Going Ahead – sermon on March 20, 2016
Luke 19: 28-40 Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.”
Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Sermon: Going Ahead by Rev. Doreen Oughton
When I was doing my chaplaincy internship, we were assigned to a group with other student chaplains for supervision, where we’d share challenges and questions, coping strategies, and growth. I remember this woman Gail talking about how nervous she was before going in to see a patient, and that she would prepare herself in prayer by asking Jesus to go in ahead of her and hide somewhere. Then she would enter with the idea of finding Jesus in that room, in that visit. I was touched by that. I have often asked Jesus to go with me into various situations, to come to me in a time of need, but never really thought about asking him to go ahead of me.
Yet I think it is a big part of our Christian faith – to understand Jesus as having gone ahead of us. Paul talks quite a bit about this regarding resurrection – Jesus is the first to have died into eternal life. He has gone ahead of us. And of course as his disciples we hear and hopefully respond as the earliest disciples to Jesus’ invitation – “follow me.” We seek to follow him in how he lived his life – loving all people, aligning ourselves especially with those on the margins, those who are suffering. We seek to follow him in the way he related to his Abba, setting aside time for prayer and meditation, for worship and song. We seek to follow him into the kindom. He is our good shepherd. We listen for his voice to find our way. Jesus leads, and we follow.
Then again, Jesus is not the type to be boxed in, or to let us box ourselves in. We are not only sheep. Perhaps we are not ONLY meant to follow. I was struck by this story by a few things, the first being how Jesus sent the two out ahead – not back to a village they already passed through, but ahead. And when the donkey arrives, Jesus is set upon it, and the many disciples again go out – ahead of Jesus, proclaiming the coming of the King. So maybe there is a message in this for us. We must not only follow Jesus, but sometimes go out ahead of him.
In this passage, there are two purposes served by this “going out ahead.” What is the first purpose? What is it Jesus sends the two ahead to do? To get the donkey. It is interesting, isn’t it, that Jesus doesn’t tell them to ask for the donkey, he just tells them to take it, with the explanation that the Lord needs it. What do you think about that? Now maybe it was pre-arranged; Jesus had already asked and been given permission to send someone to take the donkey. The disciples’ explanation that “the Lord needs it” was just the identifier that would assure the owner that it was going to the right place. I don’t know. This passage from Luke had Jesus telling them “if anyone asks you” not “if the owner asks you.” Whether pre-arranged or not, I wonder, are we meant to identify with the owner of the donkey here? When someone wants something from us might it be that the Lord needs it? Might it be that someone has come out ahead of Jesus to prepare the way for him, and we might consider relinquishing what is needed – be it money, time, shelter?
One of the commentators on this passage told a story of having been pondering this scripture passage for awhile, then took a break and met a friend for lunch. As they were leaving the restaurant, an unkempt man approached asking for money. The commentator said no immediately, having a personal policy against this kind of giving, but her friend immediately opened her purse and pulled out a few bills and handed it to the man. She said it struck her then, looking into the face of this man and hearing in her head the words “the Lord needs it.”
Or maybe we are challenged to identify with the two disciples who go ahead to take the donkey. Is there something the Lord needs that we personally do not have to provide, but might have to go out ahead and ask on behalf of the Lord? The tricky thing here is discerning what the Lord needs from what we think we need, whether as individuals or as a church. I wonder if a good guideline is whether it is something that will continue to draw us out ahead instead of back in where we are most comfortable. After all, the donkey carried Jesus into Jerusalem where he would be arrested, tried, convicted and crucified. Are the things we seek on behalf of the Lord really the things that draw us closer to him, closer to the cross, closer to life eternal?
And the second purpose of going ahead in this story was to make a parade, to call attention to the good news, to make noise and sing hosannas. And surely that is our call as disciples as well, no? Christ has come, is coming, and will come again, and that is something to celebrate! This is good news to be shared! Here with each other of course, but also out there, with people who don’t know he is the king who has come in the name of the Lord! He’s not right behind us on a donkey now, so we don’t need to toss our cloaks down, but can we think about how to respond to such a call? Is it as simple as inviting someone to the Easter worship service? Could it involve becoming practiced and comfortable with sharing with others how Jesus has touched your life? What he means to you, what your faith means to you, what your church means to you? These are worthwhile questions to ponder, for sure. But remember that God is not dependent upon us to proclaim and rejoice and get that good news out. We’re invited to participate in the joy, but if we choose not to, well, even the stones will shout it out. Our king is coming. Such good news cannot, will not be stopped. Blessed is he who comes in the name of God. Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest heaven.
