Worship for Sunday, April 17, 2011
Palm Sunday
Matthew 21:1-11
We have gathered here, week after week, sharing a common quest for a deeper faith and a deeper experience of the divine. I invite you now to close your eyes and let go of the things that distract and concern you. Listen! The time is drawing near. Jesus is preparing to enter Jerusalem. How will we greet him? Will we follow him all the way to the Cross? The power of Jesus is that he lived what he taught, even when it led to his death. He lived with an abiding awareness of God, radiating the light of God in all he said and did. But that light was too much for the world. There are forces today, as there were in ancient
(Silent time.)
As we extinguish this light, we acknowledge the darkness and pain of grief, illness, and disease in the world.
(A candle is extinguished.)
Let us pray.
Loving God, there are so many choices before us every day. Choices offered by our friends, our families, our culture, our own past. Some of them encourage the well-being of the earth, ourselves and our neighbors; others are destructive. Help us to distinguish between them. May we learn from the choices of Jesus and embody compassion, justice, and inclusion in all we say and do. Amen.
Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Prayers of the People
Challenged by the living Word of God, let us pray for strength and wisdom.
Eternal Word, who sustains the weary with a word, give us resolve during this Holy Week, the coming Three Days, and the Easter season that follows them, to continue our journey of conversion and renewal as we follow Christ on his way to Calvary. Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
Comforter of the Troubled, let your face shine on your steadfast servants and all creation, grant peace and tranquility to all the world, especially to the peoples of the Middle East, Libya, and Japan, and those here in our own country and communities, that they may know dignity, justice, and true happiness. Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
Just Ruler of All, your son was mistreated and wrongly persecuted by the secular and religious authorities of his day. Grant that out government and our church leaders hear your Word, heed your call, and recognize that your presence among us in the poor, the helpless, and the marginalized. Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
Source of all Consolation, have mercy on us for your creation is troubled. We pray for all those distressed by the loss of companionship, health, or life; grant the liberation of the captives, the healing of the sick, and the reward of eternal life to your faithful servants. We pray especially for those we have named, and for those we recall now, in our hearts. Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
Giver of All Blessings, we give you thanks for the lives of all those who have passed and whose lives have been sources of grace and blessing for us. Grant dignity and relief to all the dying and to all who grieve. Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
Source and Summit of Grace, we give you thanks for the Holy Communion we will soon share, the gift of your presence. Lord, in your mercy.
Hear our prayer.
May we always know that you are near at all times and in all places. We pray in the name of Jesus, and by his grace. Amen.
Matthew 21:1-11
1When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.
3If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5“Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.
8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10When he entered
Message: Holy Weak-ness
Imagine the most terrifying show of military force possible--think May Day in Moscow during the Cold War.
Only this show of force was in Jerusalem in the year 30, and the season was the holiest of observances of the Jewish people--Passover. Jerusalem’s normal population would swell to more than a quarter million as observant Jews from the whole known world descended on the Holy City to celebrate the liberation of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt.
There they were, filling the streets with a celebratory air--it was a magnificent time to be Jewish and in Jerusalem.
And then, suddenly, the earth shook as a procession approached from the West. And the Roman legion--6,000 strong--made their way through the narrow streets. Hundreds of horses, leagues of chariots and thousands of foot soldiers marched through the city, followed by the guard of Pontius Pilate, bearing him on a sedan chair.
But this is not a royal trip to advance the Governor’s relationship with his people. There are no “royal waves” as the legion passes the stunned citizens. There is only the aspect of power, and the abject fear of the public toward this occupational army. This was a show of force--lest these Jews decide to really recreate their freedom from their oppressors. And this was not about keeping the peace. This was highly organized and executed terrorism.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a shaggy carpenter’s son has managed to climb onto a pair of donkeys and ride in from Bethany, east of Jerusalem. He slowly makes his way along the streets, swaying as the donkeys clumsily walk together along the way.
To keep the dust down, the crowds that have gathered to see this comical sight are throwing their clothes on the ground and others threw down palm branches. And they all started shouting out, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” which means save us. Hosanna to the son of David--that term being another title for the Messiah.
Now, did it happen this way? Well, it could have. Sources from outside the scriptures are clear that the Roman Governor and his legion of 6,000 would parade into the city during the Passover preparations to strike fear into the hearts of the residents and visitors--just to let them know that the people may have been freed from the Egyptians, but they were going to be under the Roman thumb for a long, long, time.
The Roman Occupation of Israel lasted nearly 200 years, beginning in the 64th year before the birth of Jesus. So, by the time these events would have taken place, Rome had occupied the nation of Israel for 97 years. That meant that the people had never known a time when they weren’t belittled and humiliated on a daily basis by soldiers of a foreign government.
Can you imagine that? Can you imagine a family sitting around the fire in their home, and the kids say, “Grandpa, tell us the stories of how we were free before the Romans came.”
And Grandpa would say, “Well, I can only tell you what I was told…”
And once a year, every spring, the people would celebrate that time when God led them to freedom from slavery in Egypt. And of course, the Romans would put on a show of force like nothing you could imagine--just to let them know…
If America were occupied by a foreign power--and I don’t want to hear any catcalls about America being occupied now--and that this President or the previous President aren’t legitimate. We can’t possibly known what it would like to live under the thumb of a foreign power. But if we did…can you imagine the kind of significance that Independence Day might have?
Well, in the midst of this celebration and the show of force of the Roman legion and governor, on the east side of the city, a lone prophet rides in on a donkey, and the people treat him as if he were a king.
Contrast one donkey with the hundreds of horses and chariots on the other side of town.
Contrast a lone homeless man on that donkey with Pilate in all his splendor carried by four strapping soldiers.
What this is--this scene which is recreated in all four Gospels--is satire.
It’s high comedy! Peasants shouting at a prophet--“Save us!”
One procession was about the empire of Rome.
The other was about the empire of God.
Jesus’ very planned and intentional Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem was a protest much like a march during the civil rights movement in the 60s. In a wonderful statement of sarcasm, Jesus staged his march into the city on a donkey without chariots, armor, or weapons. It is always amazing what you can accomplish with sarcasm.
You know, if we were being true to this, we would not call it the triumphal entry into
Barbara Brown Taylor in The Christian Century, writes:
“When I listen to the most devoted followers of Jesus, they tell me what it costs to love unconditionally, to forgive 70-times-seven, to offer hospitality to strangers, and to show compassion for the poor. These are essential hallmarks of Jesus' ministry, which no followers of his can ignore… What I hear less about from Jesus' followers is what it costs to oppose the powers that be, to upset pious expectations of what a child of God should say or do, to subvert religious certainty, and to make people responsible for their own lives. Yet all of these are present in his example too”
Maybe the way we should celebrate Holy Week is to adopt the Holy Weak-ness of Jesus.
Maybe we should stage our own protest--trust me, there’s plenty of injustice to go around.
Maybe we should go down the block and convince a landlord to fix the plumbing, or repair the roof on a sub-standard rental property.
Maybe we could make sandwiches, and go hand them out in the neighborhood.
Palm Sunday is not about the beginning of a week of atonement for sins, it is about protest against injustice in the empire.
I’d love to know what you are thinking. Amen.
Call to Offering
In this week ahead we will be asked to walk the hard road of faith
and face the full cost of discipleship.
The sacrifice we are called to share involves true commitment and devotion.
In that Spirit, may we share freely our gifts, tithes and offerings.
Offertory Prayer
Loving God, as Hosannas fade to cries of despair,
may these gifts be used for peacemaking that settles strife
and justice-seeking that creates all good hope. Amen.
Benediction
This is a vision of the way it can be, the way it should be—
Shouts of welcome, a joyful procession, a community celebrating together.
The same vision is offered to us today:
We can welcome Christ into our lives;
We can celebrate his transforming power.
How swiftly things changed back then,
How swiftly we, too, can be distracted.
May we hold fast to his vision of goodness—
Peace from the practice of justice,
equality from the practice of respect.
As this week unfolds,
We will let ourselves be overtaken by God’s love
We will pour it back out into the world.
