The problem with ADHD and good TV

        I must confess, in case you were not already aware, I have just a touch of ADHD.  I know this will shock many of you, but it is indeed true!  When I am watching my favorite TV show, and I'm left with a cliff hanger revolving around a crucial character, I simply cannot wait a week to see if they survive.  I quickly hop onto my most used app on my phone (IMDB, it's great...check it out!), and look at the next episode to get a brief synopsis.  I must know what happens!  I have even been known to skip as far as the finale synopsis, or the ending of a book to see how it ends.  Then, I try to find joy in finding out how the creative writers have made the leap from point "A" to point "B."

        That being said, I am equally aware that in doing so I miss out on a bit.  All good writers (and composers) create great moments in literature by utilizing tension and release.  The great writers provide such a great deal of suspense by creating so much tension for the "hero" of the story that we even wonder how they will ever make it out alive.  By skipping ahead, I lose that tension because I know the end of the story.

       This week we celebrate the Triumphal Entry.  This is that great moment when Jesus enters into Jerusalem humbly riding a donkey while the multitude lays cloaks and palm branches at his feet shouting:

 "Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!  Blessed in the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!" Mark 11:11

        However, many times in churches we are so eager to celebrate the Resurrection, that we skip ahead to the end and miss out on the tension and release create by our Author.  This particular moment in Jesus' ministry is huge, because it speaks most clearly to one of his wildest and most politically explosive acts.  Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus spend a great deal of his time challenging the political powers and the socio-ecological status quo, and this moment serves as the culmination of that. 

    

        In Mark 11:1-11, Jesus lampoons the political powers through a carefully planned, carnivalesque "military procession" in Jerusalem. Everything about Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is used to create tension with the political powers.  For example, we know that every year at this same time, Herod had a grand processional through Jerusalem displaying all of his wealth and power with his armies and gold in full array.  Herod's message was clear, Herod was in charge and he had the power to squash any revolt or uprising.  If you dared to cross Herod, you might end up on one! 

        If we jump ahead to the end of the story, then we miss it!  We tend to lose the significance of what this meant to the people those with him.  For them it was the hope of liberation from the oppressive tyranny of Herod.  Many of you will remember in 2003 when the US entered Baghdad and US Marine Troops pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein.  The Sunday following this event, the church celebrated the Liturgy of the Palms using this specific text.  Below is a news broadcast of that event live.  As you watch the hope, joy, excitement, and gratitude of the Iraqi people, try to picture the people in Jerusalem as they celebrated with Jesus in direct opposition to the pompous procession of Herod at this same time.

        Don't skip ahead to the end of the story this Lent! Take some time to meditate on what Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on the day can mean for us today.