“All glory, laud and honor to thee, Redeemer, King. To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.”*
Pouring procession style through the church’s back door to the parking lot a congregation sings these Palm Sunday verses. Trailing each other through
a car lane-way the people move towards the main entrance while waving wispy palm fronds overhead. This is a re-enactment of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem a week before his death.
At its start within the church basement the singing is joyous and loud, but a straggling line over the asphalt with few near constructs to bounce sound waves the voices soon fade. The competing noise of street traffic against a backdrop of the great outdoors wins over. Some people stop singing altogether; discouraged perhaps with the loss of amplification or embarrassed their voice can now be distinctly heard when no longer blended and disguised by the rest. Openly exposed in a thinning line the congregants do not feel as strong as when anonymously protected in the larger group.
Obscurity Undone – No Longer Blended or Disguised by the Rest
It is likely the reverse when Jesus enters Jerusalem, bathed in anonymity the crowd feels strong and ready. Surely he is the one to challenge Rome and resist oppression. They hear he is on his way; rumours abound that the power of God is behind him. With eyes cast far and necks straining to catch a first glimpse of the celebrated figure excitement mounts. With all the hallmarks of a modern-day Santa Claus parade the group is fervently ready to greet the one bearing the gift that will emancipate all.
Alone Jesus enters Jerusalem – a single man on a donkey – not an uncrowned king leading a resistance army. The crowd is not dissuaded. Perhaps his military forces wait hidden outside the city walls, and perhaps this is his disguise to gain entry and not overly stir the authorities notice, at least not yet. A man of miracles, after all, and favoured by God he is wildly celebrated; a rock star for the ages.
But Jesus already knows the road he travels withholds security of the masses. To fulfill his life’s purpose there is no hiding out in numbers, no blending or melting away into obscurity. On Good Friday he again appears in a crowd but this time alone and rejected, abandoned to the reigning powers with only God as his support. Merely days from his triumphant entry into Jerusalem with the sounds of joy and celebration still ringing in his ears I am sure he, too, like the Palm Sunday congregants, fell silent while processing. An innocent man condemned to die on Calvary this time the parade route is devastatingly different.
No longer blended or disguised by the rest Jesus becomes exposed; made vulnerable and weak; humiliated, abused, tortured and killed. Standing out in a crowd is no joke.
Obscurity Undone – Alone in a Crowd
Obscurity Undone – Out and Away and Alone
Many find comfort in the group aspect of church; it is a place to belong within a body of people who mostly believe in the same things. For some, church membership even provides a smug security in an “us versus them” equation giving rise to elitist pretensions. It feels good being in a category which is better than the rest, affirming a mentality that distinguishes between good guys and bad guys, the righteous versus the sinner.
Far more uncomfortable and frightening and awesome is the call to step out and away from the crowd as Jesus did; as part of a procession straggling in a thin line a single competing voice against a loud and busy backdrop is by its very nature distinctly powerful.
The other day at a church luncheon I saw a video campaigning for suicide prevention of indigenous youth. Delivered by poet Helen Knott and entitled “Breathe” https://reclaimthewarrior.com/poetry-other-videos/ I am caught off-guard by the power of her message and have difficulty swallowing my lunch; a single voice resonating with the pain of many. No longer blended and disguised by the rest have I seen in her the image of Jesus – walking a lonely path yet pointing a way towards hope and freedom?
*The United Methodist Hymnal Number 280
Text: Theodulph of Orleans; trans. by John Mason Neale
Music: Melchior Teschner; harm. by W.H. Monk
Tune: ST. THEODULPH, Meter: 76.76 D
Yes – the video Breathe was very powerful and I am glad we raised so much money for suicide prevention of indigenous youth.