Jacqueline Lewis: This Ain't No Ordinary King

Taken with permission from HuffingtonPost.com/Religion

Go untie the colt and bring it

If they ask you why say my Lord needs it

The Reign of God is near and he's bringin' it

Break the rules of fools and the greedy

Make a space for those who are needy

A taste of God's grace so amazing

Love divine all loves excelling

Peace and joy but fear expelling

Heal the lame and make the blind see

Once was lost but God found me

And brought me home to arms embracing

Fear and hurt and wounds erasing

Prophecy said the Reign was near

God's plan of salvation made clear

Here comes your king, triumphant and victorious

Riding on a colt...how ridonkeylous

He'll lead us in the way of peace

When Christ rules all wars will cease

Smash our swords, make them farming tools

Justice rolls like water into pools

Lame folk take a dip and walk again

Touch their eyes and blind folk see again

See the King for who he really is

Word and Love made flesh and that there is

Room for all in God's great plan

Every woman, boy, girl, and man

This ain't no ordinary king. At the beginning of Holy Week, the Prince of Peace rides in on a donkey. The ruler of the Roman Empire rides in on a horse. One crowd waves palm branches, one crowd wields swords.

This is a week about conflict, a week about a clash of values. On the one hand is the Roman Empire with its trickle-down oppression, abject poverty, and warped priorities. The poor get poorer due to heavy taxes for roads, weapons, and a large defense budget - all designed to crush opposition and create more empire.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of God, in which children matter and are cherished and kept safe. This is a place where our elderly and vulnerable are protected. Where love is an action, where justice is a norm, and where everyone has enough. Where all love can result in marriage in the eyes of the state and in the eyes of the church. The Kingdom of God is too good. But true.

Today, we still live with a clash of values. And those of us who love God can't pretend we have all the answers. When in doubt, we live by the clarifying words of Jesus: Love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. When you don't know what to do, you love.

And as we love, we may need to let some things die. So we can get to new life. I hope our apathy dies. I hope our sense of powerlessness dies. I hope our notion that religion is only about personal piety and not about political action dies.

I hope we get really clear that we are not free until everyone is free.