Based on Luke 19:28-40

I received a text from a US Navy sailor who asked, “Chaplain Horn, could you please say a prayer today for my shipmates? They were underway and then out of the blue were told that their tour got extended by a handful of months. They are headed right into the thick of it in the Middle East.”

I reached out to one of our deployed US Army soldiers who is in Eastern Europe and asked, “How I can pray for you today?” He responded, “Pray for peace. The number of dead bodies in large-scale combat is not something we can fathom in our American minds.”

Earlier today I reached out to an Air Force National Guardsman who just deployed, asking how she was. She responded, “I just landed in country. I start my job tonight. Pray that my wing supports those who fly sorties, but I’m more concerned about my husband and infant son back home. Please pray for them.”

Jesus said that there will be wars and rumors of wars. These are the things that keep us up at night and cause anxiety, and the reason our prayer lists do not diminish but seem to always increase. It feels that this is ever-present in our life. And it is. It’s because of the presence of sin in a broken world. Some have asked, “Is it proper for us to pray for peace? Will it actually happen on this earth? Is this something that our King in heaven can actually bring about?”

This coming Sunday you will hear about this King, on the Sunday we call Palm Sunday, or Sunday of the Passion. You will most likely hear the story of Jesus as he rides into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. The disciples and the crowds of people cut down branches from the trees and lay them down in the dirt road to show respect for a king as he comes into his city. They shout, “Hosanna!” We hear this ancient word all the way back in the psalms. It’s a cry to the Lord that says, “Save us!” And that’s exactly what the King comes to do. He rides into Jerusalem to save—to save by going to war.

He goes to war against all that keeps us up at night, against all that makes us anxious. He goes to war against war itself. He goes to war with death and grave. He goes to war against the devil and his forces of evil, who use war and anxiety and fear and frustration to cast doubt in our minds that our King can truly save us. He goes to war by sitting atop a donkey, amid the cheers of “Hosanna!” He goes and he does just that: He saves.

He saves not with Tomahawk missiles but in meekness. He saves not with a show of force but in weakness. He wins by way of a cross and a tomb. Not much of a military strategist, is he? But he wins but stomping on the head of the devil, crushing death by rising from his tomb.

With this victory, no more can Satan cast doubt in our hearts about this King, for he has done what he said he would do. No more can death and grave scare us into submission. For this King lives and lives to give us the sure confidence of life eternal. This King saves. This King restores all things, and he does this for you.

Whatever keeps you up at night, whatever causes you to feel anxious, be at peace. Know that Jesus came to save you, your loved ones, and your battle buddies—to save them from all that might frighten us.

As for that for peace, the answer is, “Yes.” When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us our daily bread,” part of that prayer includes peace for the nations. When there is peace, when there is good government, there is safety. When there is peace and safety there is the ability to earn our daily bread in our varied vocations. Peace helps us love and serve our neighbor. Even in wartime and disaster, there is certainly opportunity for us to love and serve our neighbor.

Let us pray for peace, and pray that our hearts may be at peace, knowing and believing and trusting that this King saves. He saves us now and for eternity.

Prayer:

We praise you, O God, for the great acts of love by which you have redeemed us and saved us through your Son, Jesus Christ. As he was acclaimed by those who scattered their garments and branches of palms in his path, so may we always hail him as our King and follow him with perfect confidence.

Keep safe all our nation’s warriors and those who support them. Bring peace to those areas of our world where there is conflict.

Continue to bless our nation’s Air Force Reserve, which celebrates its birthday on April 14. It is by your gracious hand, Lord, that since 1948 you have provided a combat-ready force for varied missions across the Air Force. Today, as these men and women deploy weather reconnaissance to keep our pilots safe and engage in modular aerial firefighting and Pararescue, keep them always ready to assure victory for our nation—anytime, anywhere, to “fly, fight, and win.” We ask this in your gracious name. Amen.