Messiah Complex: A Palm Sunday Homily

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By, Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons

As Jesus was preparing to enter Jerusalem a week before his dramatic death and whatever happened next, he apparently gave some thought to how he might stage his entrance. He and his disciples were gathered in a neighboring village. The disciples were waiting for a signal from him. “Go into the village ahead of you,” he said to them, “and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.” The disciples did as he instructed and he rode the donkey and the colt into the city.

 

In the middle of this Scripture passage, the narrative stops and a curious explanation comes in. It says: “This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, ‘Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt.’ ”

 

So it’s basically saying that the reason Jesus called for a donkey and a colt that he could ride into Jerusalem was because there was a prophecy that the Messiah would do just that. As a rabbi, Jesus would certainly have known about this prophecy and so would most everyone else. And so he played to his audience with great media savvy and political pragmatism. Get me a donkey and a colt because I know what that means culturally and I’m going to use that meaning to tell the story that I want to tell. It was part of his flawless public relations campaign.

 

And the public played its part too, laying down cloaks on the road and waving palm branches as was the custom with great kings and important personages. They wanted to make sure the crowd looked big and impressive while the network cameras were rolling. The whole scene was carefully crafted for an audience of the present and future.

 

Regardless of whether Jesus was or wasn’t the Messiah, and regardless of whether he believed that he was or wasn’t the Messiah, he was definitely trying to shape his public image so that everyone would think he was. He did this in a consistent and calculated way. I don’t personally think that this was narcissism on his part. And he definitely was not trying to start a new religion. But Jesus had a big message to share – a great vision for renewing spirituality and building a world based on compassion. He was trying to change people’s relationship to tradition and to God. He was trying to shake up the status quo in a big way and turn the religious power structure on its head.

 

And he was smart enough to know that such an ambitious project, such a revolutionary message, will not get through just on its own merits. There are too many powerful forces arrayed against it. I know this is heresy to say among Unitarian Universalists. We tend to believe so fervently in the power of ideas; that the best idea will naturally rise to the top; that a great artist will become known solely by his work; that the brightest scientist will change the field by virtue of what she discovers; that the finest architectural design will get built.

 

But sadly, it’s not that simple. Many great thinkers and artists and holy men and women have wallowed in obscurity while lesser ones have taken the spotlight. It takes more than just the quietly stated content of the vision itself. It takes marketing. It takes strategy. Sometimes it takes flashing lights and a disco ball. It takes chutzpah, which Jesus had in spades, and maybe even a little bit of a messiah complex.

 

Jesus combined a great idea with the ability to sell it. And we can learn so much from witnessing the power of that combination. We learn not only the message of his teachings but also the meta-message of how to get big things done in this world. How to make change when we have no power. How to spread our ideas and actualize our personal ambitions. How to be bold. How to come through all our doubts and temptations so charged with commitment that our demeanor says, “You know those ancient prophecies about the Messiah riding into Jerusalem? They were talking about me!”

 

I wonder what would happen if we had a bit of a collective messiah complex – a belief that we have special powers. What if we truly believed, I mean really believed, that we are here to change the world? In our personal lives, what if we felt that our own gifts were special; that we had something to offer the world that was unique; that no one else could provide; even if were simply our own brand of giving love and showing empathy. What if we had a kind of brash confidence that the vision that we have for this planet and for our own lives is worth actualizing. It’s worth putting out there billboard size. It’s worth being strategic and intentional, waving palm fronds and even riding two animals at once if that’s what it takes to get the job done.

 

As we contemplate Palm Sunday today and maybe take a palm frond home we can draw inspiration from Jesus’s very intentional entry into Jerusalem.As we prepare to enter the great cities of our lives, be they the intellectual city of a university, the professional city of a new career, the political city of activism and social change, or the emotional city of our own living rooms, let’s give some thought to how we stage our entrances. Give some thought to the aesthetics and theatre of it. Let’s give ourselves every chance to speak our truth loudly and clearly, to open our hearts widely and frequently, and to become the products of our own design and, by so doing, become a blessing to the world.