UNBROKEN MOUNT (15 OF 49)
Scripture: Mark 11:1-11
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Unbroken Mount (15 of 49)
Series: Lectionary, Year B, Lent 06
Christopher B. Harbin
Mark 11:1-11
Jesus never seems to meet our expectations. He does not play by our rules. He does not submit to our patterns of life. Even when it might seem in his own best interest to accept the way of the world, he has to go and find a contrary way of doing and being. One would think we would expect this. After all, we claim Jesus to be so much more than just one more prophet, preacher, and moral philosopher. Why, then, would we be surprised when he does not speak and act according to our routines and expectations?
Mark's presentation of what we like to call Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem seems to go completely off-script. There is no pomp and circumstance here. There is no regal proclamation. This scene is completely at odds with the notion of Jesus entering Jerusalem as King, Lord, and Messiah. The expected fanfare and sense of Jesus being so much more than a traveling holy man seem lost in Mark's account. The crowds indeed yell ''Hosanna!'' but Jesus presents us with a picture starkly at odds with their acclaim.
Though I grew up in Brazil, I still watched my share of American Westerns on TV. I read every Louis L'Amour book I could get my hands on. I can't say I learned what the Wild West was like, but I did learn a few things along the way about horses and other beasts of burden. One of those lessons was that one does not simply climb onto the back of an animal who has not been trained to put up with it. Animals have to become accustomed to the idea before they allow something like that to happen. My Dad told me about trying that once, and only once, with a yearling bull calf. As much as we might see riding an animal's back as something natural, animals do not share those expectations.
When I turn my mind's eye to the events of today's text, I like to revert to so many artistic depictions I have seen over the years. I picture Jesus riding calmly on a comp ...
Series: Lectionary, Year B, Lent 06
Christopher B. Harbin
Mark 11:1-11
Jesus never seems to meet our expectations. He does not play by our rules. He does not submit to our patterns of life. Even when it might seem in his own best interest to accept the way of the world, he has to go and find a contrary way of doing and being. One would think we would expect this. After all, we claim Jesus to be so much more than just one more prophet, preacher, and moral philosopher. Why, then, would we be surprised when he does not speak and act according to our routines and expectations?
Mark's presentation of what we like to call Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem seems to go completely off-script. There is no pomp and circumstance here. There is no regal proclamation. This scene is completely at odds with the notion of Jesus entering Jerusalem as King, Lord, and Messiah. The expected fanfare and sense of Jesus being so much more than a traveling holy man seem lost in Mark's account. The crowds indeed yell ''Hosanna!'' but Jesus presents us with a picture starkly at odds with their acclaim.
Though I grew up in Brazil, I still watched my share of American Westerns on TV. I read every Louis L'Amour book I could get my hands on. I can't say I learned what the Wild West was like, but I did learn a few things along the way about horses and other beasts of burden. One of those lessons was that one does not simply climb onto the back of an animal who has not been trained to put up with it. Animals have to become accustomed to the idea before they allow something like that to happen. My Dad told me about trying that once, and only once, with a yearling bull calf. As much as we might see riding an animal's back as something natural, animals do not share those expectations.
When I turn my mind's eye to the events of today's text, I like to revert to so many artistic depictions I have seen over the years. I picture Jesus riding calmly on a comp ...
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