Palm Sunday, Places of the Passion: Bethphage

During our journey through Lent on Wednesday evenings, we have started from a place, a location, in the story of Jesus’ final week on earth. We have been to the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany where Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with fragrant oil; to Gethsemane where Jesus prayed; to the Mount of Olives where Jesus was arrested; to Caiaphas’ Courtyard where Peter denied knowing Jesus; and to Pilate’s Judgment Hall, where Jesus was condemned.

Today, our story begins in Bethphage. This week is Holy Week, and we will travel to the Upper Room for the Last Supper on Thursday evening, to Golgotha for the crucifixion on Friday evening, and end next Sunday morning in the Garden Tomb where Mary Magdalene sees the risen Jesus.

Bethphage means house of unripe figs. It is suggested that it was in Bethphage that Jesus cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit. Bethphage was a small village near Bethany, where Jesus often spent time with his good friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Most scholars think Bethphage was between Bethany and Jerusalem, so it would have been on the way as Jesus and the disciples walked to Jerusalem.   

 Let’s imagine Mary of Bethany telling this story. It was Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet while her sister Martha was busy with service projects. It was Mary who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil at Simon the Leper’s house. It was Mary with her sister Martha who wept with Jesus at their brother Lazarus’ death. Mary begins:

We were all so excited. For months Jesus had been talking about going to Jerusalem. ‘What will happen there?’ we all wondered. We all believed Jesus was the new Messiah, sent by God to save us from the Romans. And yet, he never talked about that.

 He only talked about healing people and how much God loves them and wants to have a true relationship with them. He said God doesn’t care so much about the kosher rules and worship rules. He said people are more important than many rules. He sounded more like the prophets, telling us to worship God with our hearts.

 I wasn’t sure what was going to happen that day. We set out from our home in Bethany, heading to Jerusalem, a distance of about 2 miles, but it is up and down hills, so it can be a challenge.

 

Just as we got near Bethphage, some of the disciples showed up with a colt. Apparently, Jesus had made arrangements for the disciples to fetch this colt, and there they were, right on time!

 Jesus rode the colt the rest of the way to the city. Everyone was excited to see what would happen. The closer we got to the city, the more the crowd grew. I’d guess there were 200 or 300 people with us. We were quite a nice parade.

 Some people noticed how dusty it was and put their cloaks on the ground to make the road a little nicer for Jesus to ride on. He looked just like a king, riding into town that day, and people started shouting, “Hosanna. Blessed is the son of David who comes in the name of the Lord!”

 We all thought something exciting was going to happen, but we were disappointed that day. Jesus went into the temple and said some prayers. When he came out of the temple, he had a good look around and headed back to Bethany and home. Of course, we traveled with him.

 

Today, we remember and celebrate this triumphal entry into Jerusalem. For a couple hours, Jesus looks like a king. But what a different kind of king! He is riding on a young horse, not a full-grown steed. He has no weapons, no crown, no royal robes. He demonstrates the humility he encourages others to embrace.

 

During the coming week, Jesus will demonstrate other ways in which he submits to the people he encounters, as well as to God’s Plan A. He will offer his body and blood, as he presents the bread and wine of the Passover meal and gives it a new meaning. He will allow himself to be beaten and humiliated and crucified.

 Jesus will offer his own body to demonstrate how much God loves us. Like the seed from last week’s gospel, Jesus offers his whole self for our salvation, to improve the relationship between God and us.

 … 

 It is fun today to wave our palms and remember Jesus’ triumphal parade. But let’s not forget that this was just a brief moment in the week that got worse and worse for him. Let’s strive to live like Jesus, choosing not the mighty steed but the young colt.

Let’s strive to live like Jesus, choosing not the glory of power but the joy found in obedience to God’s Plan A.

 Let’s strive to live like Jesus, choosing to do whatever it takes to have a relationship with God that gives us life. Amen