"The Inward Journey...LETTING GO "
- Rev. Bob Thomas
Senior Pastor
Gospel Focus:
John 12: 1-3, 12-15
New Testament Lesson:
Philippians 2: 5-11
Palm / Passion Sunday
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In the days before GPS navigation and radar, the captain of a battleship learned a valuable lesson in humility.
His huge ship was moving rapidly through a thick fog. Suddenly, directly in front of him, he saw lights. The captain got on the radio to the other party and demanded, “You must change direction by 20 degrees immediately.”
The reply came back, “No, you must change direction by 20 degrees immediately.”
The battle ship captain yelled in the radio, “I am the captain of a 35,000 ton battleship, and we are steaming at 22 knots. You must change direction by 20 degrees immediately!”
The reply came back, “Well I’m just a simple seaman, sir, but you must change direction because I’m a lighthouse.”
Today we celebrate the parade of palms…Jesus enters Jerusalem as a king, but humbly, fulfilling the promise foretold in the Book of Zechariah. And since that day, for two millennia, the power of his entry continues to stir the hearts of his followers. The crowd spread their cloaks and branches on the road in front of him. The greeted him as their king shouting, “Hosanna. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Even the King of Israel.” But Jesus was not riding on a white steed but humbly like the prophet foretold. John writes: “Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” I don’t want to make too much of this beast of burden, but she may offer the best example of anyone in the story.
After all the disciples are not particularly good Palm Sunday role models for us. They may stand with Jesus now, but in a matter of days one will betray him and another will deny him. Their argument as to who would be greatest in the kingdom was still ringing hot in their ears. In fact, this whole trip to Jerusalem had made them nervous, what with Jesus talking about death and suffering and their bold hopes of a regime change evaporating in the wind. They just all ran away except John who stood frightened with Jesus’ mother Mary at the foot of the cross. The disciples response is actually pretty familiar…could describe a lot of us. We’ve followed Jesus for years now. We’ve sat in church, we drop our offerings in the plate, we’ve attended a class here and there, we’ve done our part…Now I know some have endured the fires of suffering and temptation and embraced the faith. But too many don’t know what it’s really like to follow Jesus into the storm…
The crowds are no role model either, they’re worse then the disciples. Today they are curious, but they clearly are not committed. Their loyalties can be bought and sold. They’re shouting, “Hosanna” today, but by Friday, they’ll be calling for his death. New Testament scholar Eugene Boring points out that members of the Crowd know the truth about Jesus but they cannot bring them selves to do the truth.
The religious leaders are no example either. They were corrupt, mean spirited and jealous of Jesus’ popularity with the crowds. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the High Jewish Council decided that both of them must die. They offered and took bribes. Set up a bogus trial. And sent an innocent man to his death.
So what’s left? Who or what is our role model this Palm Sunday? There’s nothing left but the donkey. Remember I told you that this animal can teach us a lot, because she is the creature who carries Christ into the world. That is really our calling as well you know…to carry Christ into the world.
Born again Christians are those who
> Serve Christ as faithful servants.
> Serve Christ humbly without caring who gets the glory.
> Follow Christ’s direction: being willing to go where he wants us to go, not where we want to go.
> Not getting spooked by the crowds, the noise, the attention.
> Taking Christ into enemy territory
> Being obedient to the one who holds the reigns
We are called to carry Christ into the world…by living a distinctive Christian lifestyle. This means letting love be genuine, hating what is evil, standing up for the things that really matter like honesty in relationships, integrity in business dealings, vulnerability in genuine service…standing firm in our convictions even though everyone else is looking out for Number ONE. We are the ones who offer hospitality to strangers and even bless those who persecute us…and turn the other cheek and forego vengeance and retribution. It means that when people ask us: “Who is this Jesus?” We with boldness and without hesitation must say: “This Jesus saved my life, took away my sins, loves me completely and loves you just as you are as well.”
This is the last Sunday in Lent and we have to get dead serious about our Inward Journey today. Jesus’ own journey to Jerusalem required that he set aside the security and safety of his rightful place at the right hand of the father in order to come to earth and take on our flesh. All who follow Jesus must ask themselves some pretty tough questions.
Am I willing to relinquish what ever is necessary to follow Jesus? Is there anything or anyone I can’t let go of in order to travel unencumbered toward God? The power of the saving mysteries we celebrate this week challenge us to take stock of the baggage we have accumulated over the past year and to discern what should be retained and what needs to be thrown away. Look what Jesus gave for us.
In his reflection on the passion of Christ, Anthony Padovano suggests that Jesus did not accept the suffering that led to his death because suffering is in itself of value but because: “love without restraint requires suffering. We are saved, not by the physical death of Jesus but by the absoluteness of a love which did not count death too high a price to pay.”
So how will your respond to this amazing love? Our inward Journey forces us to ask the really tough issues.
If we condemn or judge any of God’s people, we fail to accept Jesus as Messiah…judgment is God’s job not ours. If we abandon the radical call to open our hands in welcome and peace to all of God’s children, we turn our back on Jesus.
If we wash our hands of the pain of the world’s people, we wash our hands of our own brothers and sisters. If we are unwilling to envision and then work for a world where all God’s children are valued and treated as members of the family of God for whom Jesus died, we deny Jesus’ work and life.
Think about the people with palm branches in hand that that lined the streets of Jerusalem that day over two thousand years ago. They look just like us. And we are just like them. Faithful one moment and fickle the next. Believing for a time and then allowing the comfortable evil of apathy to lull us into a stupor of regret. Holding onto our stuff, our pride, our anger, our pettiness when all Jesus asks is for us to let it all go and humbly receive the love of Christ and carry that love into the world…like that little donkey carried Jesus through the streets toward his sacrifice and ultimate glory.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, even though you knew the praise of the crowd to be fickle and short-lived, even though you knew the fate that surely awaited you on Friday at Calvary, out of pure love you entered Jerusalem, you went to the temple, your preached the truth, you broke bread with the very disciples who would betray you, and you died before the week was over, forgiving the ones who nailed you to the cross, pierced your side and wounded your sacred head.
Though we are unworthy of such love, we cling to your love. We know it is our only hope in life and in death, our only real comfort. For your sacrifice, for your obedient courage, for your grace, that leads to our salvation if we let go and let you have your hearts and lives we give you thanks and praise.
Amen and Amen.
