Palm Sunday, March 16, 2008

The Palm Sunday liturgy chronicles a power struggle. From Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to his death on the Cross, we are assaulted at every turn by the powers of this world that seduce us from our intended existence as God’s beloved children. The earthly powers of pride, fear, denial, violence, hopelessness, jealousy, dishonesty and seeking the approval of others all raise their ugly heads in various characters. They are the powers that, as the Prayer Book says, corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.

The Palm Sunday “Hosannas” that become the Good Friday “Crucify hims” exemplify the power of mob rule, of being carried away by others, of the need to belong that overrules the need to be righteous. Integrity is abandoned for the idol of approval. Whatever the group does is what is right, and we join in lest we be excluded. (P)

Judas betrays Jesus, but later repents, realizing that Jesus is innocent. He gives the money back, but still kills himself because he has no hope. God could not possibly forgive this betrayal of the Savior, he is sure. The power of hopelessness drives Judas to self-destruction. (P)

Then there is Peter, who is brave enough to follow Jesus to see what will happen. Yet when he is questioned about his identity, he lies, because the power of fear has overtaken him. He does not want to be sentenced with Jesus, especially a Jesus who is not doing what he wants. (P)

The scribes and Pharisees are seduced by jealousy and the need to be right. The rules are the rules, they say, so Jesus must die, but even Pilate knows they are jealous of Jesus’ position within the community. People are seeking him out as the authority, because he loves them, gives them hope and does not exclude those others consider sinners.

Rules are very seductive. We can be right – even perfect – if we follow the rules. Bad things won’t happen to us if we follow the rules. By being the keeper of the rules, we think to keep ourselves in control of our lives and the lives of others. But Jesus was breaking rules, making judgments that had “gray” areas, rather than right and wrong poles. In our own strength, human beings can only handle rules that are either/or; both/and or nuances are not within our power without the wisdom and grace of God supporting us.  (P)

Pilate represents the brute strength of the Roman Empire. His might could have been used for good, to release Jesus, whom he knew was innocent. Yet even after his wife sent word that she had a dream that he was not to let harm come to Jesus, the ravings of the mob led him to “wash his hands” of the situation, to try to force responsibility that was rightfully his onto others. He has a great share in the death of Jesus but he denies the truth. He abandons what he knows to be true to please the mob.

The violence of the passion gospel is overwhelming – from the cutting off of the servant’s ear to the whipping of Jesus to the mockery of the soldiers in dressing Jesus in robe and thorns, to Jesus’ crucifixion on trumped up charges. We recoil from it because it is hard to take, but we are seduced into violence too, if not in deed, then in word and in thought, against others and against ourselves. (P)

In the middle of these earthly powers stands Jesus. His humility, his obedience to God, his lack of self-defense are counterpoints to the defensiveness, denial, pride, fear and hopelessness swirling about him. His power is the power of love – the power of God’s Spirit within him. He does not rely on his own strength but depends on God’s grace and mercy to sustain him and ultimately to reveal the truth. (p)

He counters the pride of the Pharisees by riding into the city in humility on a donkey, not above us, but one in our midst as a fellow human being. He is afraid in Gethsemane, but he ultimately acts in obedience in the face of fear. Jesus knows who he is and remains his authentic self, despite unjust accusations and taunts. Never once does he move to defend himself or justify his actions or words. He puts pleasing God above all else, regardless of the loneliness or danger he faces in so doing.  (P)

As Jesus hangs on the Cross, the mob mocks him, saying he saved others and should be able to save himself if he is who he says he is. They’ll believe in him if he does it their way, if he saves himself from death. But God’s love does not work that way, and Jesus was the revelation of God’s love. It is not to save himself that Jesus came, but to save us, and in God’s economy, he could not do both. To come down off the cross unscathed would not have brought us closer to God, but continued to lead us further away from depending on God’s power to save and from trusting that God’s love and grace empowers us to do God’s will, not ours, which is ultimately for our greater good. (P) 

Jesus, who has felt God’s presence all his life, cannot feel it on the cross because the weight of our sins is so great, yet it does not mean he has turned from God. He cries out to God in his fear, because he expects to be answered. Psalm 22, from which his cry comes, is full of fear, but also of calling on God for help, and ultimately of praise for prayers answered. (P)

The power struggle of the Palm Sunday liturgy is the one that marks our own lives and our spiritual journeys. We have all given in to the temptation to value the powers of this world over the powers of God’s love; we are all sinners in need of redemption. May Jesus’ great love for us move us to return his love and lead lives of humility, obedience and faith. AMEN.