notes for palm sunday...

NOTE: This coming Sunday, April 1, 2012 is Palm Sunday.  As is our tradition, there is not much preaching/teaching this day.  Rather, we share in the fullness of the blessing of the Palms before pausing to take in the paradox of the Cross.  As I note in my introduction to the extended Passion Narrative reading, this is a chance for us all to go deeper during the week in quiet reflection.  There is a unique cultural irony in celebrating Palm Sunday on April Fool's Day, yes?  How much more foolish and upside down can you get:  a leader who willingly goes to his death to document the love of God?  Truly, the Apostle Paul got it right that the Cross is a stumbling block and embarassment to those seeking the glory of God.  But it is the way of healing and hope, too.  If you are in town, join us at 10:30 am.

This year I have placed the Passion Narrative at the close of worship – in a moment I will share it with you – and then invite you to leave worship in silence.  There are two reasons:

·       First, whether you know it or not, the wisdom of the faith teaches us that worship does not end today at the close of the liturgy.  Rather, one chapter comes to a close with the Passion Narrative – and then we pause for a few days – all the while in worship – until we gather again at 7 pm on Maundy Thursday. 

And that worship doesn’t end on that day either but simply pauses again – and resumes at 7 pm on Good Friday – and keeps going until the closing music on Easter Sunday.  So, this is a week-long spiritual reflection on the Cross.  Ok?  It doesn’t end today but continues until the closing songs of Easter Sunday.

·        And that is the second reason we leave today in silence:  everybody here – from the oldest to the youngest – from the most devout and faithful to the most bored and faithless – is asked to let God speak to you in a unique way this week.  And it can’t happen – or at least most of us are unable to hear the voice of the Lord for our lives – if we’re doing all the talking.

Or if we’re mostly distracted – or obsessed – or racing around doing things that don’t need to be done.  From Palm Sunday to Easter, you see, we’re asked to use our time in a different way.  “Slow down you move too fast,” sang Paul Simon back in the 60s – but the church of Jesus Christ has been singing this song for two millennia – and asks that we pay particular attention over the next 8 days.

And if we embrace this counter-cultural invitation during Holy Week – if we take time to be quiet and pay attention to the still, small voice of the Lord calling to us through the chaos of our culture – you can’t help but notice something startling:  like the Apostle Paul said, the story of Jesus is NOT about rags-to-riches.  It is NOT about boy works hard and makes good by overcoming the obstacles of poverty and oppression.

No the story of our Lord is about downward mobility – pouring himself out till he was empty in order that we might be filled with grace and hope and healing – it is a story of going to death on the Cross to show us the depth of God’s love.  And not just to retell the facts – Holy Week is not a liturgical History Channel – but we listen to the story again so that we might emulate it by the strength of the Holy Spirit.

And so let us be still now – let us let the Lord of April Fool's Day speak to us where we most need to hear it – and then leave in silence and go deeper into the silence throughout the week as we ponder the blessings given to us in the Cross of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior:  listen for the word of God in the Passion Narrative.

It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus^* by stealth and kill him;²for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’

The Anointing at Bethany

While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,^* as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.⁴But some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way?⁵For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii,^* and the money given to the poor.’ And they scolded her.⁶But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me.⁷For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me.⁸She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.⁹Truly I tell you, wherever the good news^* is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.¹¹When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’¹³So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him,¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”¹⁵He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’¹⁶So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

17 When it was evening, he came with the twelve.¹⁸And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’¹⁹They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’²⁰He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread^* into the bowl^* with me.²¹For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper

22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’²³Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.²⁴He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the^* covenant, which is poured out for many.²⁵Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

Peter’s Denial Foretold

26 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.²⁷And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters; for it is written,
“I will strike the shepherd,
 and the sheep will be scattered.”

²⁸But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’²⁹Peter said to him, ‘Even though all become deserters, I will not.’³⁰Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’³¹But he said vehemently, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all of them said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’³³He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated.³⁴And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’³⁵And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.³⁶He said, ‘Abba,^* Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’³⁷He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?³⁸Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;^* the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’³⁹And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.⁴⁰And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him.⁴¹He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.⁴²Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.⁴⁴Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’⁴⁵So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him.⁴⁶Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.⁴⁷But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear.⁴⁸Then Jesus said to them, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?⁴⁹Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.’⁵⁰All of them deserted him and fled.

51 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him,⁵²but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

Jesus before the Council

53 They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled.⁵⁴Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire.⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none.⁵⁶For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree.⁵⁷Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying,⁵⁸‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.” ’⁵⁹But even on this point their testimony did not agree.⁶⁰Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’⁶¹But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah,^* the Son of the Blessed One?’⁶²Jesus said, ‘I am; and
“you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power”,
and “coming with the clouds of heaven.” ’

⁶³Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses?⁶⁴You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death.⁶⁵Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, ‘Prophesy!’ The guards also took him over and beat him.

Peter Denies Jesus

66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by.⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt.^* Then the cock crowed.^*69And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’⁷⁰But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’⁷¹But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’⁷²At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.

As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.²Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ He answered him, ‘You say so.’³Then the chief priests accused him of many things.⁴Pilate asked him again, ‘Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.’⁵But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Pilate Hands Jesus over to Be Crucified

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked.⁷Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection.⁸So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom.⁹Then he answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’¹⁰For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over.¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.¹²Pilate spoke to them again, ‘Then what do you wish me to do^* with the man you call^* the King of the Jews?’¹³They shouted back, ‘Crucify him!’¹⁴Pilate asked them, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Crucify him!’¹⁵So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

16 Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters^*); and they called together the whole cohort.¹⁷And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him.¹⁸And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’¹⁹They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him.²⁰After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

21 They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.²²Then they brought Jesus^* to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).²³And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.²⁴And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.²⁶The inscription of the charge against him read, ‘The King of the Jews.’²⁷And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.^*29Those who passed by derided^* him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,³⁰save yourself, and come down from the cross!’³¹In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself.³²Let the Messiah,^* the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.’ Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

The Death of Jesus

33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land^* until three in the afternoon.³⁴At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’^*35When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling for Elijah.’³⁶And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’³⁷Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.³⁸And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.³⁹Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he^* breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’^*

images:  Georges Roualt