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This is the day YHWH has made— let us celebrate with joy! Please, YHWH, please save us! Please, YHWH, give us prosperity now! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of YHWH! we bless you from YHWH’s temple! YHWH is God and God has enlightened us. Join the festal procession! with palm fronds in hand, go up to the horns of the altar! – Psalm 118

Early in the morning, we started at the top of the Mount of Olives. I had always heard of this place, but I had not studied its location and how close it was in proximity to the other places I had imagined in my mind’s eye. The Mount of Olives gives you a perfect overlook to the city of Jerusalem – specifically, down the hill is the beautiful Garden of Gethsemane, and across the road from that is one of the gates into the city of Jerusalem. On the other side of the gate is the Temple Mount – where the Temple that Solomon built. All of this is visible from the Mount of Olives.

It was on the Mount of Olives that the gospel writer of Luke describes the first Palm Sunday events unfolding: “People spread their cloaks on the roadway as Jesus rode along. As they reached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the entire crowd of disciples joined them and began to rejoice and praise God loudly for the display of power they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our God! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!’ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the very stones would cry out!’” – Luke 19: 28-40

The Psalm here, quoted by the people heralding the prophetic entrance of Jesus on a Donkey into Jerusalem, is a plea for deliverance from distress. It is a celebration of God’s saving power. And in the time of Jesus’ procession, it was a powerful hymn that was sung in contrast to the military procession of Pilate on the same occasion of the beginning of Passover in front of mighty Roman armies with all its pomp and circumstance.

The people of Jerusalem yearned for deliverance from Rome but often had to be careful how they expressed it. Crucifixion was a death penalty reserved for political dissidents. The subversion of quoting a Psalm was a powerful, unifying way to express that yearning in a way that would have flown under the radar of Roman authorities and sympathizers. But during Lent and this story of Christ’s passion, we always grapple with the difference between what was the yearning of the people of Jerusalem, and what they received in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

There is a certain irony in this Psalm when we think of it in the context of the Palm procession. Jesus was the one who came “in the name of YHWH.”  But how blessed was he really when we know how the story progresses? Self-giving is not an easy or passive deed.  It is an encounter of pain and loss and an acknowledgement that we are a small part of something much bigger than us—something that requires all of us to sacrifice, to self-give, for it to flourish.  But YHWH is God and God has enlightened us. We know that death has been defeated. So, we can give of our lives with courage. We can take up the cross and “join the festal procession with palm fronds in hand!

Throughout this Lenten season, we have talked about being “Purveyors of Awe”. This week, we are continuing that theme, with a focus on the awe we can experience when someone gives of themselves. We are “in awe” of people whose instinct is to move toward danger to assist those in peril. We are “in awe” of people who overcome incredible hardship and “rise above” their circumstances. We are “in awe” of those who make the world a better place because of their advocacy and unrelenting belief in goodness. I shared several weeks ago that I am a Christian not because I was raised in middle America and was raised in the church (although I was) … and I am not a Christian because I think it is superior to other religions… and I am not a Christian because I believe in atonement theory. I am a Christian because I believe in the life and ministry of the man named Jesus. I follow him because of who he was and continues to be for me. The historical man, Jesus, was a person I hold in “awe” because of the way he lived – and how he reached out to those who were otherwise outcast from society.

Even his riding in on (a young) donkey – an animal that is the companion and workmate of the common people – is a statement through sheer scale. Jesus is not high on a horse, he is eye-level with the people. This is the kind of “kin-dom” he espoused - One in which the wellbeing of all the people is necessary for the good of the whole.

Jesus does another awe-inspiring act of defiance, as he will continue to do through the week leading up to his crucifixion. He refuses the demand to “rebuke” the people for their display of devotion, praise, and protest. “Even the stones would cry out” if they were to be shut up, he proclaims. Nothing can stop this demonstration, and certainly Jesus will not. He knows the power of uplifting and supporting the voice of people oppressed. Here we see the small self at work again as he begins to empower those who will outlive him and continue the work of transformation of the world... he empowers his disciples, and we can see how he has empowered us in this act as well.

Can you think of a person beside Jesus who brings a sense of awe to you? This may be a person living or deceased; a person you know about or know personally. Who would that person(s) be for you and why?  (let them answer)

Typically, we honor someone in our minds because of their lives of self-giving.

As we feel the effects of witnessing “moral beauty” in the Jesus story, and as we see that continued in the stories of self-giving, we witness today, we will be inspired to do our own self-giving. Because when we give of ourselves in acts of advocacy, kindness, generosity, praise, and lifting of others, we get that “shot of awe” as well and it perpetuates a sense of purpose that tingles in our bodies just as much as a beautiful sunset or the touch of a loved one.

After we walked down the steep road from the Mount of Olives past an old cemetery, where Jews put stones on graves from years ago, we reached the Garden of Gethsemane. It is a small garden, but some of the olives trees there date back to Jesus’s time.  An old olive press sits in the Garden, along with some flowers. The gnarly olive trees are ironic for the place – a stark reminder of events two millennium ago.

Next to the garden is the Church of the Nations. The architect, Antonio Barluzzi, evoked the night-time of Jesus praying by leaving the interior in semi-darkness, relieved only by subdued natural light filtered through violet-blue alabaster windows. The somber blue of a star-studded night sky is recreated in the ceiling domes, the stars being surrounded by olive branches reminiscent of the Gethsemane Garden.

Across the road is a gate into Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is just beyond. Yes, this is the Temple Mount where there is currently a Mosque. Also, the Jewish wailing wall, the tomb of King David, Solomon’s Portico’s, and so much history. The Temple area leads you down to the Via Dolorosa, which means “The Way of Suffering” or “The Sorrowful Way” – it is a winding path Jesus is said to have walked along carrying his cross. At the end of the Via Dolorosa is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the place Jesus is said to have been crucified.

It took most of the day to walk from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane and then to pray at the Church of all Nations and go to the Temple Mount and then walk the Via Dolorosa and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  When the day was over, we were emotionally and physically exhausted. I can only imagine how Jesus and his friends experienced that week so long ago.

What I do know is that a life of self-giving was acknowledged with Palm Branches and shouts of praise. A life of self-giving was cut short – as so many are.  But his followers were emboldened by his life and his ministry. They could not let the story end there. Each of them, in their turn, became awe-inspired self-giving disciples. Their lives changed in miraculous ways. They became storytellers, preachers, evangelists, miracle-workers, fearless and bold prophetic voices! I am astounded and awed by the work they carried on. May we carry this work forward as we prepare ourselves this week.