Introduction
Any big event, such as a festival, brings the potential for all sorts of things to go wrong. Whilst Mark 11.1-11 begins the build up to the Passover festival, Jesus’ disciples might have initially remembered it as the beginning of everything going wrong. We are reminded that the word ‘hosanna’, which we might use as a shout of praise in our worship, originally translated from Hebrew meant ‘save us’ or ‘please save’. What have you witnessed in the past week where people are calling for someone or something to be saved?
This week's news
The ‘please save’ Jeremy Clarkson petition received over one million signatories. Are the BBC ready to sacrifice the key driver behind one of their most popular shows and brand-names (Top Gear), broadcast to a global audience of 350 million? Update: apparently they are willing, but please read on!
Forget waving palm branches, museums are wanting to avoid the potential damage caused by people waving ‘selfie sticks’ about.
Wanting to avoid potential trouble, there are worries about Libya posing a security threat to the UK, and Britain is boosting UK defences in the Falkland Islands.
In order to save herself from potential future cancer worries, Angelina Jolie last week had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. This follows a double mastectomy two years ago, as she carries a gene that puts her at high risk of developing cancer in these areas.
Insurgent, the second film in the Divergent series, based on the books by Veronica Roth, proved to be a massive hit at the US box office and launched in the UK last week. It is the story of people struggling to save themselves and those they love in a twisted, broken world.
Reflection
Mention the name Jeremy Clarkson and you tend to witness the ‘Marmite’ effect – people love him or loathe him. The current ‘fracas’ investigations are simply likely to polarise opinions further. Yet there’s no denying that Top Gear, the show in which he plays a leading role, has grown to become hugely popular over the years. Getting past any offence that might be caused by likening his situation to Jesus’ (they have the same initials too – JC), it’s worth noting that Jesus also provoked a ‘marmite’ response from those who encountered him (see Luke 19.39, or John 12.19). Consider those who were for or against him and why they held those views.
Before even entering Jerusalem, however, the Gospel writer spends a lot of effort describing Jesus’ preferred mode of transport into the city. If this were a Top Gear review, it would probably be noted that the latest ‘Colt’ is a small shopping-trolley of a car, which is not reckoned to be very good. A much more appropriate vehicle might be a (Ford) ‘Mustang’, with the horsepower to impress. After Mark’s detailed account of acquiring Jesus’ strange vehicle of choice, with, equally strangely, no mention of the prophetic verse from Zechariah 9.9 (see Matthew 21.5, or John 12.15), we are drawn to Jesus’ joy-ride into Jerusalem and people yelling: ‘Save us! Please save us!’ For many Jesus was a symbol of rebellion. How justified were the authorities in their worries that he might stir up a revolt, and send their fragile Jewish society spinning out of control and crashing into Roman opposition?
As the BBC continues to weigh-up the case against a troublesome asset/liability in Jeremy Clarkson, and Christians prepare themselves to ride an emotional roller-coaster as the chief priest and scribes stand in judgement over the one who came to save us, another story of humanity’s precarious nature hits the silver screen. Set in a fantasy future society spinning out of control, Insurgent tells how the heroes (Tris and Four) stand up to the ruthless ruling classes of their society. They are looking for answers, and the truth about the world they live in. With people so desperately calling out to be saved, what does Jesus’ dramatic arrival in Jerusalem reveal about his society?
At the end of a busy day Jesus cruised quietly back to Bethany. As we drive at full speed into Holy Week, consider the fracas that kicked-off following a meal in an upper room.
Prayer
You could have
chosen the fanciest ride available,
something to wow the crowds in Jerusalem,
something sleek and powerful and mighty;
or behaved like a diva of an entertainer,
demanding only the finest figs
in your five star room at the inn,
with the homeless asleep outside your window.
But you didn’t.
You could have
roared through the streets,
screaming of the power you possessed,
shouting of all that you would do for everyone;
like a ranting politician,
comfortable in the knowledge
that your ‘radical’ policies
would not disturb your own comfort.
But you didn’t.
We should have
looked at you more closely,
and listened to you more carefully;
for then we would have realised
what the point was
of God
in the ordinary –
in you.
Save us, Jesus,
from the ridiculousness of our society,
from the silliness of our expectations,
and the foolishness of ourselves.
Save us, Lord.
Please.
Questions
- Continuing on through Mark’s Gospel from today’s passage, what are the similarities and differences between the Jewish authorities worries over Jesus causing trouble and the BBC’s worries over Jeremy Clarkson?
- What would Jesus have needed to do to avoid a fracas with the chief priests and the scribes?
Action
Imagine the scene in Mark 11.1-11 if all those in the crowd had been brandishing selfie sticks instead of palm branches. Take Palm Sunday selfies (preferably using selfie sticks, if your church hasn’t banned them) and post them in as many different places as you can, with an appropriate comment.
Take a group to see Insurgent at the cinema. What comment might the society in which the film is based have to make on the society in which Jesus was entangled, or on our own pre-election society as we ask questions of those who might lead us?
Young People
Why are we obsessed with taking selfies and why do we need selfie sticks? Take a look through Mark’s Gospel, from chapter eleven onwards. Talk about which scenes from Holy Week, including Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, would make good selfie pictures, and why you would want to be in that picture.
Tim Lowe is a minister for the United Reformed Church, serving churches in the north west of Coventry, and is particularly interested in varied visual art forms as expressions of faith.
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