Opening Prayer:
Dear God, I am humbly in your presence.
Please open my heart and my mind
so that I may dwell
in your Spirit
in the midst of your assembly.
Palm Sunday
Crowds are fickle. Watch the supporters of any professional sports franchise and you will see. When the team is winning the stadiums are full, when the team hits a losing streak, the stadium seems empty, except for the faithful few.
Be they political supporters, pop idol followers, or sports fans; crowds are at their best when they are cheering on a winner.
Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was a public relations winner. The messiah hungry crowd witnessed and interpreted the arrival as it was cast in all the Old Testament trappings and nuances of a royal arrival to the capital. This was a hero’s welcome.
The mystery that confronts me every time I reflect on this passage however, is how quickly this crowd in Jerusalem changes their mind and their allegiance.
I am reminded of another hero’s fickle following. Have you seen the movie Forrest Gump? You will recall that in the movie, Lieutenant Dan receives a similar hero’s reception. After his tour in Vietnam, a war scarred soldier enters his hometown to a marvelous reception where he is greeted by his devoted followers. But a short time later, he is pushed aside into poverty by those who opposed his war medals, his service, and his devotion.
What happened to the full stadium?
What happened to the cheering crowds?
How is it that faithful followers so easily turn into resisters?
This week our Christian calendar leads us into the Holy Week. This Sunday, Palm Sunday, is a joyful Sunday, but also a very sorrowful Sunday. We wave our palms, celebrate the triumphant Lord, and worship the arrival of Christ into the city Jerusalem. But as post Easter people, we know the rest of the story so we also prepare for his betrayal, torture, crucifixion, and death.
The crowds of that city remind me of today’s church congregants. We cheer, and shout, “Amen” to the sermon. We tell the pastor, “great sermon,” then go about our day. We arrive at church, attend Sunday School, grab our cup of coffee (two sugars please), make our way to the narthex, greet the visitors, and finally make our way into the sanctuary in preparation for the reading and hearing of God’s Holy Word.
I find the parallel of our weekly worship to the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to be fascinating. The crowd of the city that day followed a similar pattern. They woke up to a normal day, only to find their world turned upside down. The King of the Jews was coming. The Messiah was coming today, riding on a donkey, fulfilling the Old Testament proclamations. Could you imagine how they were feeling? Can you feel today the same joy and excitement that filled their hearts?
When you prepared for church today, were you were preparing to meet Jesus in this place? Or maybe the bigger question is: Will you leave, following the crowds of that city, ready to betray Him?
We all know what will happen next Sunday. Easter, along with Christmas, has become the Sundays our churches swell with attendance. For some reason the pews will have a few more people in them.
Why is that?
I believe it is because of what we have made Easter. Easter has become a holiday, not a holy day. We will have our fashion show. We can finally trot out our white clothes and shoes. We all will show up with our Easter best on, but will we remember Easter as more than a holiday? Will we remember Easter as a holy day? Will we remember the message and emotions that fill that day?
What about Holy Week?
Many Christians have forgotten what Holy Week means to us as followers of Christ. I’ve always been fascinated how many Methodists show up to mid-week services. I guess it’s because Sunday is the only day that really matters, right? If we come to church on Sunday, we will be forgiven in the eyes of Christ, right? Sometimes we need to realize that Church is not for us, it is for Christ. This week is our opportunity to walk beside Christ on the path he willingly took for us. Too many Christians only come to church for the triumph of Palm Sunday and then skip directly to the triumph of Easter missing the trip down through the week. They skip from the wave crest of Palm Sunday to the wave crest of Easter, and they miss the descent into greatness.
There's no Easter in the lessons today. Nor will there be all week. Unless we can walk these paths, leaving our comfort zone, our self-satisfaction, daring to walk beside Jesus and beyond safety into the darkness of evil and death, carrying Jesus to the tomb, we will not even begin to grasp the power of the Resurrection.
The only way up is down. Jesus is calling us to that same journey downward into greatness. Jesus is calling us to a life lived differently. Jesus is calling us to a life on the road less traveled.
Did you come to church today prepared to meet Christ?
Will you leave Jesus on this path, this Holy Week, to walk to the tomb by himself?
This season of Lent the United Methodist pastors have been blogging. They have been writing short responses to “40 Days Living the Jesus Creed” by Scott McKnight. They have all been reading and responding to questions pertaining to the season of Lent and the topics of the book.
The Rev. Juan Huertas writes this,
“It is so easy to get distracted living our lives. Our responsibilities are many: work, school, children, housework, the list could be endless. We could easily begin to believe that those responsibilities, those roles that we play, are the reason why we exist.
Then there is church. Morning worship, Sunday school, mid-week activities, committee meetings, all of these activities could easily become our reasons for existing, our reason for being Christian. If we are honest we ourselves, many of us confuse those things with discipleship.
Lent provides us with time for a corrective. These forty days of walking with Jesus, forty days of practicing the means of grace, forty days of being attentive to what God is up to in us and in the world, provide the perfect setting to again answer the question: What are we here for?”
The Rev. Valerie Robideaux says,
“We do not feel worthy to encounter God. We are too broken. We are not full people, for we have been placed into a particular personality box and are not allowed to venture out. “I must find balance before I can know God.” “I must work on my weaknesses before I can fully encounter God.” “I must seek solitude before I can know God.” “I must get my life together before I can know God.” “I must deal with my emotional baggage before I can know God.” “I must read the entire Bible before I can know God.” Perfectionism can be paralyzing. When we are not able to do something perfectly, we often times simply do nothing.”
Doing nothing has led us into what we now know as Holy Week. We have pushed Christ aside, in order to live our lives. The beauty in this season, the season of Lent, is that we don’t have to push Christ aside. This is the season where we, as believers in Christ, can work to incorporate Christ into our lives.
No more will we run to the road and lay our palm branches and cloaks down for Jesus, then run away yelling “crucify him!”
No more will we come to church, say “Amen” then leave living the life we formally lived.
No more will we live as imperfect people apart from Christ.
No more will we betray Christ.
No more will we betray ourselves.
Did you come to church today prepared to meet Christ?
Will you leave Jesus on this path, this Holy Week, to walk to the tomb by himself?
This week, is a time where we can become perfected in Christ. This Holy Week, let us walk with Christ hand in hand to the tomb. This is our time to be with Christ as he is resurrected in Glory.
This week may you walk the path with Jesus, leaving your comfort zone, your self-satisfaction, daring to walk beside Jesus and beyond safety into the darkness of evil and death, carrying Jesus to the tomb, and experience the True power of the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
Amen.
