Believe Pt. 2: With All Your Heart—Psa.118: 1-2, 19-29; Matt. 21: 1-11
In 1972, a song of great wisdom and importance was release to the public. The singer was Janice Joplin. The song went like this, “O Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porches, I must make amends. I’ve worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends. O Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?” How I truly wish faith and prayer worked like this. But when Jesus said, “Follow me,” I don’t remember reading about a luxury car in the contract…sadly.
In our Gospel today we read a somewhat triumphant story but with a dark backstory. On this day the people praise Jesus, and a few days later they demand his death. The fickle people did not love Jesus with their whole heart, nor did they believe him truly and completely. They looked for a political and military deliverer from Rome, but instead they found a humble spirit on a donkey. Where do we end up when society jumps headfirst into their best idea of faith, but fails to truly believe and trust in Jesus with their whole heart? I’ll give you three outcomes, but fair warning, some might be rather uncomfortable in our current climate. So, then, what exactly happens when folks get mad that the Mercedes Benz doesn’t show up like they wanted?
The first problem we get is control. Part of faith is admitting to ourselves and in our lives that we really don’t have all that much control. Now, we can control some small things—the food we fix, how we dress, our schedule (usually). But there are many things where we simply don’t have all that much control—sickness and health, the world in general, catastrophes, the sun coming up, the earth spinning, and so much else in life we simply don’t have control in those realms. Here, we see control in the form of Rome oppressing the people and ruling with an iron fist. There were local leaders, of course, but all political and military power went through Rome. And Rome ruled with power and oppression.
A friend of mine worked for a larger church. One day she was called in by the pastor and associate. They interrogated her about her job as music director. She told them, “I answer to God—I trust and believe in God, and God is the one who is in charge of and controls me.” They replied to her, “And that’s exactly why you’re fired. WE are the ones in charge here. Period.” When we don’t trust God, we seek control because it gives a false sense of security that we can guide things to the outcome we want. If you feel the need to control the outcome, you’ve already failed in the faith to start. As the Psalm reminds us, “This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Instead of control, we must find trust in God.
While we’re on this topic, another issue for those who fail to trust with all their heart is political and social domination. I’ve heard and read a lot about this idea of Christian Nationalism. It’s a fusion of state and church power, where the church runs the state. It’s highly patriotic, charismatic, and devoted to that idea that the state does nothing without church approval. And fundamentally, I think the story of Palm Sunday tells us that’s wrong.
A pastor friend said to me once that those who do not trust God prefer to trust a theocracy. If faith rules the land, then it’s easy. But Jesus didn’t give a message of overturning Rome, Herod, and the Temple with him as the political ruler in its place. Jesus taught of spiritual things, to be practiced in our lives, and preached as an invitation for others to follow. If you want to know what a nationalist religion looks like—it’s the Pharisees. They wielded both political and social power over the people in all things.
Look to the exchange with Pilate. When he wanted to acquit Jesus, they didn’t say, “God will get you.” They, the religious leaders, threatened Pilate with punishment from Caesar. They exploited the power of the state because they had lost their faith in God. Jesus wanted people to follow because they loved him and believed in him, not because it was the rule of law. People who are Christian because the law requires it are not Christian at all, and we do a disservice their grace and their soul when we look for political power over a Gospel of love and redemption in life. Jesus rode into Jerusalem to save it, but it was the religious law that had him killed, not the unfaithful in that town.
And the last struggle with not believing with all of one’s heart is the descent into two-facedness. A pastor-friend once said a quote which stuck with me, “If you don’t trust, you won’t be trustworthy.” Jesus rode into that city knowing they would say, “Hail, hosana!” then they would soon say, “Crucify him.” They were excited about the idea of Jesus, but they didn’t fully believe and trust in him. Their hearts and souls were unsettled and waffling between what Jesus said and what the religious powers told them. Lack of trust begats a lack of trust.
The same of all this is true in all of our churches. They have gathered, sang, prayed, and preached. And at the end, they all said, “O Lord, won’t you send me a Mercedes Benz?” Only, the reward isn’t necessarily a car, a good life, or something nice and shiny here. The reward for a life of faith lived with all your heart is holy, spiritual, and eternal. Those who were at the triumphant entry in the Gospel had their own expectations, beliefs and hopes for what they thought they wanted. But in reality, God wanted to send them the Mercedes Benz. They just didn’t understand it at the time.
The way to combat the shortcoming in trust or struggle to believe with all your heart is to shore up your commitment. Faith is a practice wherein we must know what we’re signing up for and commit ourselves to the work while believing in the hope. Ultimately, when we take a step back and ask for the help in trusting God fully, we can kick to the curb these things which hold us back. We won’t need to be in control all the time because we know that God will be with us and journey along the way. We won’t need to take the easy route of hoping the church takes over all aspects of our politics, because we are called to follow Jesus, not Rome, and not a Jesus made into the image of Rome.
And we will be able to avoid being two faced. In life, there are too many people like the folks offering their hosannas to Jesus. One day they praise, the other they tear down. Too many people in life are two-faced and untrustworthy. As people of faith, we have the opportunity to live our lives in such a way that we teach what trust means, convince hearts and minds that God’s love for all is truly amazing, and that faith has a role to play in helping us build a community of care, trust, and hope wherever we are.
So, this Palm Sunday may we set aside those things that hold us back from fully trusting God. May we be able to confidently say that we have a blessed assurance for Jesus is with us. And may we share that good news. This hope, this truth of God’s love, this calling to bring good news to others…these are the things the hymn means when we hear, “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.” Remember today those words, blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. You may not get the Mercedes Benz, but I think we can say that what God has promised is even better.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1150957855590572