We’ve been hearing a great deal about believing, and belief the past few weeks from the Gospel according to John.
Today we turn the pages back to Matthew, and for Matthew it isn’t so much about belief as it is about fulfillment, the fulfillment of Scripture, the fulfillment of what has been spoken.
Jesus finally arrives in Jerusalem with the grand processional parade, the king arrives, humble and mounted on a donkey and a colt, fulfilling the words spoken by the prophet.
And it was wild. It shook the city, with turmoil, awe and wonder. Why all this excitement?
Fulfillment. It isn’t about foreseeing or predicting.
It means that everything up to now has been about getting ready for this moment, the arrival, the advent of the king.
All of scripture is fulfilled.
All of history.
All of time.
All of creation, the heavens and the earth, are finally fulfilled with the arrival.
All things are now fulfilled.
The King has arrived.
We have welcomed him.
The chord has been struck.
The bell sounded.
The baited breath awaits.
The air, the ground, our minds are all humming, resonating, shaking with pent-up energy, the pause before everything goes kinetic, on your mark’s, get ready…we are finally at this moment, everything has led up to this, the sprinters are in place, the gun is raising to go off, the gates of the derby are about to slam wide open.
What now? What next? Now we will finally the know the why.
Expectations are high.
Fulfillment.
That is Palm Sunday. That is the fulfillment of scripture, of what had been spoken.
It is like in this time of a global Lent, of the world fasting, as the tide of pandemic rises. When we suddenly realize that there are things that are more important than the stock market, and that there are worse things than dying, there is betraying our common humanity, betraying the image of God that is pressed do deeply into our flesh.
The idols are exposed. The darkness is seen for what it is.
And the Church is fulfilled, this is what we were made for, for times like this.
Grace is fulfilled.
Everything we’ve worked for, we’ve prepared for, we’ve prayed for, is fulfilled at a time like this, we are ready, we got this.
Everyone working together while staying apart, for the sake of the other.
The Church is being the Church. Grace is being Grace.
Fulfillment.
The arrival. Palm Sunday is like that. Palm Sunday is like this day at a time like this, as it has been spoken.