Whenyou hear today’s gospel, it is amazing how in a short period of time, thingscan go from celebration, parties, and hope; to betrayal, dissatisfaction,plots, torture, and death. Through theLiturgy of the Palms, we act out this great drama. We gather and then process together into thechurch with palms waving, and voices raised singing “All Glory, Laud, andHonor.” When we enter the doors of the church and weall take our seats, the tone of the service changes and with great somberness, thedrama shifts. We go from joining the crowdwho was shouting All Glory, Laud and Honor, and suddenly we become the crowd thatshouts, “Crucify him!”
Thereis great tension in the Gospel narrative, acts of love (the anointing of Jesus,the sharing a common meal, and a kiss from a friend) are co-mingled with a plotto kill, betrayal, desertion, and finally torture ,execution and death of thegentle shepherd. In the narrative ofsalvation, in which we will participate over the next several days, on this firstday of Holy Week, we are left with a stone being rolled over the grave and hopeit seems is all but lost.
Wetend to put our hopes in things that fade away, where as Jesus taught, “moth and rust destroy, and where thieves breakin and steal.” We struggle with theoption to put our trust, our hopes, our very lives in God’s hands. The people of Jerusalem’s hopes were a bitmisguided as Jesus rode the colt into the city that day, and it seems theirexpectations were in conflict with God’s plan. The people’s hopes for social liberation from the Roman oppressors wereplaced on the young rabbi. The people’shopes for the restoration of the former power and glory of their nation wereplaced on the young rabbi. Yes, thepeople’s hopes were really mislain. Thecrowds sought a powerful leader, a political redeemer, a charismatic king andwhat they got was a gentle, loving, restoring, reconciling healing, incarnationof God. These hopes of a political redemption laid upon theyoung rabbi, the Messiah, the Son of God, led to his being lain on the hardwood of the cross. It was the hard woodof the cross though, that became instrument for the true redemption ofhumanity. God’s love overcame, despitethe cries of the crowd.
Iwonder what we would have done, had we been in the crowd that day at Jesus’trial. It is a difficult thing for us toconsider, because we live on the other side of not only the crucifixion, butresurrection as well. Imagine though,the scene and consider honestly what you would have said. My own fear is that I too would have joinedthe crowd in the shouts of a bloodthirsty, disappointed, resentful crowd. The people chose and in their hearts said, “wewanted a king, we are not happy, let’s kill him.” The rejection of Jesus at some level, seemsto be a part of the Christian walk. Peter denied him three times, Judas betrayed him, all of the disciplesfled at his arrest, and all of them hid in locked rooms after thecrucifixion. Nonetheless, Jesus wasraised from the grave and he continued then and continues now to bring the goodnews of life everlasting. Despite humanrejection, God’s love and grace does not end. God shows up and claims us as his own. But wait, I have jumped the gun, I want tomove past the next several days to next Sunday. I gave us a glimpse into next week’s sermon and we are just not thereyet. We are here today. The palms have been waved, the cheering hasceased, the betrayal is looming, the arrest is upcoming, the trial is planned,and we know what Friday holds; the cross and death. No, we cannot jump to resurrection yet, wemust wrestle with our part in God’s rejection.
Today,we sit here and we must reflect on our own options when it comes to followingChrist. We must reflect on the internal struggle to cheer and follow the youngrabbi, king, Messiah, Son of God. Christinvites us to follow him wherever that might lead; into the dark places of ourown lives, into the pain of others, and into the joy of God’s grace. The alternative to this life in Christ, iseither benign vacillation or outright denial manifested in those difficultwords, “Crucify him.” Following Christ,choosing the way of the cross is not merely the irony of the narrative we heardon this Palm Sunday, it is the ongoing choice with which we must wrestle asChristians, and we do it for the rest of our lives. “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” “Crucify Him.” The choice is ours.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder