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Beware the Red carpet Treatment

Beware the Red Carpet Treatment (Palm Sunday)

April 1, 2007

Text: Luke 19:29-40 

Luke 19:29-40 

29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 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.  31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'"  32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 34 They said, "The Lord needs it." 35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, 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, 38 saying, 

"Blessed is the king

who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven,

and glory in the highest heaven!"  

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." 40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out." 

NRSV 

Do you know who this guy is? 

Way back in the early 80’s, I became friends with Tito Landrum, of the Cardinals.  

One day, after a game, I met him at the clubhouse in old Busch Stadium. We were going out to Ted Drew’s for ice cream, a place he’d never been. He handed me a couple of his bats and asked me to carry them out to his car. He would leave the stadium through another exit, avoiding the crowd of autograph-seekers.  

So, I put the bats on my shoulder—just like a baseball player—and go up the steps, and through the old ticket office. There’s a guard at the door, and outside is a huge throng of people, milling around, holding scorecards, hats, balls, and pens. They’re staring inside the windows, looking for one of their stars to come out. 

The guard opens the door for me, and a great hush falls over the people. Then you hear a loud whisper, “Who’s he? Is he someone? Who IS he???” 

I take a step out, and the crowd parts—just like the Red Sea parted for Moses. [You know, that’s how Moses did it—he was a baseball player!]  

What a feeling of immense power. I savored every step. I didn’t let the fact that no one asked for my autograph diminish that feeling.  

You see, when you’re a celebrity, Red Seas part for you. 

Just look at the red carpet celebrities at the Oscars.  

Can you imagine what it must be like to be one of them?

How full of themselves they must feel. How special they must feel. They know they can get whatever they want—if not from their celebrity status, then certainly from the depths of their bank accounts. 

Us mortals can only imagine how these Red-Sea parters must feel. 

We probably better know what it feels like to be one of the characters right behind the restraining fence. We probably feel like this.  

Wrong slide. No, it’s more like this. 

We’re so excited about seeing our favorite star. The closer we get to them, the more “star dust” will fall upon us. We’ll bask in their glow. If we get their autograph, then life is complete. We can die with a smile on our face.  

Of course, we have no clue who the real person behind the star façade is—regardless of the agent-spun bio’s we’ve read, or the stories in People we’ve devoured. We are in love with an image, and that’s OK—we like the fantasy world. 

Just being close to the celebrity makes you feel important and powerful yourself. 

If there was ever anyone who was red-carpet material, it was Jesus. 

Today, Jesus has every opportunity to feel as if he’d just gotten out of a limo on Oscar night. His fame has preceded him. His movies are perpetual box office hits. He is THE biggest name in the nation—and his face is on the cover of Palestine People magazine practically every week. He is engulfed in a world of “glitz, glamour, and gossip.” [Hom, 4/4/04] 

And now, today, is his Oscar day. He’ll enter Jerusalem, and receive his little statuette. 

The crowd senses this, and buzzes with excitement, anticipating his arrival. When he starts down the carpet they go crazy. “Hosanna! Hosanna!” 

I’m sure they had good intentions as they praised Jesus this way.

But I’m also sure they had expectations just like the people behind the restraining fence. They want him to do the miracles inside the walls of Jerusalem, just like he’d been doing them for 3 years. They want him to take on the “establishment”, and put the crooked politicians in their place—especially the traitorous Jews who sold out to the evil Romans. They want Jesus to take care of those evil Romans while he was at it—bring in the Kingdom of the God—bring it in with fire and lightning and earthquake. And when the powerful are overthrown, they want him to exalt the poor, humble, every-day fan, lining the restraining fence, to get a glimpse of their king, their celebrity. 

Yes, we fans certainly have expectations of our celebrities, don’t we?

And the one thing you can be sure of is that our celebrities will disappoint us. They’ll step off the red carpet, and do things that will tarnish their star.

Know how you feel when they do? 

Did any of you see Tom Cruise dancing on a sofa while being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey? He looked like a love-struck schoolboy as he told about his crush on Katie Holmes. Almost instantly his popularity—and box office appeal—plummeted. 

We like to keep our celebrities pure, like the pure-gold statue they receive at the Oscars. And when they don’t meet our expectations, we’ll snub them at the box office. 

You can be sure that Jesus disappointed his fans, when he got off the red carpet. 

He doesn’t do one miracle.

He overturns commerce tables, interrupting their shopping.

He doesn’t call down fire on the corrupt politicians. Instead, he lets himself be sentenced by them in a kangaroo court.

He doesn’t overturn the hated Roman political system. Instead, he allows himself to be insulted, beaten up, and crucified by them.

No wonder, starting today, the crowd behind the restraining fence grows smaller and smaller. Some shake and scratch their heads. Some spit disgustedly on the ground. Some say, “He’s not the one.” Others say, “Crucify him.” 

Jesus will not stand to be a celebrity. He doesn’t like being on the red carpet. He doesn’t care for the glitz, glamour, gossip. He doesn’t want any part of the, “Look at me, how special I am” treatment. 

What he cares about is being faithful to the One who sent him.

He cares about being obedient—“Not my will but thine be done, Father.”

He cares about the people behind the restraining fences, so desperately trying to fill the emptiness in their hearts by chasing the latest American—excuse me, “Jerusalem”—Idol. 

He cares about the mean-spirited, self-righteous religious leaders insanely bent on destroying him.

He cares about the vulgar, brutal soldiers, beating him until their knuckles are bruised, and nailing him to the cross.

He cares about two thieves dying on either side of him.

He cares about a mother’s tears, as she sees her son twisting in pain.

He cares about a broken group of disciples, feeling lost, alone, guilty.

Even as his life flows from him, he stretches his arms out as if to say again,  

“Come to me, all you [who are tired and carry] heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”                              

--Matthew 11:28-29

No, Jesus isn’t about glitz, glamour, and gossip. Jesus is about gentleness, goodness, and grace. 

WHEN JESUS GETS OFF THE RED CARPET TODAY, WE HAVE A CHOICE. WE CAN TURN OUR BACKS ON HIM, DISGUSTED THAT HE WON’T LET US TREAT HIM LIKE AN OSCAR WINNER. OR, WE CAN FOLLOW HIM. Period. 

At Christmas time, we love the baby Jesus. So sweet, cuddly, adorable. We’re thrilled that we’re loved by God so much that He gave us His only Son. 

At Easter time, we love the risen Jesus. So powerful, glorious in his white flowing robes. We’re thrilled that God loves us so much that God gives us eternal life, the power to defeat death. 

But in between is Palm Sunday time—when Jesus gets off the red carpet and asks, “Do you want me to be your celebrity, or do you want me to be your Lord?” 

This week, may we choose wisely.