the Activist God

April 17, 2019

Rev. Jason Gaskin

"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" these are the words that the crowd spoke in unison as Jesus came by riding on a donkey. The difference between us saying these words and this crowd is that we say them with no real consequence. There is nothing for us to lose when we say these words... but for this crowd, they were risking their lives... more so risking Jesus' life. If there is anything the powerful abhorred was for a multitude of people to have a unison voice that rallied behind Jesus. So the powerful set to make an example of Jesus. To smolder this crowd they beat, spit, mocked, crucified, and finally killed Jesus. Many of us would steer clear of this crowd. We wouldn't have anything to do with this Jesus figure. It would be too personal to see someone we cared about killed and secondly to risk our own lives. We might look at those who are activist as trouble makers. Yet Jesus... yes Jesus... raised up activist. Jesus raised up a united people with a united voice behind a united agenda. People today still risk their lives to stand up for the people that Jesus stood up for... the vulnerable, the immigrant, the impoverished, the excluded... No one person can fight for the rights of a vulnerable people... it takes a movement of people united in their cause together. We continue to be a people who seek to love God and others. And Jesus continues to stretch what this might mean for each of us. So when we come together on Palm Sunday and we say together, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" know that in saying these words Jesus is calling us into a movement. Jesus is calling us to be activists. Jesus is calling us to be ambassadors to those who have no advocates.