Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
March 29, 2015
Scriptures: Psalm 119:1-2; 19-29 and Mark 11:1-11
“What are you looking for?” It’s one of Jesus’ FAQ’s – frequently asked questions. Early in his ministry, he asked the disciples. Much later, he asked the soldiers and then the women who gathered outside the empty tomb: “What are you looking for?” And also, “Who are you looking for?”
All during Lent, a group of Saugatuck Church members and friends have been reading Martin Copenhaver’s small but provocative book, Jesus is the Question: The 307 Questions that Jesus asked, and the 3 he answered. Again and again, the book has reminded us that Jesus preferred asking questions to giving answers – 40 to one. That’s right: he was 40 times more likely to pose a question than he was to give a direct answer.[1] There are 40 days in Lent (not counting Sundays) So, if he asked one question a day, he’d give only one direct answer during the entire season of Lent.
While the verses we read today in the gospel of Mark contain none of the questions that Jesus asked throughout his ministry, that one frequently asked question looms in the background as he approaches Jerusalem, as the crowd swells, as anticipation builds. It lurks just out of view, when Jesus sends two disciples to basically steal a donkey, a ‘colt’ for him to ride. It hovers in the air, that question, as disciples throw their cloaks over the back of the colt, so that Jesus can ride it. It goads us into shifting our feet, as we anticipate that triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
What are you looking for? Are you looking for a king, the likes of which was envisioned by the prophet Zechariah?
“Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
Humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem;
And the battle bow shall he cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zech 9:9-10)
Is that what they were looking for, the crowds that lined the road outside the city gates: A triumphant king, to descend from the Mount of Olives, enter Jerusalem by the Eastern gate, and defeat the Roman occupiers?
A king to storm Roman headquarters, take down the oppressors, and reestablish a peaceful rule?
Yes! The people had such high hopes – for Jesus, for themselves:
That he would be the one to right all wrongs, fix what was broken, restore their freedom, maybe even make the enemy suffer as they had suffered, for good measure. And why not? It seemed that all things were possible in him. Remember, how he had given sight to a blind man, cast out demons, actually raised Jairus’ daughter back from the dead? Surely, anyone who could do that had the power to snap his fingers and overturn kingdoms, right?
So they did as Jesus told them without questions of their own (at least, none that have been recorded): they got that colt, took it from some hapless family without asking themselves how the family would manage without it… never considering how much longer it would take for the family to fetch water from the well, without the aid of their donkey… “The Lord needs it.” That’s all they said.
And they led it away. I can’t help but think it was a bit of a test. An attempt, on Jesus’ part, to expose the holes in their high hopes.
To get them thinking: This is what a king would do – demand a steed. Is this really what Jesus would do? Does this behavior suit him? Kings ride while others walk. Is that what Jesus did, ever? Branches and coats laid on the ground, keep the king from getting dusty, keep him above the messiness of the road.[2] But did Jesus ever avoid messiness? Jesus, who mixed dirt with his own spit and spread it on a man’s eyelids, to restore his sight; Jesus who allowed a woman to wash his feet with her hair; Jesus who stopped to talk with lepers outside the gates of the city, and hung out with fishermen… Jesus who probably smelled like fish, and perfume, and the sweat of human bodies that so often pressed close around him.
It strikes me as uncharacteristic for Jesus, of all people, to require the kind of special treatment usually reserved for a king. Unless he was trying to make a point, intentionally inciting our questions. Unless he was trying to expose the disconnect, silently asking, “What are you looking for, really?”
Carlos Bentoncor, Senior Guide for birding enthusiasts in Panama, tells a story about the day he killed his first bird with a slingshot, when he was nine years old. Proudly, he presented the bird to his grandmother, who greeted his announcement with a question, “How do you want it – to cook this bird for you?” Puzzled, the boy replied, “I don’t want to eat it.” “Then why did you kill it?” she asked. His grandmother took the bird, a tiny red-legged honey creeper, fried it up and presented it to him on a plate. She did not make him eat it, but he learned the lesson well enough: “If you are going to kill something in the forest, it’s because you really need it.”[3]
How do you want me to prepare it?
What are you looking for?
Two questions, both designed to provoke us – gently or not so gently – to look at the situation from a different angle, to open up our hearts. Do you WANT to eat this bird? Do you WANT a ruler who would take advantage of the poor, or take power by force? Questions like these can expose our short-sightedness, leave us squirming. Well, no. Of course not. We just want the sense of satisfaction that comes with being a good marksman, or of seeing our enemies defeated.
But it’s not that simple, not with Jesus. “Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” that’s what he said, just a few verses back. We’d just as soon forget that bit and move on with the parade, but no such luck: What are you looking for? Jesus asks. Because if you are looking for a good show, by all means jump in line. But if you are looking for new life, for healing, for wholeness; if you are looking for hope and peace, well, then there’s only one way to get there, and it’s not by way of a royal procession. No amount of confetti, not even the most triumphant trumpet blast can turn the world right side up. No war can restore peace, not really: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” That’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And no beloved community can be formed by those who remain above the fray. Any of us who has ever tried to transform – a bad habit, a broken relationship, a struggling community or a prejudiced perspective knows that there are no quick fixes; there is no change without struggle; no way around the pain; we have to go through.
So maybe that’s what Jesus is doing: keeping it real. Gently, creatively, provocatively turning our expectations on their head. Inciting our questions. You want a king? How about a king that rides a young donkey, untrained and awkward? How about a king whose feet dangle just above the ground when he sits on his royal steed? A king who is willing to face ridicule, get dusty, suffer abuse, even die? We might imagine that we want someone who will snap his fingers and make it all right; but what we get is someone who would rather ask us questions than make demands; someone more inclined to invite than to condemn; someone willing to meet us where we are, to confront the pain, to stay the course, even though it lead all the way to Golgotha – not for the sake of glory, but for the sake of love.
Tell me, can you imagine following someone like that?
Scriptures
PSALM 118: 1-2; 19-29 – NRSV Translation
1O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever! 2Let Israel say, “God’s steadfast love endures forever.” …19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27The Lord is God, and God has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar. 28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you. 29O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Mark 11:1-11 – NRSV Translation
1When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, [Jesus] sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 11Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
[1] Jesus is the Question, Martin Copenhaver, xix.
[2] Eric Fistler on the Pulpit Fiction podcast.
[3] Ray Brown, Talkin’ Birds, on NPR’s Morning Edition, 3-28-15.