Homily for Palm Sunday and the Passion of Our Lord 2024

March 24, 2024. Texts: John 12:12-16; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1 – 15:47.

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My first real memory of Seattle’s annual Seafair Parade was 1963. The memory is dim, but I recall decorated floats, marching bands, clowns, and candy tossed to the children by the handfuls. Then toward the end, the Seafair Pirates.

This is perhaps the strongest part of the memory. The pirates. Unlike the neatly uniformed sailors from the Navy ships moored at downtown piers, the pirates wore mismatched clothing and had unruly beards. They looked more like working men from Ballard – burly Scandinavians fresh off their Alaska fishing boats ready for some action.

The pirates ran about, carrying enormous real metal swords which they scraped on the street in front of us, raising showers of sparks. They were loud and rude. It was terrifying.

But the pirates also tossed candy to the parade goers. Were they to be feared, or was this all in good spirit? To a small child trying to understand the world, it was confusing.

The Passover festival approached in the year 33, and the disciples waited outside Jerusalem. Judas was not one of the two sent to get the donkey for Jesus. It gave him time to think about what was happening.

Jesus was preparing to enter Jerusalem where he’d said he was going to die. On the opposite side of the city an imperial parade was forming for Governor Pilate and soldiers to enter the city. They always did, at this time of the year; the festival could get unruly and Caesar would keep the peace at any cost.

What was Jesus thinking? Was this all part of God’s plan for Israel’s salvation? Or was Jesus going to lead the ragged disciples straight into a street fight with armed and trained Roman soldiers? And they might all die needlessly in the end.

Judas had joined Jesus and his disciple community full of hope. He was tired of being treated like a second class citizen in his own country, which God had given to his ancestors. Jesus said he would change things for the better. Judas had trusted him. Now he was not so sure.

Some followers had already left. But Judas was a principled and religious man. He cared about the poor as much as the next person. Hadn’t minded when Jesus sent them all out to heal the sick, pray with demonized people, visit prisoners. Though, some of his friends it was foolishness.

Actually, it felt good to help. But it had been over two years now and it was exhausting too. And things were sometimes tense among the Twelve especially when Jesus wasn’t around. What would happen when he was gone? Who would bring hope and certainty back into the world?

Judas felt a heavy weight of responsibility. Was the peace Jesus promised even possible? Was Rome really the problem, and were Jerusalem’s great religious leaders truly not looking out for the good of God’s children? If Jesus was the real threat after all, maybe Judas was the one to make things right. It was confusing.