Palm Sunday, Year B (April 1, 2012) The Church of the Ascension
“Who do you say that I am?” The Reverend Dr. Howard J. Hess
I. Introduction: Here we are today, you and I, in this present moment confronted with the profound question posed by Jesus to Peter in Mark 8.39. This question conveys the core, integrative theme of the gospel of Mark, “Who do you say that I am?” We are surrounded as we ponder our own response by a broad array of others who are grappling with this same question: the disoriented disciples; the broken-hearted Marys; the powerful, but skittish Romans; the vengeful, scheming priests; and, as always, the crowd, following where the wind blows.
We see this morning that Mark answers Jesus’ core question in the closing moments of the Passion narrative. It is the unnamed Centurion, facing Jesus immediately after he died on the cross, who proclaimed, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” The Centurion’s answer was direct and definitive. Is it not curious that this key response would have been spoken by a leader of the occupying Roman forces who were charged with the nasty task of overseeing crucifixion? I believe, however, that it is no mistake that the Centurion is the bearer of this revelation. You see, so often the truth of our faith is lifted up in unlikely places by unlikely people. Those of us who know the Christ can so easily forget and scream “Crucify him,” while others of us who have just met Christ, as had the Centurion, perhaps can see Him with greater clarity. As I listened to the Centurion’s words this week, I grasped a deeper understanding of his words: “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Jesus the Christ was fully human and fully divine. “Who do you say that I am?”
II. Two Processions. Interestingly, the Centurion could be viewed as a bridge figure between the opposing sets of forces in the passion story. Borg and Crossan in their book The Last Week (2006) propose that it is likely that there were two separate processions entering Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday. From the east came a somewhat ragtag group led by Jesus, his disciples, and Jewish pilgrim crowds waving palm branches and shouting “Hosanna” which means “Save (us) we pray.” This ragtag group processed right in the line of vision of the Antonia Fortress, which was the headquarters of the Roman legions in Jerusalem, and Jesus rode a donkey – a symbol of peaceful entry.
Entering Jerusalem from the west, say Borg and Crossan, was another procession – a military procession led by Pontius Pilate. He was most likely riding on horseback, leading the military reinforcements that had been moved from Caesarea Philippi to keep order in the city, now packed with over one million people. Have no question, the second procession was designed to convey power, control, and occupation. These two processions were juxtaposed against one another, both politically and theologically. They originated from alternative understandings of the universe. Borg and Crossan emphasize that the procession of Jesus was a “peasant procession,” designed to bring Jesus faced to face with the immense forces of evil which he was to confront the following week. Pilate’s procession was to solidify the unrivaled position of the God-Emperor, Tiberius. Two competing Gods were coming into the city at the same time – the Emperor God, encased in unbridled pomp, and the Son of God, humbly bringing peace, grace, and forgiveness. One could not and cannot follow both of these Gods.
III. Conclusion. “Who do you say that I am?” It always comes back to choice, doesn’t it? It comes back to where we choose to stand as the two processions unfold. Are we drawn to the grandeur of Roman power with all its trappings and illusory protection? Or are we drawn to the spontaneous and joyful entry of Jesus? Or perhaps we are drawn to hide out somewhere in between the two processions; to take a pass and go about our own business, to stay safely on the margins. Wherever we are this morning and wherever we will be throughout this next week, I invite each of us to allow Jesus’ powerful question and the Centurion’s answer to reverberate within our deepest spirit:
“Who do you say that I am?” (David)
pause…
“Truly, this man was God’s Son!” (Centurion) Amen.
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