, and loving relationship with God, their Creator and Partner.

But, the religious leaders of Judaism were not doing this. They did not lead the people to God. They did not shepherd them, spiritually feed them and provide for their spiritual needs. Instead, Jesus saw the leaders, the Chief priest, the high priests, the Pharisees, and other religious leaders ignoring the people, taxing the daylights out of them, and oppressing them with a ridiculous zealousness for following the law. Did you know that a person could ride a donkey on the Sabbath day and not break the law. But, if a stick was used to whack the donkey to speed it up, the person would be guilty of laying a burden on it, which would break Sabbath law, and that person would be subject to a penalty of some sort. usually a fine. Crazy, isn’t it?

Jesus also saw the Pharisees practicing Judaism as a business first and foremost. Did you know that Palm Sunday (according to Matthew and Luke) is the day that Jesus went into the Temple and aggressively and violently wrecked all the tables of the money changers and the buyers and the sellers? Why? In part because they were selling meat for the temple sacrifice at super-inflated prices, gouging the poor! It was as inhumane as it was unjust, unspiritual as it was un-worshipful.

So, there was a huge disconnect between what Jesus came to do (challenge current practices of Judaism) and what the people wanted him to do (topple the Roman Empire). You see, it’s not at all surprising that in a very short period of time, the cheering crowds for Jesus began to dissolve because what Jesus preached and taught didn’t gibe with their expectations. What? God loves us? All people are worth loving? What does that have to do with toppling Roman rule? What? Make a commitment to God? How is that going to help make us a nation again… how is that going re-establish David’s throne as was predicted by the prophets? And as a result, in five days, the public support not only fell apart, but in fact, went in the opposite direction against Jesus.

Despite the downturn of support, Jesus still had to help the people reverse their expectations of him, and he tried to do it by challenging the established religious leaders to reverse their expectations, too. So, during the days after Palm Sunday, the people watched Jesus take on the religious leaders. He used parables intended to bring Judaism’s leaders to the deep insight that they were off God’s track..

Jesus taught and preached about God, God’s ways of justice and peace, God’s love for all of them, including the Pharisees, and God’s desire that they come back to God. These simple points are the stones which are the building blocks of basic faith. But, those entrusted with these stones, the builders, the Jewish leaders, have thrown them away. The basic elements of religious life were rejected by the religious establishment.

These basic elements of faith and religious life are the cornerstone of the church of Jesus Christ; the cornerstone of our national church which bears Christ’s name, and our local congregation, likewise. This is what you and I should expect of our church—to be drawn in closer to God, to witness to God’s ways of love, to practice God’s justice and peace, and seek out and welcome anyone one in, and I mean anyone, who wants to come unto God for God’s life-giving and renewing power in their lives.

Anything different from those expectations, well, perhaps a reversal of expectations is in order? Any expectation that implies exclusivism, meaning, if you don’t believe what I believe in, then you are not welcome here needs to be reversed. Or, if your lifestyle is different, then you may be welcomed, if you fit in with the rest of us and don’t make waves. Wherever and whenever anyone is excluded, even if that person is in the majority, I suggest a reversal of expectation is needed. Exclusivism, in my estimation, has no place in the life of the church, no matter what side of an issue you might be on—the majority or the minority. Some will have the expectation that everyone will be on the same wave length in the way to understand and interpret scripture—perhaps those expectations need reversals, too? Some have the expectation that our church should tend to our own… that we really are about members first… that ministry in the wider church is somehow less important. Is a reversal needed here?

There are probably numerous more expectations that fly against the basic elements of faith and religious life. But for us, learning from what Jesus taught, we strive to keep these elements front and center. Our Mission Statement, on screen speaks to these elements. Won’t you read it with me?

“We are a community of faith united with Jesus Christ, called together to carry one another’s burdens, share one another’s joys, and to testify to the presence of God in our world while worshipping God and striving for truth, justice, and peace.”

What we must do, I believe, is find ways for all of us, every member and participant of our church, to carry out this mission statement. Let’s reach out to one another in efforts to share whatever burdens and joys we carry. Let’s look for and celebrate the presence of God as we live our lives. Let’s worship God as we strive for truth, justice, and peace. With prayerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, we do this work together discerning the ways we can carry out our mission statement, looking to Jesus as our role model.

Jesus passionately believed that this is what faith and religion are to be about. He believed it; he lived it. He knew, I think, that he needed to incite a reversal of expectations for the people and the religious establishment of his day. In fact, he was so passionate about his belief that he was willing to die for what he believed. For this reason, we sing today, “Ride on! Ride on in majesty! O Christ, with brave humility.” We remember you and all your pain, we meet again to hail your reign. Let us stand and sing and wave your palms!! Amen.