Sermon 10th April 2022 – Palm Sunday
Text: Luke 19:28-40 – from involvement to commitment
The people today give Jesus a very warm welcome as he enters Jerusalem
on a lowly colt. His people expect a
powerful King, yet he comes to show his power in a different way – through
humility and by sacrificing himself. His
people were hoping to triumph over the Romans by the sword, but Jesus brings
God’s triumph through the cross – through humility – through sacrifice. This
different way of Jesus will see the people in a few days’ time moving from the
shouts “Hosanna” to crying out “Crucify him”?
What happened – why this complete turnaround in attitude to Jesus? They
had misunderstood God’s true power. They
were prepared to follow Jesus and uphold him as their King when he did amazing
miracles but soon forget those miracles when he showed humility. Much like
Israel forgot all God’s amazing miracles rescuing them from Egypt whenever they
became hungry and thirsty in the wilderness. They forgot their past – God’s rescue from
slavery in Egypt – and they forgot their future – God leading them to the
Promised Land – a land flowing with milk and honey. They lived for the now – we
are hungry and thirsty NOW.
Fast forward thousands of years and nothing has changed. We are a people
who live for the NOW. Today, there are many people who admire Jesus: he said
beautiful things; he was filled with love and forgiveness; his example changed
history. They admire him, but their
lives are focused on the here and now. They might believe God created
everything that exists. They may even believe that Jesus died for my sins. But
what has God done for me lately?
That’s the problem with the people of Jesus’ day. That’s the problem
with Israel in the Old Testament. And sadly that is the problem with today’s
generation. Palm Sunday is all about involvement and commitment – and the
difference between the two. The people
today sing his praises – they were involved and caught up in the excitement of
the moment. They liked him and the Gospel message of peace and reconciliation
and considered him to be the promised Messiah. They got involved - they
followed along with their presence and their voices on this momentous day. They even lent him a colt to ride on and
spread their cloaks before him. They were involved.
But when they began to hear what it meant to be a true follower – to
pick up YOUR cross and follow me – to lay down YOUR life – to hear the cost of
being a disciple – but we have mouths to feed and bills to pay. There was work
to be done. So by the time Good Friday
arrives no one was left to lay down branches or cloaks for Jesus, much less
cheer him on with hosannas. All, including his own disciples, had abandoned
him. Even Peter who said – even if
everyone else leaves you – I never will. Even when earlier Jesus gave the
disciples the option of leaving like so many others did – Peter, on behalf of
the 12 disciples responded – where are we going to go – only YOU have the words
of eternal life. But now, Jesus was on his own.
And as we look at the state of many of our churches today, is it this
same shift that has seen many of our churches barely able to remain open when
once they were overflowing with several services on a Sunday. Our own joyous
hosannas have also been quietened as the shift from involvement to commitment
makes many people reassess their participation..
The good news in all this is that God never wavers in his commitment to
us – and to all humankind. Like the people of Israel on their journey to the
Promised Land – like the people in our Palm Sunday procession, we may be fickle
at times in our life of faith but Jesus never once fails us or lets us down. Even
though Jesus is God with all the glory of Heaven and Earth, he emptied himself
and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” There can
be no greater commitment than that. God is not involved in our lives – he is
totally committed to our lives
Palm Sunday is like no other day of the church year with its 2 extremes.
The seemingly quick change of attitude of the crowds on Palm Sunday challenges
us to reflect on the commitment that led Jesus to give his life for us –
commitment even meaning his death on a cross. It is easy and comfortable to get involved on
Palm Sunday, to “let sweet hosannas ring,” to wave our palm fronds and leave
and return on Easter Day. But Palm Sunday was only a step on the way to the
Passion of Christ – his suffering and death. This is where involvement moves to
commitment as it did for Jesus.
And that commitment isn’t easy as Jesus himself testifies – this cup is
too much for me to bear – take it from me – but not my will be done but yours. Jesus’
in that Garden of Gethsemane moved from involvement to commitment. From “my
will be done” to “your will be done”. But how many times do we get stuck on “my
will be done” and when my will isn’t done that we move on like the crowd today.
Jesus enters the Holy City of Jerusalem on a colt provided by a complete
stranger.
But before long he will move from riding on a colt to walking to his
death on foot carrying OUR cross. Paying for our redemption one painful step at
a time. No matter where our life journey and its twists and turns may take us,
as followers of Christ we must move from involvement to commitment.
Like Jesus himself, we too are called to walk the way of the cross. To
pick up OUR cross and follow him. There is no other route to our Promised Land
– our home in Heaven. The way of the cross moves our involvement to commitment We are called and challenged not to follow the
footsteps of the crowd that day but to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. To let
ourselves be changed by him to have the same mind as Christ, as Paul calls us
to have, and to trust him in times of suffering and death because that is what
he came to defeat;
If we leave him when the commitment becomes too much just remember what would
have happened if Jesus gave up when the commitment became too much. But thanks
be to God he didn’t He humbled himself and became obedient unto death – even
death on a cross. Jesus achieves glory through humiliation. Jesus achieves life
through death. Jesus triumphs through his own suffering and death, things that
we would rather avoid and not commit to. Just like Peter who when Jesus told
him about the road he must take of suffering and death said – “never Lord, this
shall never happen to you”. But what Peter was probably really saying was
“never Lord, this shall never happen to ME”
Just ponder that the Almighty God emptied himself and became nothing. The
Word who was with God in the beginning and was God through whom all things were
made and who became flesh for us went to the cross for us. The God of the
universe stripped of everything and crowned with thorns instead of glory. And
as the song goes – hands that flung stars into space to cruel nails was
sacrificed. And why did he go through this humiliation? Why did he endure all this? Jesus did it for
us. To show, not his involvement in our
life but his commitment to us.
In order to save us Jesus was lifted high on the cross – he descended to
the depths of our suffering. He experienced our deepest sorrows: the loss of
everything, betrayal by a friend, even abandonment by God. But in doing this he
was able to overcome all that we were destined to experience by rising from the
grave. And by this commitment we know
that we too shall rise from the grave on the last day: God is at our side in
every affliction, in every fear; “I am with you always till the end of the age”Sin
and death no longer have the final word. God has won the victory, but the palm of
victory passes through the wood of the cross. And so we won’t experience the glory of
Christ’s victory if we are only in it for the hossanas of Palm Sunday and avoid
the suffering of the cross. The palm and the cross are inseparable.
During this Holy Week, let us lift our eyes to the cross, in order to
receive the grace of God. Let us gaze again upon Jesus on the cross and
consider the cost that Jesus underwent as we consider the cost of our
discipleship.Let us join with the Centurion and confess - “You are truly the
Son of God.
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