It was Palm Sunday
but because of a sore throat, 5 year old Sammy stayed home from church with a
babysitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several
palm fronds. Sammy inquired as to what they were for.
“People held them
over Jesus' head as he walked by,” his father responded
“Wouldn't you just
know it?” Sammy complained, ”The one Sunday I don't go and he shows up.”
Today most Christian
churches are on the same page in the bible—the story of Jesus’ entry into
Jerusalem. Matthew
tells us that there is a little fanfare; a parade. Jesus mounts a donkey over which the
disciples have hung their cloaks. Other
people are laying their cloaks on the ground, or palm branches they have cut
from the trees—all of this creating a welcome mat for this lovely man who has
cared for so many people. “Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord,” the people cry, “Hosanna in the
highest.”
A few people
surprised by this outpouring of respect ask the parade crowd, “Who is
this?” After all, Jesus isn’t the most important person entering the city. At another gate Pilate is making his entrance
into Jerusalem on a large horse suited with armor and accompanied by a unit or
two of physically strong battle-ready Roman soldiers. There are a lot of Pilate worshippers
there—their life depended on their allegiance to Rome. One might say Pilate’s
parade was the real parade—the INSIDER’S parade.
Do you think they
knew about Jesus’ parade?
Parade, the
OUTSIDER’S parade, this way: “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in
Galilee.”
Do you think that
answer helped clear things up?
I like to tell the
story about the first time I attended the Fourth of July parade in Joliet. Like most communities it featured the police
car, with sirens, the fire truck, with sirens, a few floats, a few persons
riding horses or atvs, and then a few lovely cars toting politicians running
for office. It all was very lovely, but
also very small.
So small that the
whole parade went around the parade route twice. Talk about déjà vu!
If Billings were
Jerusalem, and it was a parade day…we’d be wondering why there was this little
parade on a side street that hadn’t been scheduled… an anonymous parade on a
much smaller budget…but with the same excitement.
It’s not every day
that a group of people throw someone a parade.
But that’s the
question I want us to sit with this morning.
Jesus is special enough for persons to throw him a parade and cheer him
on. What made him parade-worthy? His
face was the face of God; the face of love.
His life was a light to see our lives by.
I’d like to offer a few characteristics of Jesus’ life
and ministry that not only elicited a response from people years ago, but also
elicit a response from us today—we who have shown up to wave our palm branches:
1.
Jesus spoke the truth
about God’s active presence in the world and God’s vision for the world no
matter what it cost him. I recently read about
a minister’s message with the children
on Palm Sunday. He asked the
children why people hated Jesus so much.
“I know why,” one child replied, “Because he asked people to share and
they didn’t want to.”
Jesus made enemies everywhere when he put more emphasis on
responding to human need than to human law—he made enemies when he taught that
God was more powerful than human power—he even made enemies when he addressed
humanity’s love of money—at the same time he also made friends with God. That friendship proved to be his most
reliable and powerful resource.
2.
Jesus had great
compassion for people, especially those who were overlooked or ignored by
others. Many
years ago when I was in seminary there was a very small, not quite so bright
man who really, really wanted to be a pastor.
He could do the work; he simply didn’t “shine.” His name came up one afternoon in a group
discussion, with several of the more outgoing and popular pastors-in-residence
voicing their opinion that this man shouldn’t be kept in the seminary
pool. A woman, who was prone to
observation, spoke up and asked, “Who are we to judge? Besides there are many churches with many
needs. There’s a church for
everyone.” I knew at that moment I
heard the voice of Jesus in the room and it was something to behold.
3.
Jesus held community
in great esteem. When
people were not well, Jesus often reasoned that they needed to be returned,
reconciled, to community. There’s
something about feeling shame and experiencing shame that disables a person.
The opposite is also true. There’s something about feeling and
experiencing honor, or being of value, that enables a person.
Jesus preached the
importance of being a neighbor, a neighbor who does something about the needs
of others. It’s simply not “about
me.” I truly believe that most of our
current struggles in the world are rooted in humanity’s selfishness and
preference for privacy; isolation. What
do you think?
4.
Jesus held communion
(prayer) with God in great esteem. When Jesus ran the
moneychangers out of the temple, declaring that “God’s house was a house of
prayer,” Jesus reminded the church that our first priority is friendship with
God. That’s what prayer is, friendship
with God. When we get that relationship right, everything else falls into
place. We discover great peace within,
and among.
5.
Jesus
wasn’t afraid of the hard stuff—forgiveness of one’s enemies, service to
others, speaking to abusive power, even crucifixion. I’m currently reading a little book called The
Wisdom of Donkeys by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. The donkeys in today’s story are a metaphor
for Jesus. Thomas reminds us that
donkeys are small but hearty; their little legs betray the weight they can
carry. Donkeys are much smaller than a
horse but have much more endurance. No
horse could ever pace up a narrow mountain pass carrying a donkey’s load. Horses are edgier, too, especially in tight
situations. They bolt whereas a donkey
freezes. You can usually cajole an
anxious horse to do things against its better interests, frighten them into
galloping along unsafe routes. Not so
with donkeys, who have a highly developed sense of self-preservation. Thus a donkey’s perceived stubbornness.
Jesus came in the name of the LORD—his agenda was God’s
agenda. Palm Sunday asks the church to
reflect on the way we are living our lives together—do we come in the name of
the LORD—are we bringing about God’s vision, are we speaking up for the
forgotten members of society, are we making friendship with God the main thing,
are we staying grounded in compassion, are we fostering healthy community among
us and around us, are we offering to do the hard work?
In the recent
Partnership newsletter, Dr. Ruth Fletcher, our Regional Minister, tells the
story of the United Congregational Church of Butte who focused on “how they
could share the light of Christ as individuals and a congregation.” They advocated for the Non-Discrimination
Ordinance that provided them with a unique opportunity to “shine.” On February 19, the Butte Council of
Commissioners voted to pass the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance. According to some people I know, it’s the best
Anti-Discrimination Ordinance currently in Montana.
In a recent phone
conversation a new church start pastor told me the story of how her small
church took on the task of preparing, serving, and cleaning up at a soup
kitchen one night a week. The soup kitchen kept telling us that we were too
small, that we needed to come back when there were more of us. We were about 15 disciples strong. Well, we wouldn’t back down so they let us
sign up to cook, serve, and wash the dishes.
We were so excited to be doing something so important. We
didn’t preach though, we had tee-shirts made up to let people know the light of
Christ was in the building—we preached without saying a word.
This Thursday I am inviting you to join me in
being a neighbor to the people and businesses within a short distance of the
church. I’m asking everyone to show up here at the
church at 6pm with a flat of pansies (they’re hearty plants), potting soil, and
some pots or mugs. You’ll also want to
bring either a wagon for pulling and walking—or your car—and some boxes to tuck
our flower arrangements in.
The Diaconate is
going to provide a light supper. I’m
going to provide a little note about the joy of living in community and a plant
pick to anchor the note.
Together we’ll move
out into our neighborhood. The goal will
be to introduce ourselves and learn names, and learn if our neighborhood is a
great place to live—or to work—why or why not?
That’s it. We’re going to be
friendly and interested in the well-being of our neighbors. Can I see a show of hands as to who’s coming?
This Friday (Good Friday) Jeff Anderson is inviting you
to pray—to spend time with God—to strengthen that friendship. There’s a sign-up chart in the hallway. The prayer vigil begins at 8:00am and
continues through 6:00pm.
Today Jesus gets
red-carpet treatment from the many persons who have been inspired by his
miracles, his teachings, and his sincere interest in the quality of their life,
which will add fuel to the fire that burns in the eyes of the Judean officials
and the Roman officials. Neither of the
two are interested in the competition; the hope Jesus is building in the hearts
of persons who have been easily beaten into submission. They detect an uprising—they who have
profited from the downcast spirits of the least of these have a lot to lose in
God’s re-ordering of the creation.
What will the Judean
officials and the Roman officials do?
Will the God Jesus
loves so much show up?
The plot thickens….
(This was preached by Reverend Dana Keener at Central Christian Church, Billings, MT on Palm Sunday 2014.)
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