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Cultivating Courageous Peace and Letting Go of Power · Faith at Work

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  We are coming to the end of our Lent series of cultivating and
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  letting go.
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  And this morning we are in this story from Luke where Jesus is
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  entering into Jerusalem.
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  SPEAKER_00: And all the people are watching what's going on.
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  And I'm framing it this morning as cultivating courageous peace
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  and letting go of power.
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  And as David mentioned,
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  that on that day,
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  there were two parades coming into Jerusalem.
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  SPEAKER_00: One came from the west,
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  SPEAKER_00: which was Pilate's parade,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the other came from the east,
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  SPEAKER_00: which was led by Jesus.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor.
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  SPEAKER_00: He would spend most of his time in a villa in the Mediterranean.
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean, why wouldn't anybody want to spend their time in a villa in the
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  the national holiday of independence for the Jewish people when
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  they were led by
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  SPEAKER_00: Moses out of Egypt from 400 years of slavery.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was a proclamation that they were free, but they weren't.
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  SPEAKER_00: They were under Roman occupation,
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  and the Romans needed each year at this time to make sure that
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  the populace of
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  SPEAKER_00: Jerusalem and all of Israel knew about Pax Romana,
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  SPEAKER_00: that the Roman government was still in control,
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  SPEAKER_00: and that the peace that was there was because of their power.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the other was led by Jesus.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pilate's parade shouted power,
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  SPEAKER_00: soldiers marched,
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  SPEAKER_00: banners were waved and swords,
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  SPEAKER_00: swords glinted in the sun.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was Rome's yearly show of force and power.
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  The message,
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  stay in line because Rome was the one that maintained the
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  peace.
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  SPEAKER_00: Jesus' procession looked different.
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  SPEAKER_00: He entered on a donkey,
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  SPEAKER_00: not only on a donkey,
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  SPEAKER_00: but a borrowed donkey,
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  SPEAKER_00: and he came with no weapons.
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  SPEAKER_00: He came with no soldiers,
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  SPEAKER_00: only cloaks laid on the ground,
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  SPEAKER_00: palm branches waved,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the voices of everyday people proclaiming,
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  SPEAKER_00: Hosanna,
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  SPEAKER_00: Hosanna in the highest.
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  Compared to what was going on on the other side of the city,
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  it looked soft.
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  SPEAKER_00: But let us not miss that it was anything but passive.
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  SPEAKER_00: This was a procession of peace.
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  And it was a bit of a confrontation because God's peace was
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  arriving in Jerusalem already.
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  John Howard Yoder,
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  who was an Anabaptist theologian,
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  he wrote the book,
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  The Politics of Jesus.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in that book,
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  SPEAKER_00: he writes this,
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  SPEAKER_00: the cross is not a detour or a hurdle on the way to the kingdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is instead the kingdom come.
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  SPEAKER_00: And what that means in this moment,
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  SPEAKER_00: this entry into Jerusalem,
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  SPEAKER_00: is that this is not the beginning of the end.
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  It is,
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  in fact,
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  the kingdom of God breaking into the streets of Jerusalem.
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  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus rides not with might, but with mercy.
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  SPEAKER_00: Not with fear, but with faith.
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  SPEAKER_00: And the disciples, they recognize it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we are invited by Luke to recognize it as well this morning.
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  SPEAKER_00: And they shout, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
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  SPEAKER_00: And they throw down those cloaks on the road.
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  SPEAKER_00: And they lay down those branches.
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  And they welcome a king who looks nothing like Pontius Pilate,
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  nothing like Caesar.
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  SPEAKER_00: A king whose power is not enforced, but it is embodied.
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  SPEAKER_00: and the person of Jesus Christ.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is more than a celebration.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is political.
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  SPEAKER_00: This is a protest.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it's not liked by everyone that sees what's going on.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Pharisees said, tell them to be quiet.
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  SPEAKER_00: Stop doing this because they saw what was happening.
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  SPEAKER_00: They knew this wasn't just a happy moment.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was political.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was dangerous.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was countercultural.
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  SPEAKER_00: And it proclaimed something very significant in the face of Roman power.
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  SPEAKER_00: But Jesus responded,
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  SPEAKER_00: if they keep silent,
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  SPEAKER_00: the rocks,
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  SPEAKER_00: the stones,
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  SPEAKER_00: them very selves will cry out about what's going on here.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because the truth, it cannot be silent.
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  SPEAKER_00: It cannot be buried.
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  SPEAKER_00: Not when love and grace and peace is on the move.
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  SPEAKER_00: The last few weeks we have heard about Jesus.
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  SPEAKER_00: Protests, marches, parades going on all across the world.
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  SPEAKER_00: In Gaza,
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  SPEAKER_00: protesters gathered to protest and to cry out against Hamas,
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  SPEAKER_00: risking their lives to call for peace.
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  SPEAKER_00: Their signs read, Enough.
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  SPEAKER_00: Their chants echoed, I think, Jesus' words.
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  SPEAKER_00: Even if the people stay quiet,
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  the stones will cry out against the injustice that is going on
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  in the world.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in cities across Europe and the U.S.,
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  SPEAKER_00: people marched under banners,
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  SPEAKER_00: hands off,
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  SPEAKER_00: calling for justice,
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  SPEAKER_00: dignity,
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  SPEAKER_00: and peace together.
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  SPEAKER_00: These modern parades,
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  SPEAKER_00: in my mind,
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  seem to be filled with the same spirit as the one that is going
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  on in Jerusalem in
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  SPEAKER_00: this day.
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  SPEAKER_00: People choosing peace over silence.
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  SPEAKER_00: People choosing hope over fear.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now,
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  SPEAKER_00: it's important to note,
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  I am not saying that those protests that happened across the
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  world in these last
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  SPEAKER_00: weeks were led by Jesus.
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  But I am saying that they do give us a window into how this day
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  in Jerusalem felt.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some supported it with great cries.
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  SPEAKER_00: And some were concerned about it and opposed to it.
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  SPEAKER_00: But still the same question remains today.
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  SPEAKER_00: Can we step up?
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  SPEAKER_00: Can I step up?
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  SPEAKER_00: Can I walk with Jesus in the way of peace even when it is costly?
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  SPEAKER_00: Can I speak the truth when it's easier to stay quiet?
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  SPEAKER_00: Can I choose peace
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  SPEAKER_00: over and above and in the face of opposing powers.
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  That's really the question that is going on at the heart of
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  these two processions
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  SPEAKER_00: in Jerusalem on this triumphal entry of Jesus.
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  SPEAKER_00: I was asked this last week,
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  I've been talking about cultivating and letting go and
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  suggesting that there are
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  SPEAKER_00: these things that we can let go of.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I was challenged on that.
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  Can we just decide to let go of these things that permeate our
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  life and are so
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  SPEAKER_00: ingrained in how we think and then
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  how we live richard rohrer talks about that in a lot of
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  different ways and one of
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  my favorite quotes from richard rohrer is this we do not think
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  ourselves into new
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  SPEAKER_00: ways of living we live ourselves into new ways of thinking jesus
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  SPEAKER_00: does not invite us into an idea.
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  SPEAKER_00: Jesus invites us into a life.
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  SPEAKER_00: A life of peace.
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  SPEAKER_00: A life that lets go of pride and picks up love.
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  SPEAKER_00: A life that chooses humility over control.
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  SPEAKER_00: A life that picks up a cross and carries it all the way to its end.
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  SPEAKER_00: To follow him, to follow Jesus, we must let go.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let go of fear.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let go of the need of always needing to win.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let go of thinking that power and control somehow keeps us safe.
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  SPEAKER_00: And let go.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let go of the illusion that domination is strength and brings power.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in its place,
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  we are invited to cultivate this kind of courageous peace that
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  is demonstrated by
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  SPEAKER_00: Jesus and his disciples as they walk through Jerusalem.
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  SPEAKER_00: The kind of peace that listens.
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  SPEAKER_00: The kind of peace that forgives.
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  The kind of peace that dares to speak the truth when everything
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  around us tells us
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  SPEAKER_00: that it's safer to be silent.
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  SPEAKER_00: that builds up rather than tears down.
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  SPEAKER_00: During my years in Sicily, I saw what that kind of peace looks like.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's found in small churches,
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  SPEAKER_00: sharing meals around a small little table in a small little kitchen,
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  and conversations that cross cultures and prayers whispered in
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  two different
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  SPEAKER_00: languages.
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  SPEAKER_00: Peace doesn't come from power.
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  SPEAKER_00: It comes from presence, from listening, from showing up again and again.
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  SPEAKER_00: On Sunny Slope Farm,
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  SPEAKER_00: which is my family's farm where I have a special events venue,
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  SPEAKER_00: I've seen it too in wedding ceremonies,
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  SPEAKER_00: in quiet moments during receptions,
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  SPEAKER_00: in laughter shared under string lights.
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  People from different families and different backgrounds coming
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  together to
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  SPEAKER_00: celebrate love that unifies.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's peace in real life, and it is sacred.
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  And at the hotel where I was a GM,
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  I learned that leadership isn't about control.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's about care.
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  SPEAKER_00: Peace happens when people are seen.
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  when they are welcomed,
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  when they are given a space and a place to become whole.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, Jesus didn't enter Jerusalem to overthrow Rome with violence.
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  SPEAKER_00: He came to reveal a different kind of power,
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  SPEAKER_00: a power that bends low to serve,
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  SPEAKER_00: a power that opens doors instead of closing them,
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  SPEAKER_00: a power that walks straight into suffering and does not flinch.
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  SPEAKER_00: So today, I ask, can I step up?
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  SPEAKER_00: Can you step up?
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  Can we step up and follow Jesus,
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  not just with palms and songs,
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  but with our lives?
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  SPEAKER_00: Can we speak up when others fall silent?
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  Can we choose peace even when the journey ahead seems hard and
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  filled with risk?
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  SPEAKER_00: Brothers and sisters, this parade is not over.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is still moving through cities and towns,
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  SPEAKER_00: through churches and community,
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  SPEAKER_00: through you and through me.
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  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is leading the way for us,
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  SPEAKER_00: still riding that donkey,
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  SPEAKER_00: still asking us to follow him through the streets.
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  SPEAKER_00: So let's not just wave a palm branch.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's step into the story.
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  SPEAKER_00: Step into the kingdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: Step into a life that looks like love and peace for others.
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  SPEAKER_00: Because even if we stay silent,
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  SPEAKER_00: The stones will cry out.
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  God will find something or someone to proclaim this news and to
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  make it known.
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  SPEAKER_00: But how beautiful it is when God's people shout it out first.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.