4-9-95	Let's Go	Luke 19:28-40

I love a parade, don't you? And for me it seems that small towns, as compared to big cities, have some of the best parades. Perhaps that is because in the parades small towns have we are much more likely to know the people who are in the parade. In fact, maybe even we are in the parade! Or if you are a parent, there is a good chance that maybe one of your children is in the parade, marching with the Girl Scouts or with the Boy Scouts, or performing as a member of the high school marching band, or active in some other way. And I've even had the chance to be in a few parades. On Memorial Day I've ridden in the VFW's engine so that I could be on hand to offer the prayer and give the Memorial Day address at the cemetery.

And it has always seemed so exciting to see the people lined up along the street. As I've seen them standing there I've always thought, maybe their turn to be in the parade, rather than simply watching it from the curbside, will come next year. But, then, I have also thought that all those people watching along the curb were as much a part of the parade as the parade, itself. For as they have sat or stood there, some have waved their hands and smiled, some have taken pictures and videos, and some have waved little American flags. And then there are the kids, many of whom like to keep up with a certain part of the parade by either running along the parade route. And there are the parents, too, who have had to deliver their children to the beginning of the parade and must soon somehow find their way to the end of the parade to pick those kids up.

Indeed, what an excitement a parade is! And perhaps that is why we all love Palm Sunday. For Palm Sunday was a wonderful parade, a joyous affair, that started with Jesus outside the gates of Jerusalem, probably somewhere in the Kidron Valley. And as the people saw him coming the disciples shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." And the people joined in, taking palm branches from nearby trees and waving them in the air. What a parade it was! Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people quickly joining in, shouting the now familiar words, "Hosanna!" which means "Save us!" And as they came through the Golden Gates of the city, just below the Temple, the people laid their coats on the ground to cushion Jesus' ride into the Temple Mount.

Some people think that the parade ended there. Certainly, as Jesus entered the Temple area the people laid down their palm branches and gathered up their coats, once again. Certainly, as the rest of the day passed, the people went back to their homes and wondered what was going to happen next. But, the parade didn't really stop. For, in fact, the parade went on. The march continued for Jesus, a march which led directly to the cross and to the resurrection on the third day.

Certainly, in that first Palm Sunday parade there were many participants. But, on the other hand, I'm sure that there were many, many more who just stood along the side of the road and watched and had no intention of joining in. There were the Scribes and the Pharisees who saw Jesus' coming as an interruption in their lives, challenging their belief systems with a totally new way of looking at God. Certainly, these Scribes and Pharisees stood along the road and shook their heads in disgust and even shouted a few jeers as our Savior passed by. And then, there were probably those who were apathetic, persons who really didn't care if Jesus came into Jerusalem or not. And, so they probably just stood there wondering what it was all about. And, so the question for us, today, is are we among those who will join in the parade, eager to accept the new ways of Christ? Or are we among the Scribes and the Pharisees, upset at the challenges the Church sometimes offers to our old ways of thinking? Or are we among those who could care less, one way or the other?

Carl B. Rife challenges us to "come out of the crowds and become a part of Jesus' ongoing procession.

"A procession that involves pain and suffering and cross-bearing, and yet a procession that promises triumph over the negative forces of life.

"A procession that involves the need for courage and spirit, and yet a procession that promises strength for its participants.

"A procession that involves even giving up those things we hold dear, and yet a procession that promises all we need.

"A procession that may seem confusing and puzzling, and yet a procession that makes everything clear.

"A procession that looks like it is marching toward a dead end, and yet a procession that opens up everything."

You know, at its best, our earthly life is like a Palm Sunday parade, a procession of faith and great expectations in the face of certain failure — or it will be nothing but a resignation to futility. Our excitement is always going to be out of focus. What we bless today, we sometimes betray tomorrow. It is the cycle of human life.

But despite this, or perhaps because of this, we must take our places in the parade. We must relive our baptisms and renew our vows, no matter how often we break them. The knowledge of his goodness must wipe away the knowledge of our own evil, as rushing water washes away debris. "Aware of our own wavering natures, we must declare, this is it! Heaven is passing by at this moment! I've got to take my place in this parade!"

And as we walk along in the parade, we may wonder what we're doing in such a glorious demonstration and even think we aren't worthy to take our place. But the answer is that we will never be worthy, but he is. "If it's ever going to be — that glory and hallelujah in our hearts — it must be now! We can't wait to be worthy or the stones would have to do our work for us." Our hearts, however wounded and weary, must give way once more to anticipation and proclaim that the blessed one comes in the name of the Lord!

Palm Sunday offers this opportunity to us every year. Even for we Christians who have been pillars of the church for many years, there is an awful tendency for us to slide into the same kind of ruts that the Scribes and Pharisees found themselves in when Jesus passed through their town. For years and years they had firmly believed that God was a God of Judgment, an Almighty Lord, who could only best be worshiped in the splendor of the Temple. For years and years they had been a part of a belief system which was rooted around people offering sacrifices to God in order to be forgiven for their sins. And for years and years these Scribes and Pharisees had worked hard to find their place in such a system. But, now here came Jesus, telling the people that God was like a loving, personal, caring Father who would forgive their sins without all the sacrificing and groveling. All they had to do was ask and they could have atonement with this God who was like a Father. And this new way of thinking blew the Scribe's and the Pharisee's minds. This new way of thinking being offered to them by Jesus would mean such a change to their religious order, that they might not even have a place in the order, if the order survived at all! And, yet, if only the Scribes and the Pharisees had gone along and joined in the throng! What an even greater day it would have been!

Sometimes, this is what happens to us. As we walk our lives, even as good Christians, sometimes we get so wrapped up in the system, so involved in the way things are "supposed to be," that we get into a rut. And once we're in the rut we find it almost impossible to see all of the new possibilities and options God has going for us. We may even begin to worship the rut we're in while the real parade passes us by.

This poem titled, "All in the State of Mind", speaks to a powerful "thumbs-up" movement that is going on in our culture, which is good as long as there is, alongside it, the bowed down movement that recognizes that God is able; not "I am able," but that I can do "all things . . . through Christ, who strengthens me." Here these words:

If you think you're beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't

If you'd like to win, but think you can't,

It's almost a cinch you won't

If you think you'll lose, you've lost,

For out in the world you find

Success begins with a fellow's will;

It's all in the state of mind.

Full many a race is lost

Ere ever a step is run;

And many a coward fails

Ere ever his work's begun.

Think big, and your deeds will grow;

Think small, and you'll fall behind;

Think that you can, and you will.

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are;

You've got to think high to rise;

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But sooner or later the one who wins

Is the one who thinks, "I can."

Amen.