Psalm 118:1-2:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”

Psalm 118:19-29:

 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Matthew 21:1-11:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.

Preface

I wrote this sermon yesterday. And then I saw some news reports about the protests. It occurred to me that, given the context of what is going on right now, my sermon might be understood as a commentary on current events with political overtones.

You might be wondering if I’m going to say anything about the political protests yesterday. But I have never been a political activist. It’s not my path. I am more interested in contemplative spirituality. Contemplative spirituality involves the search for a direct experience of God through meditative practices

I think political activism, protest marches, things like this are important. Democracy is important. Democracy is a foundation. Freedom of religious practice is a foundation. And so these things are very important.

Having said that, I see my role as pastor here as a guardian of this sanctuary. I want to protect this sanctuary. I want this sanctuary to be a sacred space for prayer and meditation. It’s very important to have places like that, designated places for prayer and meditation, so that the messages of the heart can be heard.

Later on this year, as we get into the summer months and the readings from the middle section of Matthew’s Gospel, I’m going to talk about some aspects of Christianity that, as they have recently developed, are problematic, and that may be controversial. But, in general, I want to guard this pulpit and this sanctuary as a true sanctuary, in the best sense of that word. That is probably because of who I am, my own temperament and interests. I am interested in the timeless and eternal, and our experience of this in the ordinary and every day. So that is where my focus is.

Through the Jerusalem Gate

Overview of our readings so far and where we are going.

Up until this point in our study of Matthew’s Gospel this year, we have been reading, in order, chapters one through seven. Now, on Palm Sunday, we jump ahead to the readings for Holy Week beginning with chapter 21. So we are skipping the middle part of the Gospel and jumping ahead to the end. After Easter, we will go back and pick up the readings from the middle section of Matthew, and these will focus on Jesus’ teachings. But for Holy Week, we take a look at the passion narrative.

Listening for the voice of the heart.

My sermon today is about listening for the voice of the heart. Listening for the voice of the heart amidst all the distractions. This voice of the heart is the source of our best decisions. What is the message of the heart? What is your heart saying to you today, at this very moment?

The great story.

The story of Jesus is the story of life and death, and the triumph of life over death. It is the great story. Today in our reading we have Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is our meditation this week, the object of our reflection for the beginning of holy week.

Readings in Matthew for Holy Week.

During holy week, we travel with Jesus from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to the Last Supper, then to the Garden of Gethsemane, the arrest and the trial before Pilate, and then to the cross, the death, burial, and resurrection. These readings for Holy Week are found in chapters 26, 27, and 28 of Matthew. So this would be a very good thing to read this week. You could sit down and read these three chapters, Matthew 26, 27, and 28, the last three chapters of Matthew’s Gospel. In today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey while the people wave palm branches and shout “Hosanna.”

How are decisions made?

How did Jesus arrive at this decision to go to Jerusalem? How did he decide to ride a donkey? Out of all the possible choices, how did he decide to do this? And so, this is the question I am asking today. How do we decide which is the best way to go? Out of all the possible choices, how do we decide our direction? What’s your direction? How are decisions made?

Many distracting voices.

We hear so many distracting voices. These are the voices that have their own agendas. They try to tell us what to do. We might think they belong to us, that we are talking to ourselves. But actually, so much of our thinking is the echoes of other’s voices. There are so many distracting voices, so many distracting sounds, so many distracting stories, commercials, advertisements, background noise, politicians clanging bells for attention. You know, banging pots and pans to get our attention, trying to make you look. But to which voice do we give our attention? Where is our own voice in the midst of all this noise?

Attention

I remember when we were kids, my brother and I would play a game. I have no idea where it came from. No one taught it to us. But it’s one of those games that just happens by itself. Somehow, because of the way we are made and function as human beings, as living creatures, so amazing, so miraculous, living, breathing, walking, talking, interacting human beings, being conscious, being aware, we have this thing called “attention.”

My attention. Your attention. It’s not anything tangible. Attention is not something tangible. But it’s something very real. And so my brother and I would play this game– we didn’t even have a name for it, but if we did have a name for it, we would have called it, “Haha, made you look.”

Haha, made you look.

That was the goal of the game. We would try to get each other’s attention. It was kind of a power game, you know?

If Eddie can get Tommy’s attention, if Eddie can make Tommy look, then Eddie wins. But if Tommy completely ignores Eddis, then Tommy wins.

It was a fun game. We used to laugh a lot.

“Haha! Made you look!

“No you didn’t! I made you look!”

Back and forth. But really, when I think about it, this game says something very important. It brings up an important question. Who has my attention? Who owns my attention? This attention is my attention. In some strange and mysterious way, I can have control over my attention. I can direct my attention. And I can keep it directed toward the object of my choice. So this is a very important point. Not something to be taken lightly. Because it’s the rudder of the ship. Attention is the rudder of the ship.

Jesus heard the voice of the heart.

Jesus goes to the Jerusalem gate. He rides a donkey into the city. It was an authentic decision. It came from his authentic voice. His true inner voice. The voice of the heart.

How are decisions made?

How are decisions made? What voice are we listening to? What voice has our attention? Sometimes, it is quite literally the loudest voice in the room which gets everyone’s attention. These voices can distract us from hearing the voice of our own heart.

Sometimes it’s the most outrageous voice in the room that shocks everyone and gets their attention. Or the scariest voice. Or the voice of doom and gloom. But these are not the voice of the heart. What is the voice of your true heart? That is the one to be listening for.

There is a cacophony of sound going on all the time. You know “cacophony” right? Cacophony means “bad sound.” Think of a huge mixture of unpleasant sounds, like a chaotic blend of city traffic, sirens, jack hammers, leaf blowers,… jarring and disturbing sounds that make it hard to think. You can’t hear yourself think. You just want to get out, to go away, to go to a quiet room and disappear and get some peace and quiet. That’s what cacophony is. It’s the opposite of peace and quiet. It’s disturbing sound.

Not my will, but thy will be done.

Each week we pray, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” But in a cacophony of sound, how do we hear the voice of the heart? How can we know what we are supposed to do? The best thing to do? In other words, how can I know God’s will for my life?

Jesus goes to the gates of Jerusalem. Not as a hero. But as an offering. There is something in him, his authentic voice, that is directing him. He decides to go to Jerusalem, and he decides to ride on a donkey. Not as a great king, not as a Roman emperor, not as an ego maniac, not as a tyrant, not as a dictator. But riding on a donkey, in humility, offering himself. Bringing what he has to offer to the people, to serve God and to serve the people. To help them solve their problems, to offer them teachings on wisdom and compassion, if they want to listen. If they have ears to hear.

Go into the wilderness to listen.

But Jesus is not bringing his own agenda. He is not trying to get attention for himself, to promote himself, to gain power or wealth, nothing like this at all. In the wilderness, he found his own authentic voice. Out in the desert wilderness, by himself, in the silence and solitude of the desert where he prayed, he found his own authentic voice.

It takes a long time and a lot of quiet to be able to hear the message of the heart. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. This was back in chapter 4 of Matthew. And then, he was ready to begin his ministry, a ministry which led him to Jerusalem, and to the cross.

Love and compassion.

This voice, the still small voice that speaks in the heart, is a voice of love and compassion. This is the voice that Jesus finds in the wilderness, the voice of his heart, which eventually leads him to the Jerusalem gate. Jesus shows us the way right here, in how he enters Jerusalem. And from there, it’s a journey to the cross. To death and resurrection.

So this is holy week. There is a message here for each one of us as individuals, and as a church family. What is the message for you? Dig down deep and find it. It is in your heart. It is the message of the heart. What is your heart saying to you right now? What do you need to do? What do you need to take care of right now? What is the most important thing for you to do right now?

Quite simple and ordinary.

It may be something quite simple and ordinary, like, “I need to put gas in my car.” “I need to buy some groceries.” You know, very practical things to take care of yourself. Go for a walk. Sit in the sun and look at the clouds rolling by. The message of the heart is very practical and ordinary. “I need to get up and get dressed.” “I need to call a friend and have a conversation.” Something quite simple and ordinary. This is how we do things, step by step, one thing at a time.

And so, no one can answer that question for you. We are each in our own shoes. We are each in our own unique situation. So the invitation today is to consider the Jerusalem gate. Where is this gate for you? What is the message of your heart right now? Can you hear it?

May we each listen carefully. May God grant us the clarity to hear it.

Amen? Amen.