Palm
Sunday
April
5, 2020
Please pray with me,
May the words of my mouth and the
meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock,
our strength and our redeemer.
Amen.
First a story to share….Can I
just say that this is one of my favorite Sundays of the church year? It started when I was younger and we would
shout Hosanna from the narthex and process into the church. Then when I served in Indiana, we began
worship outside…and processed in to All Glory Laud and Honor. And then I arrived in Robesonia. My first Palm Sunday (at the Saturday night
service) and we were singing the Palms. I looked at then Vicar now Pastor
Caitlin and said, do you know this? She
didn’t. Neither did I. Thankfully the congregation knew it. And even the Saturday night crew sang
it. Thank heavens.
But now I know it…and along with
the Palms, I look forward to the Wednesday before as we strip the Palms and
that Sunday morning as Phil Blatt hands them out and we follow Jesus up and
down the streets of Robesonia. So yeah,
it’s hard, shouting on our own…but I’m glad we are together in this way. I’m glad that in your homes you made palms
and joined in with the singing and the shouting this morning.
It’s funny, isn’t it? That we join in with the crowds this
day.
Because in truth, the crowds
don’t get it.
They are awaiting a king, one who
will come and change the world as they know it.
One who will take control in the city center and change the status
quo.
They are awaiting and welcoming a
king who they believe will save them…from the lives they are living.
They are awaiting and welcoming a
king that will fit their idea of a king…one that will hear their
specific needs, and make changes that they think will be beneficial to
themselves.
The crowds don’t get it.
Yes, they are welcoming a king.
Yes, they are welcoming one who
comes in the name of the Lord.
Yes, they welcome him like a king
entering the city, yet not on a battle stallion, but on a donkey….
Yes, they welcome him, but they
don’t quite get it.
This king joining them…isn’t
going to be the king they expect.
This king, responding to their
shouts of hosanna, isn’t going to swoop in and save them like they expect.
This king is entering the
city…NOT to take over the throne.
NOT to change the laws of the
land at that time.
NOT to wipe out the current
leadership,
No, that’s not the king that
Jesus is…
Jesus is a king who will lead by
serving others.
Jesus is a king who will reach
beyond social constructs to touch and teach those who are most outcast.
Jesus is a king who will walk
with his people, model service and love of other and then continue his walk to
the cross.
Where God will show true power
through Jesus’ death on the cross…and resurrection from the dead.
So where does that leave us?
We join in with the crowds, year
after year, don’t we?
And why? Because we’ve always done it that way….NO.
Because we, like those crowds and
followers of Jesus back then, still seek a savior, the king of kings, the lord
of lords.
We are hurting right now, as a
community, nation and world.
As we look out we wonder why
things are as they are…
We cry out to Jesus, come, Lord,
save us!
We shout out hosanna…as we see
Jesus enter our world and our lives and our homes…because thanks be to God the
savior has come.
We wave palm branches because
this savior is the ONE. He is the one
who will save us from our sins…and save us from all that is happening in this
world.
And yet, we, like those crowds,
don’t get it.
Many of our pleas are for a
savior that will fix all of this as we think it should be fixed. I’m not sure what that looks like, only that
many of us think that God should swoop in and make this all better.
We want a savior, just not one
who shows power by dying…
I believe I’ve quoted Brian
Stoffregen before who writes, “We don’t want a savior that has been raised from
the dead, we want one that doesn’t die in the first place.”
You see, just like those
crowds…we’ve been duped!
The king we’ve expected, isn’t
the one who has come, who is already here.
I should just stop saying those
crowds, it’s us. We are the crowd. Longing for a savior, crying out for justice,
just wanting a savior to fix and change what is happening in the world right
now.
Ugh…
But guess what?
The savior still comes.
The king of kings…triumphantly
enters the city, into our hearts and lives and homes.
The lord of lords…leads us
through acts of humble service and love…washing the feet of his friends,
feeding them a meal, saving their lives through his death and
resurrection.
The savior still comes.
In positive messages posted in
windows.
In cards that arrive in the mail.
In meals dropped off on front
porches.
In donations to the food bank.
The savior still comes...
In sympathy cards at times like
these.
In family meals around the table.
In across the street
conversations with someone you see outside.
In supporting local business or
people who must work at this time.
The savior still comes…
In the places and the people
where we least expect him to be.
So wave those branches, and
celebrate the entrance of a king who, because of God’s great love, turns this
world upside down.
Shows up where we least expect
him to be, but unbeknownst to us…the places where we truly need him to be.
Let me say that again…
Let us welcome that king…let us
welcome Jesus who may not show up where we expect him to be….but will show up
and be present in the places we do not expect…which, my friends, is the exact
place we truly need him to be.
May we be open to this Savior,
who loves us unconditionally, who shows up time and time again and who will
continue to teach us and model for us lives of service and love for
others.
Please join us later this week as
we hear more about Jesus as servant on Maundy Thursday and as we journey to the
cross on Good Friday…and await the glorious empty tomb on Sunday morning.
This may not be the savior we
expect…but it is the one God knows that we need.
And for that, we thank God.
And now may the peace, which
passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and let
all God’s people say, amen.
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