The Land and Preaching: The Mount of Olives

The Book: When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples saying, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here." ...after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they sat Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road...the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" - Luke 19:29-38a

The Land: Departing Galilee for Jerusalem and the celebration of Passover, Jesus journeyed through the Jordan River Valley, tarried in Jericho, and climbed the final miles through the Wadi Qelt via an ancient road. The road empties onto the Mount of Olives near Bethphage and Bethany.

With the Holy City and the Temple in sight, Jesus sends two disciples for transportation. In light of the fact that Jesus and his disciples have walked from Galilee, the request for a donkey might seem odd. Nevertheless, the two men obeyed his command, and history and biblical interpretation have filled in the blanks for the faithful across the centuries.

In the tradition of the prophets, Jesus acts out his message for the residents of Jerusalem. The parabolic action of such an humble entrance, that of "riding a donkey," fulfills scripture (Zechariah 9:9) and corrects a rather common understanding of the messiah. Jesus enters Jerusalem, not as a conquering warrior, but as God's servant-king. Jesus' choice of such transportation parallels that of King Solomon's approach to his coronation.

In addition, the choice of the Mount of Olives and especially Bethphage as the point of departure for the processional to Jerusalem embodies the message Jesus intends. According to the rabbis, the messiah will come from the clouds if God's people are prepared. If they are not ready, the messiah will come from the city limits riding on a donkey. Bethphage was the city limits in Jesus' day.

Without saying a word, Jesus' claim and message were clear to the religious community. Jesus offered himself as messiah, albeit a different one. Later when he pauses before the city, his tears are a foreshadowing of the response of Jerusalem's leaders. They did not know the things that make for peace.

Lesson for Preaching: The first decision for the pastor in terms of preparing to preach this coming Sunday is whether to observe Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. Here I have offered insight from the land for celebrating Palm Sunday.

A second decision will be sorting through all the possibilities at hand for the theme and the thrust of the Palm Sunday sermon. The temptation for the preacher is to make seven points once each, rather than stating the main point seven times.

The Land and Preaching: John 12:1-8

The Book: "Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped them with her hair...But Judas Iscariot...said, "Why...?" Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She bought it...for the day of my burial." - John 12:1-8

The Land: Bethany was a favorite destination for Jesus. In addition to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, it was home to Simon the leper and several prominent Pharisees. For this reason and its close proximity to Jerusalem, Jesus chose Bethany as his base of operations for the week
before Passover.

In this week's lectionary text, Passover was yet six days away. Jesus' friends had prepared dinner for him. True to what we know about the two sisters, Martha served the gathering and Mary lovingly anointed Jesus' feet. Despite the protest by Judas as to the wastefulness of the act, Jesus defended Mary, accepted her act as preparation for his death and burial, and in doing so, fulfilled messianic expectations.

According to Mark's gospel, Judas departed immediately and returned to Jerusalem. Judas
sought out the chief priests, recounted the events in Bethany, and committed to the act of betrayal. Delighted, the chief priests now had the solution to their problem.

The Preaching: Several lessons from the land can inform and enrich preaching on this text. The obvious lesson is that we all need "our Bethany" where friends meet, dine and find sanctuary. Like Jesus, we too must have our places of retreat and rest.

Equally, we find in Mary (named in John's gospel but anonymous in Mark) a lesson in discipleship. Both Mary's comprehension of the moment and her extravagant generosity stand in stark contrast to Judas' disillusionment with Jesus and his greed. While Judas is still sadly remembered with disdain, Mary is the disciple to be praised. May the fragrance of her sacrifice fill church sanctuaries around the world this coming Sunday!