We’re offering a pair of main articles in this installment of The Immediate Word -- one focusing on a Palm Sunday theme, and the other keyed to the Passion narrative (which can also be used for Maundy Thursday and/or Good Friday). In his Palm Sunday piece, team member Chris Keating compares Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem to the lavish reception celebrities get on the red carpet or political dignitaries receive when they arrive in foreign capitals. But while we might secretly wish that we had that sort of cachet, we are often reminded that a typical byproduct of such treatment is an inflated sense of self-importance. Yet as Chris points out, Jesus is able to stay grounded and ignore the adulation of the crowd -- which he knows is the proverbial mile wide and inch deep, as they will turn on him in a few short days. So in the midst of celebration, Jesus offers us a bracing lesson in the value of humility -- and in the fleeting nature of the world’s plaudits. Even so, we still lust after the approval of others and the perks of worldly success. Chris notes the alternative nature of Jesus’ kingdom, and he suggests that rather than being seduced by the roaring approval of a fickle fanbase we ought to follow in Jesus’ example of humility and care for the nobodies of the world.
In his meditation on the Passion text, team member Dean Feldmeyer considers the manner in which Jesus approaches his impending death. Mark’s gospel reports that Jesus is burdened with many of the same anxieties and concerns that many of us have about our mortality, noting that when he went to Gethsemane with Peter and James and John, “he began to be distressed and agitated.... [H]e threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.” But having accepted the burden of his Father’s will, Jesus’ outlook as he deals with the extreme stress of his trial and crucifixion bears a remarkable resemblance to the words of esteemed author and physician Oliver Sacks: “I feel a sudden clear focus and perspective. There is no time for anything inessential. I must focus on myself [and] my work.” Jesus no longer has any time for social niceties -- the hour has come, and he must face his mortality... an exit so stark that all of us (even Jesus) at some point in our reconciling are tempted to ask: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But as Dean notes, what we really seek is to know that our living -- and our dying -- serves a greater purpose. And he asks us to think not just about our physical death, but also about the many smaller deaths that are part of our lives.
Treading the Crimson Trail
by Chris Keating
Mark 11:1-11; Philippians 2:5-11
Cameras pop and crowds swoon as celebrities traipse down the world’s red carpets. Prestige paves the way across crimson paths of power, glamour, and success. Adulation greets those who tread these runways. No-name actors become superstars overnight. But overinflated egos trip easily on those same carpets, and often the resulting fall is far from graceful.
It’s tempting to want the sort of regal welcome Prince Charles and his wife received in Washington, D.C. last week. Grazing on deviled quail eggs and chicken liver parfait at the British embassy, the royals created a bit of a buzz. It was a jam-packed visit that included a chat with President Obama, visits to famed monuments, and even a stop at George Washington’s home.
Yet as the Greek poet Aeschylus warned centuries ago, pathways draped in crimson can lead to tragic results. Across town from the royal welcome, for example, discoveries of Aaron Schock’s wild (and possibly illegal) rock-star expenditures led to his resignation from Congress and the crash-landing of his political career. Schock’s glitzy preferences cut short his jaunt across the D.C. red carpet.
On Palm Sunday, we recall that Jesus too came to town amid shouts of adulation and joyful acclaim. The crowds greeted him like a rock star -- yet he understood that the crimson hues beneath his feet were not the result of his fame but were instead the very nature of the offering he was called to make.
In the News
Americans love to roll out the red carpet for guests, and the recent trip by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall seems to be no exception. As President Obama said to Prince Charles during their Oval Office meeting, “the American people are quite fond of the royal family.”
The future king of England tried to laugh away the remark. But a few days later, the prince seemed to speak more freely about the world’s challenges, taking particular aim at the world’s economic disparities and environmental concerns. Showing insight into his own privilege, Prince Charles told guests in Louisville that the world stands at a moment of significant change.
“We are standing,” he said, “at a moment of substantial transition where we face the dual challenges of a world view and an economic system that seem to have enormous shortcomings, together with an environmental crisis -- including that of climate change -- which threatens to engulf us all.”
Often criticized for his environmental views, the prince took the opportunity to use his status -- his moment on the red carpet, if you will -- to promote change. Not all persons standing in the limelight can successfully claim that challenge. In fact, life on the red carpet has nearly become synonymous with privilege, power, and status.
Heroes and celebrities traipsing across plush vermilion dates back to the ancient Greeks. Aeschylus’ character Agamemnon (circa 458 BCE) is greeted by his wicked wife Clytemnestra, who encourages the king to walk down a crimson path. Agamemnon demurs, however, suggesting that such a welcome belongs to a god and not a mere mortal like himself. “I am a mortal, a man,” the king replies. “I cannot trample upon these tinted splendors without fear thrown in my path.”
Such sentiment didn’t stop President James Monroe from claiming the honor of being the first president of the United States to be welcomed with a red carpet as he disembarked from a riverboat in South Carolina in 1821. Yet the phrase “red carpet treatment” did not emerge in cultural lexicons until the early 20th century, when trains running between New York and Chicago rolled out a rug so that “passengers’ feet never had to touch the pavement of the platform.”
Soon Hollywood picked up the idea, making the red carpet standard fare at movie premieres and star-studded affairs. In 1961, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences added the runway for the Oscar ceremonies. The show was not broadcast in color until 1966, however, but by then it had become synonymous with glamour and fame. With the clicking cameras of paparazzi and the glitz of designer gowns, Hollywood’s red-carpet treatment set the standard for welcoming fabulously wealthy and beautiful celebrities.
Not everyone makes it unscathed, however. The potential for tripping down the vermilion runway is huge. It’s easy for egos to slip on the runway. Stepping on the fragile glass slippers of narcissistic fame happens quickly. The cultural landscape is filled with those who have tripped up in the pursuit of status.
Take, for example, Congressman Aaron Schock from Illinois. Schock was elected to the House of Representatives in 2009 at age 27, and was tagged as a rising star among Republicans. The first millennial to serve in Congress, Schock seemed to embody the future of the Republican Party. Many hoped he might be able to help the GOP shed its geriatric image in favor of a more youthful look.
That much was probably true, but his countless selfies, chiseled abs, and photo spreads in men’s magazines didn’t play too well in Peoria -- his hometown. Downstate Illinois didn’t take to Schock’s metropolitan tastes, which included redecorating his office a la Downton Abbey and collecting more Instagram followers than generating legislation. But it wasn’t just Peoria that was watching: after spending a few terms in Congress, Schock seemed to be drawing as much attention from watchdog agencies as he was from social media.
Last week, Schock resigned from office as investigators began looking at tens of thousands of dollars he had received in mileage reimbursements for his personal vehicle. When it was all said and done, Schock’s departure didn’t seem so shocking -- even his father noted that “two years from now he’ll be successful, if he’s not in jail.”
It’s possible that Schock will indeed follow in the footsteps of other politicians from the Land of Lincoln by landing in jail. (Does the name Rod Blagojevich ring a bell?)
The list of Schock’s possible ethics violations is sizable, and has gained the attention of the FBI. He happened to bill the government for over 170,000 miles -- which was somewhat miraculous since the car’s odometer only registered 80,000 when he sold it. And there are plenty of other allegations too, including spending campaign money for luxurious vacations, trips to the Super Bowl, and tickets to see Katy Perry. It seemed Schock enjoyed being in public more than being in public service.
Chiseled abs may get you elected, but self-indulgence can easily quash one’s political ambitions. As commentator Meghan McCain noted, “Politics and pop culture are more fused than ever before, but men and women holding office must still walk a very fine line to ensure they are taken seriously and don’t get so caught up in press that they are perceived as ‘too Hollywood’ or out of touch.”
Schock entered Washington with shouts of acclaim. But when he resigned, those very shouts had turned against him. It’s ironic perhaps, but there is a sense that Schock’s treatment is somehow similar to Jesus’ triumphant entry. Both knew how fickle crowds can be. Both heard voices of praise turn into shouts of damnation.
But that is perhaps the only parallel between the congressman who slipped on his way to the top and the Savior who walked the via dolorosa. Jesus’ path was also colored in red -- the red of his blood shed for a crowd whose praise and adulation turned quickly into mockery and scorn.
In the Scriptures
Come Palm Sunday, the children in many churches will line up in the back of sanctuary. Prepped by their Sunday school teachers and armed with sword-like palm fronds, they’ll parade into worship shouting “Hosanna!” while adoring parents smile and grandparents dab their eyes.
A pretty scene, no doubt, but quite a different entrance than the one Jesus makes. Mark’s particular take on Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem maintains the “just the facts” brevity which characterizes much of his gospel. Those who have been paying attention to Mark’s narrative will recall that Jerusalem is home base for Jesus’ opponents. The tone is not friendly. As Mark has noted previously (see 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34), suffering and death are waiting for him in Jerusalem.
Prior to his entrance, Jesus demonstrates his unique authority in commissioning the disciples to bring him an animal. Jesus remains firmly in control of the unfolding drama, instructing the disciples precisely where the colt will be found, and even telling them what to say if the owner challenges them. This is a story that is moving with precision.
The colt is fit for ceremonial purposes (it “has never been ridden”). The word is ambiguous: is it a donkey or a horse? (See Shively T. J. Smith, in Feasting on the Gospels -- Mark, p. 341.) The context provides another clue: a young donkey that has never been ridden suggests Jesus’ arrival as a servant, a king who comes to suffer, whose kingdom will be built on service and not status. He is the heir to David’s throne -- but it is not the sort of kingdom anyone can anticipate.
Jesus joins the crowds making their pilgrimage into Jerusalem, coming as a king yet still humble. His is an alternative kingdom, and his processional is not a Hollywood production but rather a bit of street theater. As many have noted, the chaotic disruption contrasts with the sort of regal welcome the Roman governor would have received. While the governor’s arrival is accompanied by an impressive display of military might, Jesus comes as a pilgrim. He is greeted with the familiar blessings pilgrims might exchange, using the words of the Hallel psalms.
Waving branches, throwing down their cloaks, the crowd greets him with shouts of “Save, please.” Jesus rides through the crowd, his feet dangling from the colt. There’s no red carpet in sight. He comes not exuding authority or seeking status. Instead, he treads across the crimson trail leading to the cross. And the crowd must wonder: “What sort of king is this?”
In the Sermon
Palm Sunday poses a unique challenge to the preacher. Do we claim the festive trappings of Jesus’ entrance, capturing the joy of the crowd to offer a prelude to Easter? As a young preacher, I once turned my attention to the Passion text for the day. My supervisor at the time chided me. “Well, that was depressing,” he told me the next day.
I didn’t ask him what he thought Jesus might have been thinking.
But perhaps the criticism makes a point: if we follow Jesus on the donkey Palm Sunday, which direction are we headed? Who is this man who arrives in Jerusalem, and what is at stake as he crosses the welcome mat into Jerusalem?
The drama of the passage sets the tone for a sermon, and explores Mark’s notion of the king who has arrived to reign. Yet unlike politicians who get wrapped up in the trappings of power and prestige, Jesus offers an alternative. The carnival-like arrival is a parody of imperial rule. What sort of king is this? This is the king of the nobodies of the world -- the poor, the outcast, the lepers, the blind. His arrival subverts the existing power schemes.
It may be unsettling to preach that sort of sermon -- but it is a word our world needs to hear. We are focused so heavily on power -- the brutality of ISIS, the bloodshed on our own streets, the political standoffs -- that we may well be challenged by the way Jesus seems to thumb his nose at the powers that be. Yet in contrast to those who slip and fall on the red-carpeted runways of power and status, Jesus comes humble, obedient.
What sort of king is this? Perhaps the sermon might conclude with Paul’s words from Philippians. The one who treads the crimson path was a king “who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross.”
No One Gets Out Alive
by Dean Feldmeyer
Mark 14:1--15:47
I once visited with a man who had recently been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS; also known colloquially as Lou Gehrig’s disease). It’s a terrible condition that causes the long, slow degeneration of the muscles (without affecting the brain). A person with ALS eventually becomes trapped inside their shrunken, wasted body, their brain functioning normally but unable to communicate with the outside world. We do not know the cause and there is no cure. ALS is always fatal.
The man I was visiting explained all of this to me. He was worried about how his slow death would affect his wife and his two teenage children. He was anxious and angry.
“It’s not that I’m afraid of dying,” he said. “It’s just that I want so much to live.”
To live, and to live without suffering, is the desire of us all.
But if we must suffer -- and if we die, as die we must -- then let it be for some purpose, some cause that is greater than ourselves. H.G. Wells put it this way: “There’s nothing wrong in suffering, if you suffer for a purpose. Our revolution didn’t abolish danger or death. It simply made danger and death worthwhile.”
Jesus said it theologically: “Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36 NKJV).
In the News/Culture
No one here gets out alive.
So wrote rock and roll icon Jim Morrison. The phrase was used as the title for a popular biography of Morrison; he took that wry observation, first expressed by turn-of-the-century writer/publisher Elbert Hubbard and quoted in The Doors’ hit song “Five to One,” as a license to throw his own life away. Morrison died in Paris on July 3, 1971, at the age of 27, killed by either alcohol poisoning or a heroin overdose (or possibly both).
That axiom need not lead to despair, however. It is, after all, the simple truth. Eventually we all die. Death is part of God’s plan for us, an inescapable and essential part of the gift of life, what C.S. Lewis described as one of God’s “severe mercies.” And God, in that infinite love and wisdom that is God’s alone, has told us that it is so. Not only are we going to die, we know we are going to die. We have foreknowledge of the event so we can reflect upon and prepare for it.
Of all the living and breathing creatures in the world, we may be the only ones who have been given that gift. So why not take a few moments to think about our death, to ready ourselves for it, to ponder it, pray about it, and reflect on it? Why not work to make it as rich and full as the other benchmark experiences in our lives?
Oliver Sacks, who was recently diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer, beautifully did so in a February op-ed essay in the New York Times.
If his name is unfamiliar to you, it may be because Sacks is one of those people whom you have probably run into without realizing it. He is a physician, professor of neurology at the New York University School of Medicine, and the author of numerous books. I first discovered him through his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Much of the world came to know him from the book Awakenings, which was made into an Academy Award-nominated film featuring Robin Williams playing a doctor based on Sacks and Robert DeNiro as his patient.
In all of his works that I have read, Dr. Sacks tells stories of his patients who have suffered various neurological disorders and how they somehow manage to triumph through or over their problems. With his recent diagnosis, now he is the subject -- and if his recent essay is any indication, he is not much different from those patients whose stories he has told with such great awe and admiration.
“I have to live in the richest, deepest, most productive way I can,” he says of the time that is left to him. “I want and hope in the time that remains to deepen my friendships, to say farewell to those I love, to write more, to travel if I have the strength, to achieve new levels of understanding and insight.” Not a bad set of goals for one who is living robustly, much less for one who is dying.
He also intends to pare his life down to what he considers truly important, to cut away the fat, as it were. “There is no time for anything inessential,” he says. To which I might add: When is there ever?
When my colleague Rev. Bill Croy learned in 2010 that he had ALS, he retired from his position as pastor of Maple Grove United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio, and dedicated himself to preaching the gospel through his personal blog Giving Wings to Thoughts and raising money for ALS research via “Bill’s Backers.” His fundraising efforts brought in nearly $130,000 in five years.
In his blog, Croy reflected on his life and his imminent death: “I hope I paid attention to the lonely, disheartened, disadvantaged, and used the strengths/skills/aptitudes/gifts/time/finances for the improvement of the space around me.”
Bill died on January 29, and, according to his pastor, Rev. Glenn Schwerdtfeger, he got his wish: “Bill was not different as he was dealing with ALS and he was not different as he was dying. He was the same man of strength and courage and care. He just applied it to a different aspect of his life.”
Might not the same have been said of Jesus?
Bill Croy prepared for his death by dedicating himself to raising money for research, the results of which he would never know and from which he would never benefit. He continued, through his blog, to preach the gospel that had guided his living and now guided his dying.
Oliver Sacks is preparing for his death by writing, teaching, traveling, visiting, and working as hard as he can to improve the world and make it into a better place than it was when he entered it.
In the Scriptures
Jesus, aware of his impending death, did what many of us might do.
First, he arranged to be with his friends, those he loved and who loved him. He ate a meal with them, one that was filled with symbolic religious and spiritual meaning as well as rich fellowship. Then he went out to pray.
He prayed alone but in the midst of his friends and supporters, who were close by physically, if not necessarily emotionally.
We are told that he was distressed and agitated and “deeply grieved, even to death.” That is to say, he was anxious, even scared and depressed. And he had good reason to be.
He was no doubt distressed not just that he was about to die, but that he was going to die so young. His life was, at 32-33 years of age, still a new one, still being shaped and formed -- and it was about to end hardly ere it had begun.
He was scared about the manner of his death. The charges that were about to be leveled against him were serious ones, punishable by the worst kind of execution imaginable. Crucifixion was not just a death sentence, it was a sentence of death by torture.
And he was no doubt afraid that his early, suffering death might pass without purpose, that it might not generate the effect that he hoped and prayed that it would. He was afraid that his death might turn out to be just one more among the thousands that happened at the hands of the Romans, meaningless and soon forgotten.
So three times he prayed that, if this painful yet meaningless death was the death that would be his, some other way might be found.
It wasn’t so much that he was afraid of death. It was just that he wanted so much to live. But more importantly, he wanted the Gospel, the Good News of God’s grace and love, to live. And if his death would not contribute to making the gospel live and endure in the lives of people, then he would prefer that some other end be found for him and his ministry.
So he prayed that his imminent death be of some greater purpose or else be spared him.
And then, as his last word on the subject, he submitted himself to God’s will. Always faithful and obedient in his life, he would be so in his death as well.
The closing line of his prayer remains the richest and most defining.
“Nevertheless...” Could not an entire sermon be preached upon this word alone? It is a single word that cancels and nullifies all the words that have come before it. It seals the past into the past and opens the future as an empty page waiting to be filled. The future, because of this word, is utterly open.
“Not what I will...” Not what I want. Not what I desire. Not even what I need. These things are all subservient to, secondary to one other consideration, and that consideration is...
“But what You will.” Ultimately, the consideration which drives Jesus is, as it has always been, the will of God. Jesus is utterly obedient and faithful -- even, if need be, unto death.
In the Pulpit
“I cannot pretend that I am without fear,” says Oliver Sacks in concluding his essay. “But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been and enormous privilege and adventure.”
The Passion of Jesus Christ leads us, inevitably, to a consideration of death -- that of Jesus as well as our own. We consider not just the event itself, but the timing and manner of it.
Jesus went to his death early and willingly, and the death to which he went was a painful, torturous, and humiliating one. If the gospel accounts are to be believed, he spent much time contemplating the timing and nature of his death and the purpose it would serve. It is an end that is clearly and ever before him. In the gospel of John he seems to meander toward it; in Mark he runs.
We, on the other hand, are, by choice or nature, not so constantly conscious of our own deaths.
When we are young, death is a thing so distant as to be nearly invisible -- so we don’t concentrate upon it. Like some far-off object that sits indistinctly upon the horizon, we allow that we will deal with it when it comes fully into view.
When we are old, it is so close, so clear to us, that we no longer fear it -- so we manage to make an accommodation with it whereby we are able to live peacefully together. If we live long enough we may even come to embrace it as a welcome friend.
What is often more difficult to embrace is not that once and final death of our physical body but all those little deaths that we must experience as we make our way through life, those deaths that we are called, by faith, to experience with the promise of resurrection on the other side.
God may call us, for instance, to die to our prejudices, our preferences, our comforts, our worries, our egos, and our basic selfishness for the sake of the Gospel. God may ask us to die as the person we used to be, not as some vague spiritual exercise but so we can be resurrected into the person we need to be, that God has intended us to be.
How shall we approach that death? Shall we come to it with faith and courage as Jesus did his death? Shall we approach it with the wit and wisdom and detachment that Oliver Sacks is bringing to his own impending death? Will we apply the same strength and courage and care to these smaller deaths that we have thus far brought to the other parts of our lives?
As we consider the phenomenon of death in this Holy Week, let us ponder these little deaths as well. For it is our nature to approach them with no less trepidation and fear, no less hesitation and anxiety, no less depression and remonstration than we do that last and final death which comes at the end of our physical lives.
And let us approach them as God calls us to do and Jesus demonstrates in his own death -- with faith and love, a sense of purpose, and the promise of resurrection.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Mark 11:1-11
Red-Carpet Treatment
Jesus gets a king’s welcome as he comes into Jerusalem, but his procession on a donkey barely rivals the red carpet. E Online reports that this year’s Academy Awards included such staggering numbers as the 80,000 hand-painted sequins on Julianne Moore’s gown, “which was designed by Karl Lagerfeld, sewn by 27 people, and finished in, oh, just 987 hours.” The most popular dress color this year: white. The most popular designer this year: Versace, represented nine times -- in nine completely different dresses, of course.
According to Wikipedia, the red carpet was traditionally used to welcome visiting heads of state to ceremonial events. It has since been taken over by celebrities entering awards shows.
*****
Mark 11:1-11
After the Red Carpet
After Jesus enters Jerusalem on the donkey and comes to the attention of both the Romans and the Jewish rulers, his career prospects take a fateful turn for the worse. For actors on the red carpet, the impact of an Oscar win is just the opposite. According to one business site, “The Oscar statuette costs roughly $400 to make, but being nominated for one can result in millions of dollars of revenue at the box office.” A win for either the stars or the movie adds to the bottom line. Randy Nelson, a finance professor at Colby College, has examined “the impact on revenue of Oscar nominations and wins [and] calculated that a Best Picture win boosts box office sales by $18.1 million on average. Best Actor awards boost box office sales by $5.8 million, and even the Supporting Actor awards increase sales by $2.3 million on average. ‘A win definitely extends the life of these movies,’ says Nelson.” The difference in box office revenue between winning and non-winning films is in the millions of dollars, as “between 2000 and 2009, Best Picture winners grossed $143 million on average, while nominees grossed $110 million.” The red carpet pays off big for the winners.
*****
Mark 14:1--15:47
Prayer
After eating a last meal with the disciples in the upper room Jesus goes out to pray, turning to a familiar source of solace and strength as the shadows around him deepen. Writer Heather Havrilesky wrote recently that “I don’t believe in God, but I need some kind of a prayer to repeat when things go haywire. I need a prayer because, as a writer with several unruly dependents under my roof, each day is a rollercoaster, a crapshoot, an exercise in uncertainty.” Admitting that life is uncertain and things change fast, she says, “I need a belief system. I need a morning ritual. I need to say some bold and glorious words out loud at the start of the day, to remind myself who I am and what I’m doing and what the point of it all is.” She asks whether secular people can benefit from prayer.
Havrilesky says she spent some time with God and doesn’t like Him [as she says] much, so she needs a prayer without reference to God. She struggles to find the right thing to say to start her day. She seeks a mantra, a formula, words to say that will give her peace and begin the day in a spirit of service and gratitude. All of her struggles reference what she needs, but Jesus is moved by what other people need. He comes to this night so deeply connected to God that he doesn’t need the words, but moves toward God for strength and purpose.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
One of the most predominant messages of televangelists is the Prosperity Gospel, which promotes a distorted message. Victoria Osteen, the wife of Joel Osteen and his co-pastor, said in a sermon that “when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God... we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy.” Theologians were quick to rebuke Osteen, for Christians are not called to be happy but to serve.
Application: Palm Sunday and Holy Week is the season of the Christian year when we understand the seriousness of the gospel message.
*****
Justin was born into a pagan family and later converted to Christianity. He then became a great apologist, a defender of church doctrine. He was arrested in Rome under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Prior to being beheaded for refusing to worship the idols of Rome, he said: “If we are punished for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope to be saved.” For this act of faith Justin was given the surname Martyr... Justin Martyr.
Application: Palm Sunday and Holy Week is the season of the Christian year when we realize that we must sacrifice everything for Jesus.
*****
Courage, not charisma, sustains the church. This is what separates popularity and showmanship from commitment and sacrifice. When Robert Schuller retired, the Crystal Cathedral shattered. When it was discovered that Ted Haggard lived a double life, New Life Church splintered. When Mark Driscoll was caught plagiarizing, Mars Hill Church went out-of-print. Contrast this to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was hanged in 1945 for his defiance of Hitler and whose words remain: “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”
Application: Palm Sunday and Holy Week is the season of the Christian year when we realize that courage surpasses all.
*****
The series Weeds aired on Showtime a few years ago. During the third season, religion became a prominent theme in several episodes. One depiction of religion was that of snake handlers. A grade school class was taught the evils of abortion by being shown a shocking photograph. A Jewish boy was sought out for conversion, only to be snubbed because a little girl claimed that he was a homosexual, which is considered to be a more fallen soul. Creationists dethrone evolutionists, saying that it is a theory unsubstantiated by facts. A young co-ed remains true to abstinence, but liberally interpreted. She also abstains from cigarettes, but marijuana is acceptable for it is wholesome. The season ends showing a prayer circle with the participants speaking in tongues and gyrating. Religion was depicted as comical and absurd.
Application: This was such a strong indictment against religion that I wondered if that is how the show’s writers really perceived Christianity. Palm Sunday and Holy Week is the season of the Christian year when we understand the serious calling of our faith.
***************
From team member Leah Lonsbury:
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The following news story may also be helpful in thinking about 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 -- broken bodies and new covenants.
Thousands gathered in Kabul, Afghanistan this week to protest the death of Farkhunda, a 27 year-old religious scholar who was killed by a mob after she was falsely accused of burning a Koran. The Afghan Interior Ministry says that 28 citizens and 13 police have been arrested for either participating in or not stopping the mob that beat her, threw her from a roof, ran her body over with a car, set her afire, and threw her into a river.
Public outcry for justice and change surrounded her burial, and her coffin was carried by women activists defying the tradition of men-only pallbearers and funerals.
From the Associated Press --
The demonstrators, many of them members of the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan, blocked the road outside the mosque and marched along the riverside route, starting from where the attack began.
Many women in the crowd wore masks of Farkhunda’s battered and bloodied face, which has appeared widely on social media. They carried a banner accusing the government of breaking promises to end corruption and bring rule of law to Afghanistan....
More demonstrations are planned throughout the week to maintain pressure on the authorities to ensure that women’s constitutional rights to equality and protection from violence are respected at every level of society, activists said.
Prominent Afghani civil rights activists were among the protesters, including Fatana Gailani, the head of the Afghanistan Women’s Council, who said she hoped the protest would serve as a catalyst for change in a society traumatized by war, corruption, and a lack of leadership. “We are getting fed up. The new generation has known nothing but war, they are not educated, and now they have no jobs.”
*****
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
What does footwashing look like today? How do we see people around us trading power and control for postures that are more generous, humble, reconciling, and in some cases literally life-giving?
* A recent poll shows that 62% of Boston residents, including many who were traumatized by or witnessed the marathon bombings, oppose the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
* Lt. Aubrey Gregory of the Louisville Metro Police took the arm of Asia Gregory and helped her finish the last two miles of the 10k race she was running as a part of her 217-lb. weight-loss journey.
* Jimmy Kimmel and Chelsea Clinton have teamed up to ask young Americans to give a year of their lives in public service to their communities through a new program called “Serve a Year.”
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship for Palm/Passion Sunday
Leader: O give thanks to God, for our God is good.
People: God’s steadfast love endures forever!
Leader: The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
People: This is God's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
Leader: This is the day that God has made.
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
OR
Leader: Come and join the celebration of Jesus the King!
People: We come with palms, singing Jesus’ name.
Leader: Jesus comes as the true Prince of Peace.
People: We shout “Hosanna” to the nonviolent one.
Leader: Let us follow Jesus wherever he goes.
People: We will follow even to the cross.
Call to Worship for Maundy/Holy Thursday
Leader: Let us gather with Jesus as his disciples.
People: We come to be with Jesus and share with one another.
Leader: Jesus calls us together to strengthen each other.
People: We share together so that we might be strong.
Leader: Evil awaits us when we leave this place.
People: Fed and love by Christ, we will go forth to meet it.
Call to Worship for Good Friday
Leader: Woe is us, for the King of glory dies.
People: In sadness and grief we behold the cross.
Leader: The powers of violence have done their worst.
People: We are aghast at what evil people can do.
Leader: But we do not gather today as people who have no hope.
People: Our hope is in our God, who will bring victory out of this time.
Hymns and Songs for Palm/Passion Sunday
“Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”
found in:
UMH: 278
PH: 89
NCH: 213
W&P: 267
AMEC: 130
“All Glory, Laud, and Honor”
found in:
UMH: 280
H82: 154, 155
PH: 88
NNBH: 226
NCH: 102
CH: 216, 217
LBW: 192
ELA: 108
W&P: 344
AMEC: 265
STLT: 129
“O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”
found in:
UMH: 286
H82: 168, 169
PH: 98
AAHH: 250
NNBH: 108
NCH: 226
CH: 202
LBW: 116, 117
ELA: 351, 352
W&P: 284
AMEC: 133
STLT: 265
“In the Cross of Christ I Glory”
found in:
UMH: 295
H82: 441, 442
PH: 84
NNBH: 104
NCH: 193, 194
LBW: 104
ELA: 324
W&P: 264
AMEC: 453
“All Hail King Jesus”
found in:
CCB: 29
“He Is Exalted” (“Ele é Exaltado”)
found in:
CCB: 30
Hymns and Songs for Maundy/Holy Thursday
“Go to Dark Gethsemane”
found in:
UMH: 290
H82: 171
PH: 97
NCH: 219
CH: 196
LBW: 109
ELA: 347
W&P: 272
“For the Bread Which You Have Broken”
found in:
UMH: 614, 615
H82: 340, 341
PH: 508, 509
CH: 411
LBW: 200
ELA: 494
“Here, O My Lord, I See Thee”
found in:
UMH: 623
H82: 318
PH: 520
NCH: 336
CH: 416
LBW: 211
AMEC: 531
“Bread of the World”
found in:
UMH: 624
H82: 301
PH: 502
CH: 346
LBW: 387
AMEC: 693
Hymns and Songs for Good Friday
“In the Cross of Christ I Glory”
found in:
UMH: 295
H82: 441, 442
PH: 84
NNBH: 104
NCH: 193, 194
LBW: 104
ELA: 324
W&P: 264
AMEC: 453
“What Wondrous Love Is This”
found in:
UMH: 292
H82: 439
PH: 85
NCH: 223
CH: 200
LBW: 385
ELA: 666
W&P: 257
STLT: 18
“Ah, Holy Jesus”
found in:
UMH: 289
H82: 158
PH: 93
NCH: 218
CH: 210
LBW: 123
ELA: 349
W&P: 521
“Were You There”
found in:
UMH: 288
H82: 172
PH: 102
AAHH: 254
NNBH: 109
NCH: 229
CH: 198
LBW: 92
ELA: 353
W&P: 283
AMEC: 136
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who comes to face the powers of evil and violence: Help us to celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry by becoming more like him and not becoming more like the violent ones he opposes; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to worship you, O God, who moves from triumph to death to resurrection. We come knowing that we are called to follow Jesus on this path. Give us the courage and faith to face the deaths that are before us so that we can know the glory of the resurrection. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our failure to trust God to take us from death into life.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You call us to die to our broken selves so that you may raise us to new life that is glorious, and yet we hesitate. We don’t know if we want to give up our old selves, even though they have not served us well. We are comfortable with the brokenness we know and afraid of what wholeness might call us to do and become. Forgive us, and renew us in the Spirit of the Christ that we may enter joyfully into the process of dying and rising with Christ. Amen.
Leader: God loves us and seeks our well-being. God desires us to know wholeness and the joy that goes beyond all circumstances. Receive God’s love and grace.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We worship and adore you, O God, for you are the God of Life. Death has no power over you or your children.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You call us to die to our broken selves so that you may raise us to new life that is glorious, and yet we hesitate. We don’t know if we want to give up our old selves, even though they have not served us well. We are comfortable with the brokenness we know and afraid of what wholeness might call us to do and become. Forgive us, and renew us in the Spirit of the Christ that we may enter joyfully into the process of dying and rising with Christ.
We give you thanks for calling us to wholeness and life. We thank you for Jesus, who has shown us that the way to life goes through death. We give you thanks for all the times when we had given up hope and you came to bring us to joy and new life.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for those who are dealing with death. Some face their own mortality, and others are dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. Many are forced to face the death of their hopes and dreams. Others are reduced to seeing death as the only option. We pray that as you bring new life to us this season, you will help us to be proclaimers of hope to others.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Talk to the children about how we want people to think good things about us. We want them to think we are smart or fast or good ballplayers or good gymnasts. But Jesus came into Jerusalem not caring about being called a king. He came on a young donkey without an army. He came to show that God’s love is greater than anything.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Triumphal Entry
by Robert Lantz
Mark 11:1-11
Object: a palm frond or leaf
I love a parade! Don’t you? How many of you have ever been in a parade? (Let the children respond -- and let a few share their experiences.) At parades there is always such a joyful spirit. People are usually happy and there is lots of cheering and festivity.
Have you ever heard of a ticker-tape parade? Well, in New York City and in some other big cities in the world, when very famous or heroic persons were being welcomed to the city they used to throw paper and streamers out of high office windows to shower onto the parade below. It started as a very spontaneous act by some people who were very excited.
Did you know that Jesus once had a parade? He was going into Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Passover. When the people in the city who knew about him heard it, they decided to go out and meet him.
They were excited! They even wanted to make him their king! To show how much they honored him, they took off their coats and wraps and laid them down like a red carpet before him. They even tore branches off the palm trees and waved them in the air like flags to welcome him into the city.
That’s why we call this day Palm Sunday. It was and is a day of rejoicing, because the King is coming!
Would you like to have a parade today? Good! Take your palm branch and let’s parade up and down the aisle of the church and shout “Hosanna to the King. Hosanna to Jesus!” (Do it! Ask the congregation to join in. It is a good idea to pass out palms in this way rather than the traditional way. After the parade, conclude with a prayer proclaiming Christ the King!)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, March 29, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
