Palm Sunday A - 2005 Isaiah 45:21-25, Psalm 22:1-11, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 26:36-27:66 The Rev. J. Brian Ponder, Chaplain Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, Mississippi March 20, 2005 And so it has now begun. Our journey through Lent has brought us to this day--Palm Sunday--the yearly beginning to our concentrated commemoration of the last days of Jesus. The images abound. Senses are heightened. The layers build. They begin to stack upon each other, yet … at the same time are revealed. The roles overlap. They intertwine. They meld together. The plot thickens. The story unfolds. The emotions gush forth. Death sealed with a kiss. Judas called friend. Foes prepared to do battle meet a Jesus who acquiesces. Peter weeps. The temptations compound. "Save yourself." Yet Jesus has heard these words before. The din overwhelms us. The noise. The cries from all around--all sides. The silence startles us. A last breath. This Jesus … do we even know him? The people. … The vignettes. … The nuances. … The subtleties. … The not-so-subtle actions. … The shortcomings. … The rebuke. … The disdain. … The terror. … The fear. … The triumph. … The love. Today we mark a day of seeming contradictions … a day of ironies … a day of juxtapositions. Today we behold Jesus as both Sovereign Lord and Suffering Servant. It's a day when dualities intermingle and both become Jesus' story. Rather, we see more clearly that both form the whole story. It's a day when Jesus' story becomes more and more ours. Our shouts of "Hosanna!" have quickly turned to demands of "Crucify him!" Yet our minds have been made ready to receive again the story of salvation in an attempt to fathom the great mercies shown to us in Jesus Christ, not only to behold the mercies, but to attempt comprehending them more fully and embrace them. But are our hearts ready? Are they ready to jump again within us? They pound, invigorated by our words and actions, yet they're already saddened. They're already broken in a way, aren't they? They near the grave … slowing … yet pounding loudly, our ears pulsating each profound beat. Are our hearts ready to mystery in the presence of the grave? Can they handle it? Will they beat again? YES! The Passion narrative sets the stage for us in commemorating over this week what happened in the last days of Jesus' earthly existence. Think of it, if you will, as an invitation to the story that will unfold in our very midst over the week to come. Think of it as an invitation to live into the story. We enter immediately following the foot-washing and the institution of the Lord's Supper. Jesus' world--but perhaps more importantly the world of the disciples and those who participate in his betrayal, trial and execution--is much different than it was on the day of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. What a day it was! Garments and branches were strewn along Jesus' pathway. Jesus was majestically seated upon not only a donkey but also a colt. We envision a high king, or great individual, paid homage as he enters the city, an act reserved for royalty and great warriors. Still others wonder just who was this Jesus? And then, Jesus is betrayed, only days later, scorned, mocked, and tortured. Suffering, he is nailed to a tree and executed. Sovereign Lord. … Suffering Servant. Can our hearts bear it all? Can they hold up? They're aching. They hurt. They're breaking! "His blood be on us and on our children." … Thanks be to God! Today we celebrate our part of the story through signs and acts of confession and profession. Moments of Confession … Peter's weeping after denying Jesus … Pilate's wife warning him not to participate in Jesus' demise … Ironic though they may be, the taunts of the crowd and indeed our most profound confession of all--perhaps even more than the words of the general confession we will recite shortly--"Crucify him!" … "Crucify him!" becomes our confession, our acknowledgement to the role that humankind played in the killing of the Word made flesh … Emmanuel … Love burst forth into this world. And then, there are moments of Profession: our not quite fully understood shouts of "Hosanna!" … Simon's carrying Jesus' cross … the mis-intentioned yet most profound placard placed above Jesus' head … Jesus' own words 'My God …" "My God …," the Centurion's words … and even the signs of the natural world profess the faith. All of them moments of hope's revelation. Perhaps you caught that I said: "Today we 'celebrate' our part of the story." … An odd choice of words? I don't think so, for today, we realize that the story is ours just that much more. Today we proclaim that the story is alive and real. Today, we understand, is really about wholeness, or moving towards it. It's a day when we are called to celebrate in the midst of penitence, in the midst of irony of ironies, not contradictions after all. Today, we celebrate the mystery of our Lord's Passion. We celebrate the mystery of the Suffering Servant, not the Sovereign Lord, but the Suffering Servant who rode into Jerusalem amidst shouts of joy, the pomp and pageantry. Today we celebrate the humble servant borne into Jerusalem on the backs of humble beasts. And at the same time, we position ourselves just the more expectantly to see Christ in his full glory on the Cross: as Sovereign, as King, as Savior of the World and Lord of Love. Today, we celebrate in our confession and profession. Today, we celebrate dualities--dualities by which the picture becomes clearer. Jesus' world is not much different after all. His roles and ours are simply more clarified. We are called to celebrate this day, though we are mindful of the story's still unfolding. … Though we realize that the movement through Holy Week must be undertaken in order to reach the never-ending shouts of Easter. We're not at Easter just yet, but we are called in the midst of penitence, of true and tender piety, of chaos and confusion, to seek order, to seek forgiveness, to seek wholeness … a wholeness that only the sacrificed Christ can offer: Jesus … his willful obedience even to the point of death; Jesus … his reigning in the face of death; Jesus … glorified on a tree. And we celebrate, because of the promise of hope in all of it, the promise of salvation, the promise of God's saving grace … that the story of salvation is ours. And if it's a story that is rightly confessed by the words "Crucify him!" then it's a faith that is most surely professed in the words : "His blood be on us and on our children." Judas couldn't bear the story of forgiveness. When he saw that Jesus would die, he gave back the blood money at the temple and was so filled with hopelessness that he committed suicide. The religious leaders could not bear it. Outraged and frustrated, they would not put the money in the temple coffers, because they realized it was blood money. Blood money, they thought, would defile the temple. Pilate could not bear it. He washed his hands of Jesus' blood. Yet, the irony is that Jesus' blood was and is the salvation of the world! … "His blood be on us and on our children." Thanks be to God! Salvation … forgiveness … both rely on Jesus' blood. Sadly Judas and the others just don't get it. The wheels have been set in motion, and they choose not to participate in the story of salvation. … We have only to participate in the story of salvation, and therefore, we shout. We condone. We wait--the doors of our hearts opened wide to enshrine him. The exclamations, as unnerving as they may be for us to hear or say, become our confession and profession. Jesus' crucifixion, the shedding of his blood, brings not a curse, but a blessing, true forgiveness and salvation! Irony of ironies! The world is turned upside down! The curtain tears in two! The ground breaks open! We realize that the triumphal entry and the death march to Golgotha are one and the same! It's all one story. It's all one movement. It's all one faith confessed and professed. And it's ours. Thanks be to God! May we journey together in the week ahead, as the nature of our Lord and Savior becomes more evident to us, the Humble yet Most High, the Servant yet Sovereign, our both-and Lord, Our Lord of surprises! Come be surprised! In the most holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.