“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
+In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. About a year ago I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC and Capitol Hill with Don Shisler, the President of the Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County for a conference concerning homelessness and public policy. It was a homecoming of sorts for me, as I had once served as a staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives when I was in my 20s. What struck me during my return to Capitol Hill was both continuity and change. The buildings, the furniture, and the office furnishings all looked the same, and everyone who worked there was young, good-looking, and well-dressed in conservative business attire. What was very different was that the place itself seemed more remote; it took longer to get into the buildings and there were more places that were off limits to the public. Indeed, the Capitol building itself was no longer accessible to the public! Thirty years ago, you could go into the Capitol building off the street and walk around. Today, the public must go to a new and very expensive building called the Capitol Visitors Center. There are very nice meeting rooms and exhibits, and lavish gift shops, and Members of Congress will come to meet with you there. But they will no longer meet you in the Capitol Building itself, except under very special circumstances. It appears while we were taught from our childhood that we live in a democratic republic; our leaders are increasingly remote from the people they are supposed to represent. They are unfamiliar with the problems of average citizens. They have surrounded themselves with more people and more power than ever, yet they seem unable and unwilling to address the many serious problems afflicting our Nation. But today is not about these pretend kings. Today is about the one true King, Jesus Christ. On this Palm Sunday, we wave our palm branches and shout “Hosanna!” because we see Jesus exercising true Kingship. Jesus does not put on the trappings of power and authority. He does not ride on a fancy chariot or a magnificent horse. Nor is Jesus surrounded by a retinue of soldiers and officials. Jesus is not dressed in the purple robes of a king, but those of an itinerant preacher. Jesus rides into Jerusalem in triumph, but on a donkey, surrounded a crowd of ordinary people who have come out to welcome Him and hail Him as their true King. Throughout history, when kings have entered their capital city in triumph, it is because they have come to rule; to make speeches, to issue decrees, and to exercise their power and authority. But Jesus has come for a very different purpose; He has come to die. In just a few days, Jesus will be arrested, tried, and then die a painful and shameful death on a Cross. This is Jesus, the Crucified King. It is in His coming Crucifixion that Jesus shows us His true Kingship. Jesus upholds the Law by obeying His Father’s will and going to the Cross on our behalf. Jesus rules not by might nor by power, but by the sacrifice of Himself for us. Jesus does not insist that we try to reach up and grasp salvation on our own. No, Jesus comes to us and lives among us and then goes to the Cross so that the penalty for sin is paid in full and we are restored to complete fellowship with the Father. Jesus, the Crucified King, demonstrates true humility. As St. Paul writes, “Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8) Jesus Christ is the great King and ruler. But He conquers His Kingdom not with armies and weapons, but by going to the Cross to die. Jesus says in John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” Jesus has conquered and triumphed. Jesus has won for Himself a Kingdom, not of cities and territories, but a Kingdom of the hearts of men and women. This Crucified King bids each one of us to lay down our weapons and open the gates of our hearts so that the King of Glory may come in. He invites us to surrender to His love and life, so that He might reign in our hearts and in our lives for ever and ever. +In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2024
Categories |