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Palm Sunday (2008)
Lectionary Readings: The Liturgy of the Palms: Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29;
The Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:14- 27:66 or Matthew 27-11-54, Psalm 31:9-16
THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND THEATRE FOR A
WHILE ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE PHENOMENON WE TERM THE ACTOR’S NIGHTMARE. THE
DREAM CAN TAKE MANY PATHS AND SHAPES. YOU MAY BE PUSHED OUT ON STAGE AS THE
PLAY BEGINS AND REALIZE YOU DON’T KNOW A SINGLE ONE OF YOUR LINES. OR
YOU MAY NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE WHAT PLAY YOU’RE PERFORMING ---- IT’S
CERTAINLY NOT THE SAME ONE YOU’VE BEEN REHEARSING FOR WEEKS.
THE OTHER ACTORS
KEEP TOSSING LINES AT YOU AND WAITING PATIENTLY FOR YOUR RESPONSE. YOU STAND
THERE IN A COLD SWEAT, YOUR EYES DARTING AROUND FOR ANY CUE TO HELP YOU. IS
THIS A COMEDY, A TRAGEDY, OR PERHAPS AN INTENSE DRAMA WITH A HAPPY ENDING?
WHAT’S MY ROLE HERE? DID I WALK OUT ONTO THE WRONG STAGE BY MISTAKE? IS
THERE REALLY A SCRIPT TO THIS PLAY, OR ARE THEY ALL JUST IMPROVISING AS THEY GO
AONG?
SUCH IS THE
NATURE, IT SEEMS TO ME, OF THE DRAMA WE’VE COME TO CALL PALM SUNDAY. IN
THE BEGINNING --- ON THE SURFACE ANWAY -- IT’S A HAPPY, FEEL-GOOD STORY.
BUT JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE, IT’S SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. EACH
CHARACTER OR GROUP IN THE DRAMA HAS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT TAKE ON BOTH THE
UNFOLDING PLOT LINE AND THE LIKELY OUTCOME. ONLY JESUS, THE LEAD CHARACTER
ALREADY KNOWS THE STORY LINE AND THE OUTCOME; BUT AT THIS POINT, HE
ISN’T PROVIDING MANY SIGNIFICANT CUES TO THE OTHER CHARACTERS AROUND HIM.
JUST LOOK AT THE
RANGE OF SCRIPTURE READINGS APPOINTED FOR TODAY’S SERVICE, AND IMAGINE
ALL OF THE WRITERS AS WITNESSES TO THE STORY. THE FIRST APPOINTED PSALM FOR
THIS SERVICE IS AN UNBRIDLED SHOUT FOR JOY: “ON THIS DAY THE LORD HAS
ACTED; WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT. HOSANNAH, LORD, HOSANNAH.”
CONTRAST THAT
WITH THE OPENING LINE OF PSALM 31, ALSO APPOINTED FOR PALM SUNDAY: “HAVE
MERCY ON ME LORD, FOR I AM IN TROUBLE; MY EYE IS CONSUMED WITH
SORROW..” THE SAME HUGE DIFFERENCE IN TONE IS APPARENT IN TODAY’S
TWO GOSPELS. THE ONE WHICH OPENS THE SERVICE IS FILLED WITH HOSANNAHS AND A
SENSE OF TRIUMPH, WHILE THE LONGER GOSPEL WE JUST HEARD IS FILLED WITH PAIN,
BETRAYAL, REJECTION, AND SUFFERING.
EVEN THE RED
LITURGICAL COLOR WE USE TODAY SENDS MIXED MESSAGES. IS THIS THE RED OF A
JUBILANT FESTIVAL DAY, OR IS IT THE RED OF BLOOD AND MARTYRDOM?
AND TAKE NOTE, IF
YOU WILL, OF THE MUSIC WE SING TODAY. THE PROCESSIONAL HYMN IS MUSIC FOR A
JOYOUS FEAST. IT SPEAKS OF OFFERING UP PRAISE AND HOSANNAHS FOR THE JESUS WHO
IS NOW THE HIGH EXALTED ONE. THE SEQUENCE HYMN BRINGS US INTO A TOTALLY
DIFFERENT DRAMA. IT’S ONE OF MYSTERY AND INTRIGUE, WARNING THAT THOSE WHO
WAVE PALM BRANCHES TODAY MAY BE USING THE SAME HANDS TO WEAVE A CROWN OF THORNS
TOMORROW.
OUR CLOSING HYMN
WILL INTRODUCE US TO YET A THIRD DRAMA. THIS ONE IS IN A MINOR KEY, AND ITS
THEMES ARE THOSE OF THE HEAVY BURDEN OF THE CROSS AND BEING FREED FROM DEATH.
THE DRAMA OF PALM
SUNDAY IS INDEED INFINITELY COMPLEX, AND CAN BE UNDERSTOOD IN TOTALLY
DIFFERENT WAYS, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU’RE STANDING AND WHAT YOU SEE FROM
THAT POSITION.. THE PLOT LINE ON THE SURFACE IS MUCH LIKE THAT OF A
PERFECTLY-CRAFTED PLAY --- FULL OF STUGGLES AND SETBACKS, BUT WITH ALL
ELEMENTS SURE TO COME TOGETHER NEATLY IN A HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER CONCLUSION.
JESUS HAS STRUGGLED
IN HIS MINISTRY. HE’S SUFFERED SOME SETBACKS AND REJECTIONS, ESPECIALLY
FROM RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF HIS DAY. BUT HIS MESSAGE HAS CAUGHT FIRE LITTLE BY
LITTLE, THE CROWDS HAVE GROWN, AND MORE HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED TO HIS
MIRACLES.
IN THE CHRONOLOGY
OF JOHN’S GOSPEL, JESUS HAS JUST RAISED LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD SIX DAYS
BEFORE THE PASSOVER. SO, AS HE APPROACHES JERUSALEM, THE WORD OF THIS MIRACLE
MUST BE SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE. WHO COULD DOUBT THAT THIS WAS THE MESSIAH OF
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES?
THE SYMBOLS WERE
ALL THERE TOO. JESUS, WHO ALWAYS HAD WALKED EVERYWHERE WITH HIS DISCIPLES,
ASKED FOR A DONKEY COLT TO RIDE INTO JERUSALEM. THIS WAS A CLEAR REFLECTION OF
THE WORDS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET ZECHARIAH: “SHOUT ALOUD, O
DAUGHTER JERUSALEM. LO YOUR KING COMES TO YOU, TRIUMPHANT AND VICTORIOUS IS HE,
AND RIDING ON A DONKEY, A COLT….”
JESUS’
INTENT WOULD SEEM TO BE AN ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM AS A KING, ALTHOUGH NOT A
POLITICAL ONE. THE USE OF PALM BRANCHES WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANT, AS THEY HAD A
HISTORY OF USE IN ONLY THE MOST HIGH AND HOLY OF CELEBRATIONS.
THIS, ON THE
SURFACE, IS THE LONG AWAITED HAPPY ENDING TO THE DRAMA. JESUS ENTERS JERUSALEM
AS A DIVINE KING, BECOMES UNIVERSALLY BELOVED BY HIS PEOPLE, AND ESTABLISHES A
NEW ORDER. BUT, OF COURSE, WE KNOW THAT OTHER CHARACTERS IN THIS DRAMA ARE
ALREADY CONTRUCTING NEW PLOT LINES, AND THAT THERE WILL BE MANY DIFFERENT
ENDINGS BEFORE THE FINAL ACT NEXT SUNDAY.
AS SEVERAL
COMMENTATORS HAVE OBSERVED, THE PROBLEM WITH PALM BRANCHES IS THAT THEY DIE
QUICKLY ONCE CUT FROM THE TREE. IN PARALLEL FASHION, SO DID THE EXCITEMENT OF
THE CROWDS. IT WAS EASY TO GENERATE ENTHUSIASM AROUND THE APPEARANCE OF A
TRIUMPHAL KING, BUT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO BE INSPIRED FOLLOWERS OF A
SUFFERING SERVANT.
AS PREPARATION
FOR THIS JOURNEY THROUGH HOLY WEEK, I WOULD INVITE EACH OF YOU TO IMAGINE
YOURSELF ALONG THE SIDE OF THAT ROAD, WAVING A PALM BRANCH AND SHOUTING YOUR
HOSANNAHS. AND THEN IMAGINE HOW YOUR OWN STORY MIGHT EVOLVE AS THE EVENTS OF
THE WEEK OF THE PASSOVER UNFOLD.
I ASSUME THAT
MANY OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT TRIUMPHAL MOMENT. WE INVITED JESUS TO RIDE
INTO OUR LIVES AS OUR KING, AND FILL OUR HEARTS WITH HIS TRUTH AND LOVE. IF
YOU IDENTIFY WITH THAT, I’M GUESSING THAT YOUR DRAMA DIDN’T STAY ON
THAT GLORIOUS HIGH NOTE INDEFINITELY.
WE MAY COME,
INEVITABLY, TO THAT PLACE IN OUR LIFE JOURNEY WHERE WE RECOGNIZE THAT THIS
RELATIONSHIP IS A TWO-WAY STREET. AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, MUCH IS EXPECTED
FROM US. IT’S NOT JUST ALL PALM BRANCHES AND JOYOUS ANTHEMS. IT’S
NOT AT ALL LIKE THE WARM FUZZY FEELING THAT FILLED US IN THE BEGINNING. WHICH
FORK IN THE ROAD DO WE TAKE THEN?
FOURTEEN YEARS
AGO, I BECAME A PARTNER IN CREATING A NEW CHURCH IN CORALVILLE. MY HEAD WAS
FILLED WITH VISIONS OF NEW LIFE ---- NEW FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, NEW BIRTH,
BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION. I WAS METAPHORICALLY WAVING MY PALM BRANCH WILDLY, AS
JESUS LED US INTO THIS NEW MISSION.
BUT IN THE FIRST
YEAR, ONE OF OUR YOUNGEST AND MOST BELOVED NEW MEMBERS STARTED ON A DOWNWARD
SPIRAL TOWARD AN AGONIZING DEATH ----- FROM AIDS ---- AT CHRISTMAS. HOLD IT
RIGHT THERE. I CAN LOOK BACK AND ALMOST SEE THE PALM BRANCH FALLING FROM MY
HAND. THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. I CAN’T DEAL WITH THIS. IT
WASN’T PART OF MY VISION. EVERYTHING’S BECOME TOO HARD. MY GIFTS
AT PROVIDING SPIRITUALCOMFORT IN A HOPELESS SITUATION ARE NON-EXISTENT, I SAID
TO MYSELF. I SHOULD JUST GIVE UP.
BUT ON FURTHER
REFLECTION, THE DRAMA SEEMED FAMILIAR. I’D BEEN HERE OFTEN BEFORE, JUST
WITH DIFFERENT SETS OF CIRCUMSTANCES. MY TEENAGE EUPHORIA AT CONFIRMATION
TIME HAD TURNED INTO REJECTION OF THE CHURCH AS IRRELEVANT BY MY COLLEGE
YEARS. MY PASSION FOR FOLLOWING GOD’S CALL INTO ORDAINED MINISTRY AT AGE
50 HAD TURNED COLD AS ICE WHEN I LEARNED HOW MANY AND HOW HIGH THE OBSTACLES
WOULD BE. BUT SOMETHING ALWAYS PULLED ME BACK IN.
OVER TIME, I
RECOGNIZED THAT MY OWN DRAMA DOESN’T DEPEND ON ME TO BE ITS ONLY
RESOURCE. GOD SUPPLIES SO MANY OF THE GIFTS AND STRENGTHS THAT MAKE IT WORK,
TRANSFORMING EVEN THE MOST PAINFUL EXPERIENCES INTO SOURCES OF GROWTH AND
FULFILLMENT. AS ALL OF OUR RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS OF OUR BAPTISMAL
COVENANT REMIND US: “I WILL WITH GOD’S HELP.”
FOLLOWING JESUS
PAST THE POINT OF THE OPENING PARADE IS REALLY TOUGH WORK. UNLIKE MOST OF
THOSE ORIGINAL PALM SUNDAY CHEERLEADERS, WE NEED TO STAY WITH JESUS ALL THE WAY
TO THE CROSS AND BEYOND. WE HAVE TO ENTER INTO HIS PAIN AND SUFFERING AS WE GO
ABOUT DOING HIS WORK IN TODAY’S WORLD.
NOBODY
EVER PROMISED THAT OUR FAITH JOURNEY WOULD BE EASY. AS MUCH AS WE MIGHT LIKE
TO JUST FLY FROM THE EUPHORIA OF PALM SUNDAY RIGHT TO THE AWE AND WONDER OF
EASTER DAY, GOD ASKS US TO ENTER INTO ALL OF THE OBSTACLES AND EMOTIONS WHICH
LIE BETWEEN THOSE TWO EVENTS.
YES, EACH OF US
IS AN ACTOR IN OUR OWN FAITH JOURNEY DRAMA. WE PRAY THAT WE’LL KNOW OUR
LINES WHEN THE MOMENTS OF REAL CHALLENGE CONFRONT US, AND THAT WE WILL
UNDERSTAND AND DRAW UPON THE RESOURCES GOD PROVIDES US TO MEET THOSE
CHALLENGES. SURELY, THEN WE WILL HAVE THE REQUISITES TO FOLLOW OUR ROLES AS
FAITHFUL DISCIPLES OF JESUS BEYOND THE PALM SUNDAY EXPERIENCE.
AMEN
