Online Sermons
Palm Sunday, the Joyful Entry: April 5, the Rev. Melody Rockwell
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Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!Today [Tonight], we joyfully join in the procession and liturgy of the palms. We sing out words that echo the phrase that first started Jesus’ ministry in Galilee: The kingdom of God has come near. We celebrate Palm Sunday [Eve], entering into and remembering the scene that the Gospel of Mark describes: pilgrims jostling, shouting, walking and singing as they traveled toward Jerusalem, toward the Temple of the One and Most Holy God. I am struck by the alert awareness of Jesus and those “running before and following after” calling out ‘Hosanna… Blessed is the coming kingdom…’ awareness in the midst of all their chaotic exuberance as they entered Jerusalem.
How do we handle the processions, the all glory, laud and honor celebrations in our lives… the weddings, the pregnancies, baptisms, graduations, retirement parties, funerals? We are aware, aren’t we, of how easy it is to get caught up in the details, the minutiae of celebrations, or to be so focused on the destination or the end result that we are not readily present and open to a great many of the sacred moments that constitute the progression of our lives. Joan Chittister in her book, The Gift of Years, notes: ‘We urgently need people who concentrate on meaning of life rather than simply the speed, the mechanization, the computerization of it…” Today’s scripture reveals a receptive and sustaining model of that focus on meaning in action. In today’s Word, we hear about four keys to that focus: planning, listening, seeing, and self-giving.
Well before entering Jerusalem, Jesus took the initiative. He directed two of his disciples: Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’ Jesus implemented a planned symbolic entry that actualized Zechariah’s prophecy of the coming, hoped for Messiah to restore the kingdom of God. Jesus inaugurated what was correctly perceived as a direct and visible protest against the kingdom of the Roman Empire. He did this knowingly and with foresight of what was to come, and was assisted by his disciples and others who recognized his God-filled claim to authority in their lives. “Many spread their garments” in an impressive show of respect and seemingly without concern for loss of personal property. Do we plan our processions… our weddings, for example, with foresight and focus on the marriage that the ceremony consecrates? Do we who are onlookers not only join in the happy celebration, but also commit to making the journey with the couple… calling out encouragement and throwing down our cloaks of hospitality, listening and support? The procession, the celebration – whether a wedding, a baptism, a graduation, a change of career or retirement is, as it was for Jesus, only the beginning of a new journey in life, not an end in itself.
As we inaugurate the seasons of our life, do we take time to listen with open ears to God’s teachings so that the deep and joyful meaning of that time is realized in our day to day journeys? Our reading from Isaiah provides an example of faith wakened and focused each morning through open ears to God’s word. As Isaiah clearly indicates, and Jesus markedly shows us, living out the radical invitation of God’s love is not always well received by the prevailing culture.
There are times, too, when we put a wall of sound, of tumult between ourselves and God. I did that -- about 40 years ago following many tests for fatal illnesses on our infant daughter Elizabeth, and witnessing hydrocephalic children screaming in pain in the University of Iowa Hospitals… and a little boy dying of leukemia – coughing up pans of blood and calling for his daddy, who never came. Well, I thought, a caring God would not allow this to happen. I concluded angrily that it would just be easier not to believe in God. I built an agnostic wall for ten years, a wall of I’ll take care of this myself, -- until the word of God – through this church – broke through and I finally realized with enormous gratitude that God did not cause the suffering, but provides comfort and strength through those most difficult times. You can see that I am a slow learner, but I finally did begin to learn to trust in God, and to feel deeply as in Psalm 31: I have trusted in you, O LORD. I have said, “You are my God. My times are in your hand.”
How do we listen, how do we keep our ears open to the sustaining word of God? As T.S. Eliot opined, Where shall the word be found, where will the word Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence. He says, Not here, there is not enough silence… In the midst of the careening hubbub and obligations of our lives, where do we find the silence? Taking even a few moments each day to journal, to sit quietly and contemplatively, to reflect with lively interest in scripture, and to join in the many opportunities provided at Christ Church for prayerful attentiveness to God’s Word, such as Bible studies, EfM, worship, retreats – all yield insights and strengthen our faith and help us to empower and inspire others. It enables us to give a resounding RSVP to God’s call to us and walk confidently with Christ – making our processions, our journeys informed and meaningful for ourselves and those who share the journey with us.
So, the journey makes more sense when we plan with foresight and when we listen attentively so that God is in both our planning and our implementation. It also helps to have our eyes wide open, to see the big picture and the underlying systems in the midst of festive occasions and beyond. Seeing is what Jesus did as he came to Jerusalem. In the Gospel of Luke (19: 41-42a), as Jesus is approaching Jerusalem, he weeps with sadness over what the city has become, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized the things that make for peace.” Seeing is what Jesus did as he traveled through Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives to the Temple, which was central to the Jewish understanding of God’s forgiving presence and the restored kingdom of justice and peace in Israel.
In Mark, when Jesus came into the Temple, He looked around, taking it all in. He looked around at everything. Jesus was conscious of the system of domination that existed in Israel, even to the extent of the Temple being used as a mask of respectability for that system. He came back the next day to demonstrate against that system by routing the money changers from his Father’s house, and he did not back down from teaching God’s word –even though it led to his arrest, trial and crucifixion.
Madeleine L’Engle in Glimpses of Grace, asks, “How do we reawaken a sense of the sacred? First of all,” she says, “we must look for it.” And when we look, it is sometimes difficult to see through the gloss of religious respectability, our culture’s cry or our own muddled confusion, what is actually there to be seen. What would God have us see and then seeing, what would God have us do? Again, at Christ Church as well as in our larger community, there are many opportunities to be involved in nurturing families and children, serving others through outreach, the food pantry, RESULTS and other Jubilee ministries, working on mission projects, living more simply, eating more locally, conserving energy, praying with and caring for those in hospitals, nursing homes and in our daily lives… and more. But as our new rector to be, Martha Rogers, says: (and I’m paraphrasing her words here from memory) Where is the Spirit of God in the midst of all we do? All that we do must be grounded in God to be most meaningful and generate joy.
If we are to awaken to God’s call for us, it is helpful, as Philippians reminds us today, to begin to see with the same mind in us as was in Christ Jesus. The Message puts it this way: He (Christ) didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life… We are asked to cultivate the inward disposition of Christ, to become servants of compassion to one another, and to see with caring and discerning eyes… and all while we are progressing as pilgrims through this life. As pilgrims, we can become especially conscious of God, the one in whom our hope for renewal of society, peace and justice rests. And we can do so most effectively by following Jesus’ example of humble self-giving. There is inexplicable joy that comes in those moments of true giving… when so much more is received than is given. I feel this way when I go to the prison in Anamosa and experience a banquet of spiritual nourishment. Each of you could name these moments in your life… with your children, friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and strangers… times enriched through giving in a quiet, unassuming, uplifting way. Each of those moments adds to our talents of God’s love.
I invite you to join in the processional of Holy Week, a communal journey at Christ Church, to focus on the four keys to a meaningful life in Christ Jesus: planning, listening, seeing, and self-giving. We’ve already begun to participate in the pilgrimage by celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, waving palm branches and singing, “Blessed is he who comes! Hosanna in the highest!” May we enter with joy into this Holy Week with one another. May God bless each pilgrim’s progress! Amen.