A Song of Victory
Luke 19:29-40
Psalm 118:1-4, 19-29
O give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
Can you repeat that last line with me: "His steadfast love endures forever."
Let all God's people say it like they meant it: "His steadfast love endures forever!"
Let all the congregation repeat it again: "His steadfast love endures forever."
Let all who fear the Lord say it: "His steadfast love endures forever."
Thus begins the 118th Psalm, a litany of Thanksgiving repeated within the Jewish community on various festive occasions and always on the Passover Festival in Jerusalem. In fact there are six Psalms (113-118) that are known as the "Hallel" or Praise Psalms that were used each year when the Jewish Community gathered in Jerusalem to remember and celebrate the "passover" - when God had saved their ancestors in Egypt and delivered them to the Promised Land. Psalms 113 and 114 were sang before the Passover Meal to remember God's mighty acts of deliverance. After the meal, Psalms 115-117 were sang in reaffirmation of the Greatness of God, in Thanksgiving for God's deliverance, and as a call to worship.
And then Psalm 118 was sang as the people moved from the place of the meal to the Temple, singing this Song of Victory of which Martin Luther would later proclaim: "This is the psalm that I love ... for it has often served me well...." The Psalm follows a call to worship in Psalm 117:
Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
And then follows this litany in the first four verses of Psalm 118:
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
Let Israel say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."
Let those who fear the Lord say,
"His steadfast love endures forever."
Singing as they go, the worshipers move toward the Temple until they stand in front of the Gate. Now in one voice they sing (verse 19):
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
Their request is followed by a response of the Levites who guard the gate:
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
The Gate to the Temple is opened and the worshipers enter the Temple, still singing. Listen to the words passed down over the centuries:
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
And now listen carefully to the following words, echoed in our New Testament reading today:
Save us [literally, Hosanna], we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
Blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord,
The Lord is God, and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
And the Psalm ends with a benediction and reaffirmation:
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Now let us jump ahead some 500 years to another Passover Festival recorded in Luke 19. The streets of Jerusalem are crowded with visitors who have come to the city for the 500th Annual Passover Celebration. There is excitement in the air as there is each year for this annual festival, though perhaps even more so this year as word has circulated that the controversial rabbi named Jesus is coming to Jerusalem for Passover. How will he be received by the Jewish leaders?
Among the multitude that has come to Jerusalem for Passover, there are those who come from territories where Jesus is unknown, there are those who come believing Jesus is no different than other false messianic pretenders before him, and there are those who have listened to his teachings and believe that indeed Jesus is the long-expected Messiah come to set the people free from the oppressive Romans. He is the One who brings salvation, the stone rejected who is indeed the chief cornerstone. "Hosanna! Lord Jesus, save us we beseech you ... and give us success!"
Word spreads among the people that Jesus is coming! He was seen healing a blind beggar and talking to a tax collector near Jericho. Now he on the outskirts of Jerusalem in the village of Bethany. People are gathering near the Mount of Olives to welcome him to Jerusalem!
Meanwhile, a mile-and-a half away in the village of Bethany, Jesus prepares for his visit to Jerusalem. He sends his disciples for a colt - an untamed donkey - for his ride into Jerusalem. It seemed a strange request to the disciples, for Jesus was accustomed to walking. Why a donkey, Lord? Just say this: "The Lord needs it."
Some were slow to understand but there were others who remembered the Words of the prophet Zechariah (9:9-10): "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey ... and he shall command peace to the nations...."
The crowd gathering at the Mount of Olives is growing. Someone shouts out the familiar words of the 118th Psalm: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. The crowd replies: his steadfast love endures forever!
Another cries out: This is the day that the Lord has made. And the crowd replies: Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Hosanna!
Now the multitude is moving down the path leading from the Mount of Olives to the Temple in Jerusalem. They are singing and praising God joyfully with a loud voice. They utilize the Psalms of the Passover Festival which take on new meaning today as they are experiencing the deliverance of God first known to their ancestors thousands of years earlier. God is present ... the Messiah has come. "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" they sing. "Peace in heaven and glory in the name of the Lord!"
The multitude moves to the gates of the Temple. It is Passover but they have not yet shared the Passover meal. Nevertheless, as they come to the Temple Gate, they sing out: Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord."
But the gates to the Temple do not open. The familiar response of the Levites: This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it" is not to be heard this day. Rather, we hear the Pharisees say to Jesus: "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." They are out of order.
But Jesus makes no effort to stop his disciples. Instead he says to the Pharisees, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out." This is not a time for silence. This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!
And that's the way it was 2000 years ago as God's people gathered for Passover in Jerusalem. It marked a new day, a new beginning for God's people. It was the first day of a week that would forever after be called Holy Week. God had once again come to bring deliverance and to save God's people - Hosanna!
As that week in Jerusalem progressed, it was not the salvation that many had anticipated. The Romans were not driven out defeated. It was not the military model of salvation that many had hoped for, rather it was a spiritual, sacrificial model of salvation that God brought to all people through Jesus the Christ.
Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem 2000 years ago was another sign of God's steadfast love which endures forever. The victory song of Psalm 118 says it well for you and I today in verses 21-24:
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing,
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Hosanna!
Benediction:
O give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good,
for his steadfast love
endures forever. Amen.
Sermon by Herman Kauffman April 4, 2004
Wakarusa and Turkey Creek Church of the Brethren