We know that any entrance onto a stage during a play, a musical, or an opera, sets the tone for what follows. If an actor/actress, or singer’s entrance onto a stage flops, if they stumble when they come out, when they’re not supposed to stumble, when it’s not part of the script, then it sets up for an awkward moment. The professional will recover themselves quickly, while the less professional – the amateurs – may be embarrassed for awhile.
Imagine Tom Brady leading his team out of the tunnel onto the playing field at the Super Bowl, and when he gets onto the field, he trips over himself, in front of millions of people watching. The only recovery from such an embarrassing mishap is to lead your team to victory. And that’s what Jesus begins to do on Palm Sunday, minus the mishap. Minus falling on the field over his shoelaces.
All that our Lord did on this day was carried out to perfection as he entered the holy city of Jerusalem. First, there’s a colt that no one ever sat on. Perfect! The poor donkey had to feel like the loneliest donkey in the world. He didn’t know he was being saved for the Messiah one day. He must have been asking himself, “Is anyone ever going to sit on me? Why was I created? I thought I was created so that people could ride on me! if you’re not going to give me the chance to get stubborn with someone, then send me to the circus!”
Poor donkey. But then a few guys show up right when the colt was ready to give up, they untie the beast of burden, others ask why they’re trying to take the colt that doesn’t belong to them – “Why you trying to steal that beast?” – “The Master has need of it and will send it back at once.” ‘Oh, okay.” Perfection! The donkey kidnap is pulled off to perfection.
But then the perfection of this day arrives at the more solemn stage. Jesus hops on the donkey that God specifically created for him. The direction the donkey travels is, not away from the holy city, but directly at it. The donkey takes Jesus directly into the furnace. That’s perfect! Our Lord doesn’t hightail it in the opposite direction. He heads in the perfect direction on the perfect beast. The same direction of our faith in him, minus the colt.
Throughout all the trials and tribulations that will come after us from another beast that is not perfect, remembering that our Lord himself knows exactly what lies in store for him in the week ahead, our faith is to move forward. We move in the perfect direction toward Jerusalem, toward the furnace, because that’s where we encounter God closeup. Perfect direction taken by Jesus on the perfect donkey.
And then, as he moves in the perfect direction toward Jerusalem, he is given the perfect praise. The praise that only he deserves; the praise that God alone is to be given. Do we consider our praise of God to be perfect, at least at different times? What is the perfect praise for God? It begins with the word “Hosanna.” Praise, joy, adoration. But not just the one word “Hosanna,” but “Hosanna in the highest.” Meaning, praise for this man on the donkey cannot go any higher. Which, for us, translates into nothing and no one in this passing world is worthy of such ‘Hosanna,” except for Jesus Christ. So, if there’s any person in this world that we adore above the Person of Christ, then our donkey is traveling in the wrong direction.
Perfect praise on our part is giving praise to Jesus. That’s where our life begins, and that’s where, we pray, our life will end.
Everything is perfect on this day. But Palm Sunday is not about this day alone. It’s a setup for the rest of this coming week. The rest of this coming week where perfection will quickly and so radically become imperfect. By the time the donkey is returned to its owner, things start to go downhill for Jesus.
Such as: “I gave my back to those who beat me; I gave my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.”
How could they turn so quickly on “Hosanna in the highest?” If Jesus is God, don’t you think he should be beyond this type of physical treatment? What makes such wretched behavior possible is our human weakness, combined with the truth that “he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness.”
In God becoming one of us in Jesus Christ, he opened the door to having his holy beard plucked, and having a human face to spit on. His perfect entrance onto the stage of Jerusalem becomes imperfect, not because he fell over his own shoelaces, but because he was tripped up by those he loved.
And this all gets into Good Friday, and why we need the perfect, sinless, holiest man to die for us. So that after we have plucked his beard, and spit on his face, we may still be given the grace to come to the perfection and joy of heaven. We’ll talk about that next Sunday.