St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

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Riding into a New Life

Luke 19:28-40

April 1, 2007         (Click the date to see the bulletin)

1. Last Sunday, during our congregation meeting, I mentioned the title of today’s sermon, "Riding into a New Life." It seemed like an appropriate title, since on the one hand this is the Sunday Jesus rode into a new life, and on the other hand we voted to begin riding into a new life ourselves. Dan, who was sitting close enough for me to hear, finished the title "Riding into a New Life" by adding "on a donkey." Without thinking, I smarted back, "No, on a big white horse." What little thinking I did in that split second was related to my feeling of having conquered a difficult problem, and wanting to charge full speed ahead into the future. "White horse" seemed like a good way to ride. Charge! Then, as so often happens, I realized Dan’s response was much better than mine.

2. Here’s why. Several of us have been studying The Book of the Revelation this year. The 6^th chapter describes the opening of the Seven Seals of the Scroll. As the first seal is opened, John looks and sees a white horse. Its rider has a bow, and a crown is given to him. He comes out conquering, and rides on to conquer even more. Now, there’s some debate among people who love to debate these things. Some say the rider is Jesus, because he’s riding a white horse (since we ALL KNOW that the good guys ride white horses!) and he’s ready to do battle with the bad guys. Others, however, pay closer attention to the words and realize this rider is not identified with Jesus, the bow this rider carries is the bow of battle, and the crown is the one given the victor in war. Not only did Jesus advocate peace more than war, the crown given this rider is not the same crown as the one given the rider of the white horse in chapter 19, who more obviously is Jesus.

3. So here we have a battle-ready figure on the first white horse, and a crowned royal figure on the second horse. The first horseman is bent on battling everyone in war; the second horseman is a triumphant king, most likely representing the resurrected Jesus . And here is what we need to notice: Neither one of those images fits the picture of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem. Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem on a magnificent white horse, carrying a bow and wearing a crown, as a warrior would; he did not ride into Jerusalem in a beautiful white horse with a sparkling crown on his head, as a traditional king would.

4. We need to read this story of what we’ve come to call "Palm Sunday" as carefully as we read the Revelation. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he did not know exactly what the future would bring. But he was pretty sure life as he knew it was going to end. On this particular morning, he was not on trial. He was not being flogged. People were not spitting on him. He was not yet bowed down with the weight of the cross. And at this point in his life, the people were thrilled to see him. But he still rode into town on a donkey, as a sign of his humility and his desire to serve rather than be served. But he didn’t go very fast. Donkeys do not go as far as fast as a horse.

5. Change pictures now. Switch from the sight of Jesus being greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches as he slowly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, to the sight of 20 or more Presbyterians sitting around a giant table in parlor of Southminster Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Change the picture, but bring the donkey along, because we’ll need it for our future every bit as much as Jesus needed it for his. Yesterday, the Exploratory Group met for a 6-hour retreat. This is a group of about 20 people, with almost equal numbers from St. Andrew’s, St. Giles and Southminster. The purpose of this retreat was to get started on our future together – this adventure into which we believe God is calling us. Yesterday this group looked very much like that first Palm Sunday! There was lots of cheering. These people are excited! They are seeing all kinds of opportunities for mission and ministry together. But none of us knows exactly what the future will bring. And we’re not real sure how to get there, either. So we are going slowly, seeking to be respectful of each other. We will meet twice a month until we get it figured out. And we’ll issue a report after each meeting – each congregation will hand it out with their Sunday bulletin, and the same report will go into our newsletters.

6. On that Palm Sunday morning in Jerusalem, many of them wanted Jesus to ride fast and quickly bring in his kingdom. On this Palm Sunday morning in Tulsa, many of us are ready to get on with this partnership. But the model Jesus gives us is not one of speed and haste. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus riding slowly into his own future on a donkey, humble and eager to serve rather than be served.

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