Readings: Zechariah 9:9-10; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; Mark 11:1-11
`God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.` Those words from First Corinthians struck me five weeks ago when they were part of the set reading. They seemed particularly appropriate to today, Palm Sunday, and how we see its significance.

If you see Palm Sunday as part of God’s plan to redeem the world to himself through Christ’s sacrificial death the image of Palm Sunday as a Triumphal March makes some sense. The use of the donkey rather than a war horse looks a bit strange, but today’s Old Testament reading shows us that for the king to come in triumph, riding humbly on a donkey was a sign to `rejoice greatly`.

But, as most of you know, the metaphor of a God who made us imperfect humans but can only find us acceptable if Jesus is killed in a particularly ghastly way, is a metaphor that I find unhelpful if we are to understand God in the terms that Jesus spoke of when he preached – the loving father of the prodigal son, the shepherd who goes looking for the lost sheep, or even the one who sends his rain on the just and the unjust.

So if Jesus wasn’t marching to a death that would seal our salvation and be a victory over sin, what was the point of the triumphal march? Where was the triumph?

Of course the proponents of the salvation metaphor would say, in the words of Paul `God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom`, meaning `stop thinking so much and just accept it, whether it makes sense or not.` But why did God give us a brain if we’re not supposed to use it?

So let’s review the Gospel writers’ accounts of Palm Sunday and see what they tell us.

Today’s reading is from Mark’s version of events. Mark’s gospel was written first. It reads like a straight telling of the story, without any explanation or analysis.

When you look at the four gospel accounts side by side it is obvious that Luke and Matthew worked from the same basic material in writing their Gospels, but they left out bits and embellished bits to suit their purposes. John’s Gospel is quite different, though some of the words are the same.

Mark and Luke tell of two disciples being sent on ahead to get the colt of a donkey `that has never been ridden`. Presumably the innocence of the little donkey foal was intended to show that it was pure and suitable for Jesus to ride. Mark and Luke explain how the disciples used a sort of code to explain to `some bystanders` according to Mark or `its owners` according to Luke, why they were taking it. It seems clear from this that Jesus pre-planned the event, it wasn’t just a spur of the moment decision. From the unanimous references to the reading from the prophet Zechariah it seems pretty certain that Jesus was deliberately acting out this reference of Israel’s king coming humbly, riding on a donkey.

Mark, Luke and Matthew tell of the disciples throwing their cloaks over the colt and the people spreading their cloaks on the road. Mark and Matthew mention cut branches as well. Only John refers to palm trees, but I suppose cloak and branch Sunday wouldn’t roll off the tongue as well.

Now we come to the important bit – what did the people think about this performance? The Gospels all have the people shouting or saying blessings and hosannas, but the significant thing they all pick up on shows through.

Mark `Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David!`

Luke `Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!`

Matthew `Hosanna to the son of David!` and

John `Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord – the King of Israel!`

Jesus has been preaching for three years about God’s kingdom of love, a kingdom that only the humble, weak and unworthy may enter, and here are his followers screaming for armed revolt to set him up as Israel’s new king.

Luke tells us some Pharisees in the crowd ask him to stop the rebellious shouting and he makes a joke of it `if these were silent the stones would shout out!` He seems to have given up on getting his non-violent message of love across. He can’t possibly win against the might of Rome. This is folly!

But remember the word of Paul `the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength`.

How can Jesus participate in a Triumphal March? Because the victory has already been won! The time of God’s favour has arrived! The Kingdom of God is now among us. And note that this is before Jesus death.

And more than that, Jesus has already taught that the Kingdom of God is a non-violent kingdom where love rules. A kingdom where God is on the side of those who suffer, the outcasts, the rejects. God’s values turn the values of the world upside down. Jesus continues with his acting out of the message.

The cleansing of the Temple and the overturning of the money changers’ tables, which feature in all the Gospels is can be seen as the climax to the Palm Sunday story. It is a further act of major symbolic significance. Pilgrims coming to Jerusalem would typically have walked, but Jesus wanted to stand out, to make a statement - a statement about peace and joy. Now he rides up to the Temple and starts throwing things. How does it all fit together?

The Triumphal March, with its focus on Kingship, is a sign that the Kingdom of God is at hand. It is a reminder of all Jesus spoke about God loving, seeking, and accepting the outcasts, a message that directly contradicted the purity system pedalled by the Temple. Seen in that light, the cleansing of the temple, which directly challenges that sacrificial purity system is almost inevitable.

It is like an exclamation mark at the end of not just the march but his three years of ministry. Summed up in one dramatic act – you don’t need to pay money to the Temple and kill animals to be acceptable to God. In fact, nothing can separate you from God’s love. God loves you as you are.

That’s the foolishness of God that proved wiser than the wisdom of the Chief Priests. And it continues to defeat those who seek to limit God’s love.

So for us, today is a day to celebrate the foolishness of our God who loves us as we are, without conditions, and to commit ourselves to living out that same unconditional love in our daily lives. It is as wise, and as foolish as that. May God grant us the wisdom to love foolishly as God loves.