Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on March 16, 2008
(Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, Year A, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   The Liturgy of the Palms
            Matthew 21:1-11
            Psalm 118:19-29

            The Liturgy of the Word
            Isaiah 45:21-25
            Psalm 22:1-11
            Philippians 2:5-11
            Matthew 26:36-75, 27:1-66

I always find it difficult to preach in Holy Week. Partly it’s because of all the preparation that goes into planning the many services but quite frankly it’s because the message is so powerful that it sometimes overwhelms me. I believe that one really only has to listen to the text of the services to understand the message that God has revealed.

When I stop and think about what our Lord accomplished, not just in three years but in one week, it takes my breath away. How quickly the world changed in one week.

During the Liturgy of the Palms, we read about Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in the days preceding Passover. He purposely comes into town riding on the back of a donkey, a living picture of the words from the prophet Zechariah. But I wonder if this was lost on the crowd.

Now it was a common thing for a king to ride into a town. But it mattered how he arrived. When he was mounted on a horse, this meant that he came in a time of war, exuding power and strength. But when he came in peace, he would be riding a donkey; a humble man riding a humble animal.

The reason I wonder if this was lost on the crowd is due to the fact that they were shouting out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” David was a warrior king who united the tribes of Israel through force. The prophets called for an heir to David’s throne. The crowd, by putting their cloaks on the ground and placing palm branches in front of Jesus, and calling him the Son of David, manifested their belief that he was the fulfillment of the prophecies because these actions were all tributes reserved for a king. Even the word Hosanna means “O save” or “Save now.” They were shouting for their salvation from this man whom they thought might be the Messiah, and they are demanding that he deliver them from their oppression under the occupying Roman government but they apparently failed to see the significance of his mode of transportation which signified peace rather than war.

Yes, he was the Messiah, and he did come to save them but they limited themselves and their cause to the right now instead of looking to the ever more. They had their own idea of what salvation entailed.

And because of that failure to look beyond the immediate, their cheers of “Hosanna” changed into jeers of “Crucify him!” all too soon. At some point they changed their minds about Jesus. He didn’t do what they expected of him. And when this happened, they turned on him.

Of course, when does God ever do quite what we expect of him? Yes, He answers our prayers but rarely does it happen in the way that we expect. We are no different than the crowd that cheered Jesus into the city. “Save us now, O Lord and here’s how it should be done! We’ve thought it through and we’ve written it all out for you to follow with bullet points, and pie charts and graphs. Just let us know when you are done so we can get on with our lives.”

But that’s now God works. He looks at a much bigger picture than we can ever imagine, and He is not restricted to time as we know it. Yes, He has given us the gift of free will so that we might discern wrong from right but then He has to constantly allow for our failure to obey Him by choosing incorrectly in order for His will to prevail. Sometimes it appears that our very disobedience is the impetus for His grace to be showered upon us. Let’s look at Judas for example. He betrayed his friend and Master for money, which resulted in the shedding of innocent blood, which ironically is exactly what needed to happen.

Now I don’t care what Judas’ motives were, he still made his own choice. Some theories say that he was trying to protect Jesus from self destruction and others say that he was trying to provoke Jesus into beginning the rebellion against Rome. Still others say that he acted only on greed. It doesn’t really matter because one way or the other Jesus needed to be taken into custody by the authorities in order for God’s plan of salvation on the cross to come to fruition. If it hadn’t been Judas then God would have found another source. There were plenty of other likely suspects. I mean Peter himself who has just sworn his undying allegiance is about to deny that he ever knew Jesus. But Jesus has said, “How could the scripture of the prophets be fulfilled if it didn’t go down in this manner. This is working according to God’s plan.”

And that’s really the point, isn’t it? None of this happened because of us but in spite of us. Or better yet, for us! All of the human plans during this time frame were foiled because God’s plans were greater!

The Jewish leadership didn’t want Jesus killed during the festival but he was. Jesus’ disciples all said that they would not desert him, yet they did. Peter said he wouldn’t deny Jesus but he did on three different occasions. Jesus asked his three closest disciples to stay awake with him for prayer but they all fell asleep. When Judas betrayed Jesus in the garden, his disciples wanted him to attack with the sword but Jesus went willingly to suffer and die on a cross. When they mocked him on the cross and demanded that he save himself, he died to save the whole world. And when they put him in a tomb and placed a stone in front of it and an armed guard around it, Jesus was raised from the dead. There was nothing anyone could do to prevent God from doing what needed to be done according to His plan. And that plan is what changed the whole world.

The two Gospel passages that we heard today, Jesus’ triumphant arrival in Jerusalem and his sorrowful departure to Golgotha provide the overview of what we are about to experience during the coming week. Just as I invited you to observe a Holy Lent some five and a half weeks ago, now I invite you to observe a Holy Week. The schedule of services is printed in the bulletin and the description of the services has been printed in the Chronicle. Please come and participate in the week that changed everything. Listen carefully to the texts of each service and let them speak to you. Lay aside your plans and be prepared to discover that which God has planned for you. Gloria Patri