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We can only imagine what Jesus saw as the donkey upon which he was riding crested the Mt. of Olives just east of the city of Jerusalem. Olivet, as it is sometimes called, is less a mountain and more a hill, rising to a height of about 2,700 feet. But that is 200-feet higher than Mt. Zion where Jerusalem is built. So picture, if you will, what it must have looked like to Jesus as that little donkey struggled the last few paces toward the top of the hill, finally arriving at the summit, revealing an unfolding panorama of the glorious Holy City with the Temple of God at its center.

Jerusalem! Hiru – shalom. The city of peace.

In some ways, the city’s name is an oxymoron because Jerusalem before that day, after that day, and most especially on that day long ago is anything but a city of peace. Its history before that first Palm Sunday is scarred by the wounds inflicted by Babylonian armies who destroyed the city in 586 BC. Its present is marked by the ongoing struggles and conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. And on that Palm Sunday nearly two thousand years ago, Jerusalem was an occupied city, a captured jewel in the crown of Caesar.

The city of peace. Hiru – shalom. Jerusalem.

And as that little donkey bears its precious human cargo down the western slope of Olivet, descending along the twisted path snaking along and around the Kidron Valley toward the open city gates, the followers of Jesus lay down their coats in the road as if welcoming a king, and taking up palm branches which are the symbol of freedom, they start to shout, “Ho-shanna!” which means, “Save us, now!”

Save us…NOW.

Salvation…is not about going to heaven when you die. Going to heaven when you die is one of the fringe benefits of salvation, but it is not salvation itself. Salvation is about being set free NOW – in THIS life – free from the Babylonians, the Caesars, and all the other powers of this world that threaten to destroy us and keep us from being the people God created us to be! Some of those powers reside outside of ourselves. Some of those powers are inside ourselves.

But whether external or internal, we need saving from the powers that undo us. So we join our voices with those who cry out to Jesus, “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!”

Save us…NOW!

But, of course, the shouts of “Hosanna!” on this day became only an empty echo come Friday. Like countless Jews killed by the Babylonian hordes, and by the Roman armies, and by other enemies to this very day, Jesus, too, was put to death. On Good Friday, he was crucified between two thieves.

Many of us don’t stop long enough at this very point – at the cross where Jesus died. Most of us prefer to fast-forward the story to Easter – to the resurrection – to the happy ending! And Easter is definitely worth celebrating!

But if we go too quickly to the resurrection, we can easily miss the very point – and power – of the cross.

You know, in some of our Christian traditions, people take the cross seriously enough that they make a sign of the cross upon themselves. Some of our own members do this when they enter the sanctuary, or when receiving Communion. That’s one of the things I love about our church’s interdenominational spirit – we get to experience different gifts and traditions that are important to our Christian brothers and sisters. And our own faith is deepened and broadened as we learn about the faith of others.

Would you put together the first three fingers of your right hand? Three fingers represent the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Your thumb and baby finger are bent inward toward the palm. The two fingers stand for the nature of Christ who was fully human, and fully divine. And the inward bend represents Christ’s descent – his incarnation – coming from heaven to earth to live among us.

Now touch your three fingers to your forehead. This is to sanctify your mind.

Then touch your three fingers to the upper part of your belly. This is to sanctify your heart.

Now touch your right shoulder, and then the left shoulder. This is to sanctify your bodily strength.

Do you see what we have done?

In making the sign of the cross, we have just placed upon ourselves Jesus’ Great Commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your mind, all your heart, and with all your strength.”

Now you know.

It is good to stop for a while at the cross where Jesus died – and drawing upon our different traditions, deepen our understanding of what the cross means.

Now notice something else about the cross. Its vertical upright seems to reach from earth to heaven – and heaven to earth, as if uniting humanity with God – and God with humanity. And look at that horizontal crossbar reaching all the way out toward YOU…and all the way out to YOU – connecting you and you – you and me – us and them.

In Jesus’ death on the cross, Jesus unites us with God and with one another.

“Hosanna!”

Save us, NOW!

And although this prayer for salvation NOW may seem at first glance to be a prayer that went unanswered when Jesus was crucified, the cross actually shows us that the prayer was in fact ANSWERED! You see, in his death, Jesus gives us the two gifts needed to be saved through the powers of evil.

Jesus gives us God…and Jesus gives us each other!

Here at the cross is found the power for overcoming the Babylonians, Romans and other forces that destroy human lives. Here at the cross are the gifts we need to be whole…to be happy…to face up to the challenges of life and live as the people God created us to be.

Jesus gives us God. And Jesus gives us each other.

What I wish everybody would understand about Palm Sunday is that this triumphal entry is not just a procession involving Jesus and his disciples. They are only one small parade among a thousand other parades as Jewish people from far and wide make their way to Jerusalem for the Holy Days.  They come from east and west, north and south. They are people of many colors, languages and customs. And they are all converging on this one place where a cross will soon be raised!

Jesus is bringing the WORLD to the cross!

Many years ago, a great preacher by the name of Peter Marshall preached a powerful Holy Week sermon called, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” Dr. Marshall wanted us to see that we were ALL there that day when Jesus died. Listen to a few of his words:

“A thunderstorm was blowing up from the mountains. It was becoming strangely dark. People looked at the ominous sky and became frightened. Women took little children by the hand and hurried back to the city before the storm would break. It was an uncanny darkness – it had never been as dark at midday before.

The tears of the women were drying now. The Centurion was silent – every so often he would gaze up at Jesus with a strange look in his eyes. The soldiers were silent too, their gambling was over. Suddenly Jesus opened His eyes and gave a loud cry. The gladness in his voice startled all who heard it for it sounded like a shout of victory. “It is finished. Father into your hands I commend My spirit.”

And with that cry, He died.

They were all there that day on the top of the hill, the friends of Jesus and His enemies. The Godly people, they were there, as well as the people who could have cared less about God. The Priests were there and the scribes, the greedy Sadducees, the hypocrites, the proud authorities with their robes, their broad-bordered phylacteries on which the golden bells were sewn with golden thread. They were there, gathering their robes more tightly around them and standing with arms folded approvingly. The unbelievers were standing beside them. The harlots were there and their customers were there, they were all there. Simon of Cyrene was there and the soldiers too.

Were YOU there when they crucified my Lord?

When we are honest with ourselves, we know that we were there too and that we helped to put Christ there. Because every attitude present on that hilltop that day is present with us now. Every emotion that tugged at human hearts then, tugs at human hearts still. Every face that was there is here too, every voice that shouted then is shouting still. Every human being was represented at Calvary, every sin was in a nail or the spear or the needle-like thorns, and pardon for them all was in the blood that was shed…

Were YOU there when they crucified my Lord?

I was!

Were you?”

(From the book, The First Easter, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959)

At the cross, Jesus places our hands in the hand of God, and he places my hand in yours, yours in mine, ours in each others, and all of ours in the hands of humanity all around us.

And that is how salvation comes to us in the daily living of our lives – through the grace of a God who loves us, and the faithful support of each other.

It was not long after my wife Sandy went home to be with the Lord that our hearts began turning to God for strength and comfort. And not long after that, the phone started ringing. And the door started knocking. A whole community of faithful people began surrounding our family with loving care.

How do we get through times like these? How do we overcome the terrible obstacles life throws our way? How do we find salvation when our lives fall apart?

We come to the cross where Jesus connects us with God our Creator, and with each other.

And whenever this happens, the shout goes up…

…”Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!”