Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that you have inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation, and that you will empower our application. Amen
Well good morning and welcome to this Passion/Palm Sunday for 2024. I have to admit this is one of the most difficult Sundays to write a Sermon for. Traditionally this Sunday was designated as Palm Sunday and there was an emphasis on the triumphal entry and the response of Jerusalem to the clear assertion that Jesus was the Messiah. But there has been a cultural shift and the church has made an effort to adapt. Several years ago it became clear that many people found it difficult, because of work, and other responsibilities, to attend a Good Friday service. The church realized that meant large numbers of people no longer heard the Passion story. So, in an attempt to be sure that the Passion story was heard the celebration of this event was moved from Good Friday to this Sunday. After all this is a significant part of the central story of Jesus. Without the response of the political and religious leaders of the time - and the people - to the Triumphal Entry and the acceptance, of crowds of people, that Jesus was the Messiah, then there could be no crucifixion. Without the crucifixion there could be no resurrection. Without the resurrection then the powerful, emotional and spiritual impact of the truth of who Jesus is would be lost to the majority of people. So, the celebration of Palm Sunday was reduced or eliminated in many churches. We attempt to make it significant here at Christ Church by gathering outside for the Liturgy of the Palms. We take a few moments to brave the weather conditions, and the vagaries of living by the lake, to step outside the church building and once a year proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Then we reenact his entry into Jerusalem by walking back to the church. Waving our Palm branches and shouting Hosanna, Hosanna. Once we have taken a few moments to recall and reenact those events from so long ago, we return to the Sanctuary and continue our worship. We then go into a service which recognizes of the events that will take place later in the week in this Passion Sunday service. How do you preach a sermon that can do justice to all that both the Triumphal Entry and the Crucifixion deserve? Especially when people want the message to be short, because the Gospel reenactment was so long already? Honestly, I know what it is like to sit in your pew and listen to someone pontificate on these profound and spiritually significant events. To try to find a way to relate to each and every one of you so that you might go home today and maybe take out your Bible and read and consider the events for yourself. Or perhaps even think about how your life has been shaped and changed by these events? So, let me just say this about this Sunday, and the week we call Holy Week that is ahead of us. Do you remember when I spoke a few weeks ago about Jesus visiting Peter's home and finding Peter's mother-in-law ill? How Jesus reached out his hand to her and raised her up. How Jesus touched that woman and she was made well. I truly believe that is the essence of all that happens in all the moments, the days and the events of Holy Week. God our creator, our heavenly father, wants to reach down to us, he wants to hold out his hand to us, he wants to touch us and heal us. To make that possible he choose to become fully human in the person of Jesus., So that he could experience everything we do, and then to willingly go through the process of dying, becoming the necessary sacrifice, for our redemption. Then in an ultimate display of his power and glory he rose again and conquered the power of sin and death in our lives. He made it possible for us to be reconciled to God. To restore the relationship God wished to have with us when he created us. Now an interesting part of the story of Peter's mother-in-law that I talked about a few weeks back is her response to her healing. She chooses to serve Jesus. She takes on the role of a servant. Not just to Jesus but to everyone who is with him. I spoke about that moment not being a diminution of her as a woman, but as an example of how we can respond to all that Jesus does for us. When we are healed, we are restored, so that we can share our healing and restoration with all those we come in contact with. We become his servants, but not just his we become servants to all he brings with him. Jesus comes as the Messiah, but he chooses to become a servant, he chooses to become a sacrifice, and we have the opportunity to acknowledge that. We have the opportunity to respond to that servant hood and sacrifice by becoming servants who are willing to sacrifice our control of our own lives for his sake. What do I hope for this Holy week? Well, if I am really honest, I hope that someone will recognize what Jesus is offering them. I hope they won't just take my word for it but that they will go home and take out their Bible and begin to read and study for themselves what it means to be a servant and a sacrifice for the world's sake. This past Wednesday it was the Feast Day of St Cuthbert. He is a fascinating character of the Celtic tradition. The Collect for St Cuthbert's Day goes like this: Merciful God, who called Cuthbert from following the flock to be a shepherd of your people: Mercifully grant that we also may go without fear to dangerous and remote places, to seek the indifferent and the lost; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. What a great calling that is: "to seek the indifferent and the lost." Are we willing to actually say to the Lord: "Mercifully grant that we also may go without fear to dangerous and remote places." As that old chorus used to say "Brother/sister let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you." Comments are closed.
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