(Palm Sunday- Baptisms)- Mark 11:1-11 "A New Beginning"

Mark 11:1-11
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'"
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
10 "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
(from New International Version)
Two part sermon- What was Jesus doing by riding into Jerusalem?
Jesus/Scripture part- description of what is happening on the original palm day
He was not afraid of his enemies- walked right into the hornet’s nest with his eyes wide open
Riding, a likely hard to control colt- that was borrowed
Jesus taught from a borrowed boat, ate his last meal in a borrowed room, rode to town on a borrowed colt and was even buried in a borrowed tomb
Hosanna= Lord Save us- How would Jesus have heard it?
This quote is from psalm 118 (our call to worship)- Hosanna is a call for salvation
Can you imagine Jesus hearing the crowds shout "Save us"- "You are the blessed one who comes in the name of the Lord" Save us in the highest- Jesus would be lifted high- but not on a throne- instead he was lifted high on a cross. He would not be given a crown of jewels- but instead a crown of thorns
Jesus had an exciting entrance- and yet the day ends with no revolution- no, he simply inspects Jerusalem- sees the temple and retreats to leave his work for another day
What do we learn from Jesus experience? Calling, obedient
Our part- what can we learn from the disciple’s experience?
What can we learn from the experience of the crowd.
Doing what seems strange to the world-
Obedience to the strange and mundane "What are you doing untying that colt?"- That surely must have appeared wrong and strange- and they replied "We are doing what Jesus told us to"= this is no license to do become a horse thief in the name of Jesus- but it does remind us of obedience to the calling we receive in Christ
Doesn’t it seem strange, for several reasons, to stand in public and allow another person to dunk you under water? Strange to some yes- but to those called by Jesus Christ- we are being obedient to his whisper in our hear
Going under the water reminds us of the death and resurrection of Christ
Coming up not just alive, but eternally alive- we are covered with water- just as real as the love of God that covers us every moment of every day.
So it may be strange at first to see the Son of God riding on borrowed colt- untrained, not a stallion, not a ride in a chariot- just a laughable, colt- but he was trying to redefine normal- he was teaching the way of sacrificial love- to love your enemy, to give to the needy- All Christians are called to:
The ministry of everyday life it can seem or appear and even feel mundane- like fetching a donkey- but we are leading by our hand the means to God’s arrival to a whole city- think about it- God could do it on His own but he chooses to use us through the every day stuff to show love to the world- so don’t disregard the mundane of your life- the lifelong obedient tasks God has given you- parenting, marriages, career, being a good neighbor- a good student, a responsible citizen, a caretaker of creation- can all be mundane if we let them- but if we look with the eyes of God we see they are the way that God’s love travels in this world
To our newly baptized and newly confirmed- and truly to all who consider yourself to be a disciple of Christ Jesus
Our life is on loan from God- we are living a borrowed life- lent to us freely by God
God is pleased when people choose to use this life- all of life- even its mundaneness- to do beautiful, loving, forgiving actions- this is God’s vehicle- his transport system
So I charge you Alyssa, Brenda, Eli, Gordy, Haley, Jake, Taylor and Tereasa- to live boldly- to engage life fully- Your lives have been and will continue to be full of opportunities- some strange even mundane- opportunities to Love God and love your neighbor- I charge you to live day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, opportunity by opportunity- living free of guilt, fear, worry and hatred and living full of grace, faith, hope and love. God loves you- God loves all of us- Hosanna- he has saved us from a life of inwardness- of selfishness- Hosanna- he has saved us from fear- from worry- Hosanna in the highest- He has saved us from meaninglessness and death- Hosanna- God saved us- and though it isn’t always easy- it only gets better and better for all eternity.
Friends and family- if you are here today and are thinking about where you are with God- I applaud you for that- if you want to work on this journey- maybe you are thinking about baptism or confirmation or a call to being a pastor or joining a church- maybe you really just want to be connected with God- want to get things right in your life- I have no idea where you’re at- but today is an opportunity to make a conscious choice to travel into the story that God has prepared for you.
There on your sermon outline at the bottom and also if you received a welcome bag- are chances to communicate- As is said- every journey is started by taking one step- think about it- pray on it- turn in a card- talk to a friend.
God walked right into a story that full of joy and pain, love and denial- he rode into town that day so that we could know what love really looks- and feels like. What a love- What a God- Hosanna. Hosanna.