Bill C-9 & Palm Sunday
A relevant topic on Palm Sunday.
Here’s the scene. Jesus enters the city on a humble donkey, not a stately military warhorse.
A slower mode of transportation, while his followers were praying for salvation, while modeling peace.
The followers of Jesus wave palm branches, not swords. There may be faster ways to achieve revolution than the one Jesus modeled.
The central question for us today is whether Christians are committed to modeling Jesus’ path of discernment and peace, or whether they are tempted by the call to judgment and arms.
Anger and fear often look to judgment to find relief, making judgment a highly marketable commodity. A foundation of anger and fear can build a crowd quickly, because people buy into judgment. This makes sense; judgment affirms and applauds the fear and anger we all grapple with. The image of Jesus executing judgment on the government of the day would make sense—a bold leader destroying enemies with power. Yet, that’s an old story played out throughout history, a formula Hollywood often uses because it’s profitable. In contrast, Jesus leads his followers into the complexity of life—into angst, fear, joy, and surprise—at a donkey’s pace while modeling peace. He does not hold angry rallies or lobby politicians to join his cause, nor does he storm parliament with Bibles or wage war against outsiders. He is a humble King, opposing our instincts and calling us to peace. The Bible says the people were stirred by this event: “How dare he attempt a revolution with this backwards approach?” This unconventional march offended both his followers and his enemies.
There’s a risk to walking the path of peace that Jesus models. Peace places its trust in God to guide history and trusts that it will unfold as it should. It calls us to drop our swords and pick up palm branches instead, and welcome Jesus into our lives. The qualities of discernment and patience are qualities that are hard-won, and that’s the task of discipleship. A process that takes years. Being a disciple of Jesus is more than holding good ideas; it’s about being good like him in everyday life. That, my friend, takes patience, but it’s a process that we need to trust.
So, on this Palm Sunday, let us remind ourselves by telling this story. The story of a humble King who came to serve and lead us to peace.
“6-9 The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They led the donkey and colt out, laid some of their clothes on them, and Jesus mounted. Nearly all the people in the crowd threw their garments down on the road, giving him a royal welcome. Others cut branches from the trees and threw them down as a welcome mat. Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, “Hosanna to David’s son!” “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!” “Hosanna in highest heaven!”
10 As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, “What’s going on here? Who is this?”
11 The parade crowd answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee.”
-Matthew 21:1-11 The Message Version