Suggested Readings: Psalms 118: 1-2; 19-29, Luke 19:28-40, Isaiah 50: 4-9a, Psalms 31: 9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 22:14-23; 56
This story from the gospels is often called the “Triumphal Entry.” It’s a curious title, both because of where it falls in the story of the gospel and where it falls in our remembrance of the life of Jesus. In just a few days Jesus will be executed, and in just a few days we will remember his Passion on Good Friday. In that context, “triumphal” is a curious description.
Curious, and yet accurate. Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem is in the form of a victory procession, a kind of parade. Victory parades in 21st-century America tend to be associated with sports championships - a chance for the whole city to enjoy a bit of the celebration and to lay eyes on the spoils of victory, whether that’s the Stanley Cup, the Lombardi Trophy, or what have you. But Jesus’s entry here is not modeled on the relatively light-hearted victory parade of a sports championship, but rather on the procession of a victorious and conquering king. This was the way of the Roman Empire, the imperial occupiers of Jerusalem. A triumphal procession was a reward for a military victory, a celebration of Roman violence and domination, and a humiliating reminder to the conquered about who was in charge.
It can be satisfying, perhaps, to focus on the story of Jesus entering into Jerusalem as a story of triumph, of victory. After all, we are so very into winning. Winning in sports, of course, and bringing home those trophies. As the legendary coach Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” But we’re just as focused on winning in politics. And in business. And in school. And in life. We strive to be the best, the leading, the first, the top. To win. To triumph. But this gospel text should give us pause.
If Jesus’s entry is a triumphal one, it surely cannot be so in any conventional sense. It is a procession that leads to the cross. And that is, indeed, the triumph in this story, for on the cross Jesus triumphs over his enemies and over sin and death themselves - but triumphs over them in self-giving love, in forgiveness, in complete abandonment to the love of God.
What, then, does it mean for us to celebrate, year after year, Jesus’s triumph [over his enemies] in this way? Perhaps we are chastened and called to repent of our addiction to winning. Even more, may we be reminded, by God’s grace, that our triumph, like that of our Lord, is only in love and forgiveness and complete abandonment to the love of God.
Brad Daugherty
