Palm Sunday Sermon 2013

The recorded sermon goes beyond the text posted below so you may want to listen while reading… Black Preacher's Prerogative  (https://soundcloud.com/tigerowl/palm-sunday-13)

Luke 19:28-40
19:28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
19:29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,
19:30 saying, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
19:31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'"
19:32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.
19:33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?"
19:34 They said, "The Lord needs it."
19:35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
19:36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
19:37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,
19:38 saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"
19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop."
19:40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."

My last full time parish was in St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands.  I was surprised to learn early in my first year that we had a parade on Psalm Sunday.  Since the congregation and the church building were a part of the National Park District in St. Croix, we had to obtain permission to bless the psalms in Fort Christavaern, the first home of the church in 1734, and then process to the Steeple Building the first church building for Lord God of Sabaoth.  We then processed to the current church building that dated from the late 1600’s as a reformed church.

When you block off the streets and need a police escort then certainly you do get noticed.  I would suppose that was the atmosphere recorded in the middle of our Gospel lesson for today.  If we tried to replicate the action described in the Gospel lesson, who would come?  Who would notice if we had a parade today?  Even if we just went around the block, would anyone care?

And as soon as the parade was over, who would remember?

Our Biblical passages today suggest that there was not a great deal of planning involved in this event.  When you have to borrow a burrow, and explain to the owner, while you are untying it, that you need it for your lord Jesus, you might say that they didn’t do a whole lot of preplanning.  The triumphal entry into Jerusalem had less planning than this congregation puts into the Chicken Festival.  We move ever so quickly from the obtaining the burro for Jesus to ride upon, to the community celebration of welcoming the newest prophet into the community.  We speedily move to the celebration of the Passover by Jesus and his followers

It is quite ironic to note that this is “Palm” Sunday. In the tropics of the Virgin Islands, we had Coconut palms, royal palms, fan palms, and date palms.  Yet there are no “branches of palms” mentioned in Luke’s account of the parade in Jerusalem.  There are no “leaves from the field” as in Mark (11:8). There are no “branches from the trees” as in Matthew (21:8). There are no leaves or branches of any type mentioned in Luke.  Only John talks about “palms.”

When Jesus enters Jerusalem only Luke tells us:
 

(1) ...the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen (v. 37). (2) Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out” (vv. 39-40).

In Luke, the entrance of Jesus causes a division among the crowd which is not found in the other gospels.  It seems that some were not pleased with the parade in their neighborhood.  Could this be a sign for some of the events of the coming week of the Passion of Jesus? 

Related to this emphasis, the disciples in Luke do not shout “hosanna”—an Aramaic phrase meaning, “Save us, I pray.” What is anticipated at the coming of the king is “peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”  An emphasis for Luke is that salvation consists partly in living at peace with God and with each other—Jews and Gentiles, male and female, rich and poor, slaves and free.

At the same time, he is aware that Jesus’ peace causes divisions: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (12:51).  There is a parallel text in Matthew which proclaims that Jesus did not come to bring peace, “but a sword” (Mt 10:34).

For all of Lent I have been noting that Jesus is on a dedicated march to Jerusalem.  He is not be be deterred or detoured. His journey is now almost complete.  As Jesus comes near and sees the city, he weeps over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.... you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God” (19:42, 44b).

When Jesus enters Jerusalem, his disciples pray for peace in heaven (and, presumably on earth, which will bring glory in the highest), but his visitation causes a division.

Today, in the second service we emphasize the peace that comes to those who exercise their faith.  Today we baptize three young people into the family of God.  Specifically their become members of the faith, the discipleship who are  a part of the family of God at Christ Lutheran Community Church.  Join us in being faithful as we pray not only for these new members of our congregation, but let us pray for ourselves as we continue our own journeys as disciples of Christ at Christ.  AMEN.

 
Thanks again to Brian Stoffregen.