10,332 Voices....

Today we hear our reality spoken in the Word.
People gather in hope; people gather in joy and cry out: Hosanna! which means Save us!  We turn our eyes on Jesus and see the One who can save us.
And maybe, like the crowds waving their palms over 2000+ years ago, we expect Jesus to save us from the Empire, to save us from other people, from bad leaders and nasty situations.
But Jesus’ life and Jesus’ death reveal that what Jesus, what God’s salvation, saves us from is our selves. We are our own oppressors.  To follow Jesus, to live and love as Jesus does, saves us from fear, greed, self-centeredness, apathy, prejudice, hatred, and division.
The cross clearly reveals that if we follow Jesus, we can be freed from our need for vengeance, retribution, and violence. Instead of getting caught up as a mob of fear and distrust, the cross calls us to refuse to participate in the constant and continuous human cycle of blood-letting.   March 27, 2023    Nashville, TN
Their names are:
Katherine Koonce aged 60
Mike Hill aged 61
Cynthia Peak aged 61
Evelyn Dieckhaus aged 9
Hallie Scruggs aged 9
William Kinney aged 9
We do not have the time this morning to list all the names of the 10,332 people who have died due to gun violence, murder, accidental death, and suicide, in our nation in the first three months of 2023. 10, 332 in three months.
Those 10, 332 voices are crying out: Hosanna, Hosanna: save us!
But, like these crowds of yesteryear, too quickly and too easily we can turn from gathering in hope and joy and be swayed by fear and turn into a mob of individuals who seek and serve only themselves—who live and move from distrust and fear. Fear of change, fear of loss, fear that someone is going to get what we want only for ourselves.
Today’s story, this week’s story, is our story. And this Holy week story asks of us:
Who will you be?
Who will you follow?
What life, what world, are you willing to live for? 
​What life, what world, are you willing to die for?
What world are you willing to co-create with the One who hung the stars in the sky?