28After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Jesus, the miracle worker, the man who brought Lazarus from the tomb to life again, was being honored as a hero…..a superhero. Cheers!  Palm waving!  He was certainly the man of the year in the eyes of the populace.  Yet, even though this is a festive, holiday kind of day.  As a pastor, you shouldn’t ignore the irony of it.  Can’t you picture the envy, the fright, the plots of the Pharisees?  It wasn’t those miracles that caused his death, or even the jealousy over ppthe grand parade…..it was his politics, his cry for justice.

According to some historians, crucifixion in the days of Jesus was reserved for political enemies.  The Romans wished to show the people what would happen if they opposed the government.  It certainly confirms many theologians’ theory that Jesus was not just a spiritual leader on earth….he was a political activist.   Think about it.  Jesus challenged the religious leaders (who were also political) for exploiting and misleading  the very people they were called to serve!  And most of all, he defied the Roman Empire………. punishable by that gruesome death on a cross.  Remind your members that Jesus was a Jew among those oppressed by the government.

• Today is the day when we need to put our Christian cards on the table.  Today, is the day we should emphasize what Jesus was all about. Too many pastors preach salvation without any cost….without any substance. And that is not what Christianity is about!  It certainly isn't all about "me."  It is all about "US."  And that "us" includes the unemployed, the sick without insurance or any means of care, those being oppressed by their governments.....those without any real voice!  Isn’t it also our responsibility as pastors to stand against anything that would hurt any member of our flock?  Isn't this what Jesus asks of EVER Christian?

• I saw a movie many years ago, Romero, that made a real impression on me.  What  is required of a pastor, of all Christians…..what it might cost.  A fantastic movie that I suggest you rent or buy.  Every pastor should see it. :

  • To order:  http://www.answers.com/topic/romero-film

John Dear, a priest who has devoted his life to bringing peace to the world, writes about him:
Oscar Romero was killed over twenty-five years ago.  Like Jesus, he gave his life for the struggle to bring justice to the people in San Salvadore.  

Romero’s journey took him from the spoiled life of a quiet, conservative pious cleric whose silence blessed decades of poverty into a prophet of justice, the voice of the voiceless in war-torn, politically explosive El Salvador. He represented no political party or ideology, only the suffering people of El Salvador, and became a stunning sign of God’s active presence in the world. 

After his friend Rutilio Grande was brutally killed for speaking out against injustice on March 12, 1977, Romero was transformed overnight into one of the world’s great champions for the poor and oppressed. At worship the next day after Grande's murder, Romero preached a sermon that stunned El Salvador. Like the sermons of Martin Luther King, Jr., Romero defended the work of Grande, demanded justice for the poor, and called everyone to take up Grande’s prophetic stand for justice.

As more priests and church workers were assassinated, Romero spoke out more intensely, even publicly criticizing the president on several occasions. Within a period of months, everywhere Romero went he was greeted with applause. He was broadcast nationwide on live radio and heard by nearly everyone in the country. Letters poured in from every village, thanking him for his prophetic voice and confessing their own new found courage.

He preached about God’s preferential option for the poor, justice and peace.

Reminds me of Palm Sunday and what happened then…..just read on…..


First, on Easter Monday, 1978, he opened the seminary in downtown San Salvador to all displaced victims of violence. Hundreds of homeless, hungry and brutalized people moved into the seminary, transforming the quiet religious retreat into a crowded, noisy shelter, make-shift hospital, and playground. Second, he stopped construction on the Cathedral until, he said, when justice and peace are established. He announced, "........then we can resume building our cathedral." Both moves were unprecedented and historic and cast judgment on the Salvadoran government.

“Like a voice crying in the desert,” he said, “we must continually say No to violence and Yes to peace.” The Christian should always prefer peace to war.

• Instead of the grand living quarters that were his right as Bishop, Romero lived simply in a three room hermitage on the grounds of a hospital.  His plea to the wealthy elite who supported the death squads was pointed and prophetic. To those who bear in their hands or in their conscience, the burden of bloodshed, of outrages, of the victimized, innocent or guilty, but still victimized in their human dignity, I say: Be converted. You cannot find God on the path of torture. God is found on the way of justice, conversion and truth.
• Romero wrote the President of the U.S. to stop supporting the military who were killing the citizens by the thousands.  The U.S. ignored his plea and continued to send millions to the political leaders. He sent a letter to the Pope, asking for help…he was ignored.

John Dear wrote:  A pastor is a spiritual guide. Like Jesus, such a shepherd leads his flock to God and to God's kingdom. Jesus spoke of how the shepherd protects the sheep from wolves and searches for even a single lost sheep until it is found. As shepherds, pastors in the Church must protect their people from harm, and especially from sin, which is spiritual harm. It is a duty that may require pastors to admonish and even to condemn....... Living amid the sinful injustices done to the most helpless of his people,

Shortly before his death, Romero told an audience at the University of Louvain: "Christian faith does not separate us from the world, but immerses us in it. The Church is not a fortress apart from the city, but rather the follower of Jesus, who lived, worked, struggled, and died in the midst of the city, the polis."

• I was very fortunate to take a class from the Jesuit priest who lived and worked  in El Salvador during Bishop Romero’s life.  His was the only life spared when six of his Jesuit  coworkers were massacred.  He was away giving a lecture.  His voice lives on calling all Christians, especially the clergy, to embrace the real message of Christianity.
• I ask that you think about this message………and what your duty is to your flock.  Is it not our place as pastors to guide our flocks by teaching them Jesus' desire that we protect....we advocate.....for the poor among us?