Sermon for Palm Sunday - 20 March 2005
March 20th, 2005 | No Comments »
Today's readings.
One disclaimer: When I went in to church today I had no notes. While I usually do not preach from a manuscript I usually at least have one that I've worked on. Or, at the very least, a bare-bones outline. And whichever I've used to prepare I have that in the back of my BCP. Not so today. Today I wasn't even holding a BCP. This all came from the heart. So I'm going to try to reconstruct this as best I can, even though it varied between 0800 and 1000, and never really existed in the form you see it here.
Well, okay, two disclaimers: The sermon was also heavily contextual to the local community. I felt like apologizing to any visitors or guests (and there were more than usual owing to it being Palm Sunday). I hope–and think–they could get something out of it, but probably not as much as the regulars. So if you read this and feel like saying "Huh?"… Well, consider yourself warned.
I have been looking forward to this day for three whole years, and now that it is finally here I am very glad indeed to be giving the sermon. Why, you ask? That's because today is Palm Sunday in Year A… That means that the Palm Gospel is from Matthew. And how many of you were paying close attention? Did you notice anything… Odd? You see, Jesus sent the disciples for a donkey and a colt. Then Jesus mounts them. Both. Do you know how hard that is?!
Right. So today isn't just about the oddities of the lesson from Matthew. But it is about journeys. Specifically, Christ's Journey from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, with the people cheering and spreading palms in his path, through the events of Holy Week… His betrayal, arrest, torture, and death. It was quite a journey. And as I meditated on this journey I began to think about our own here at St. John's. I realize that I used "journey" as the topic last year on this very date, but I think those of you that have lived with us throught he past year will agree that our journey has taken on new meanings.
This fall we began a financial campaign, our 2nd Century Campaign. And as we learned more about stewardship and sacrificial giving, we heard a lot about journey. The very process by which we thought and prayed about personal sacrifice for God was described as a journey. A journey of personal committment.
But long before we began the campaign we were on a journey together. We journied as we planned what we would do with the building, who we would hire to help us, and so on. And now that the campaign is well underway, we are still journeying on into our 2nd Century. We now have plans for a building and soon will begin working on both the new and the old.
But Christ's journey had many sides. There was the triumphal entry, but also the torture, the death… And if we as Christian looks to Christ as the ultimate role model, then we too must look to model our journeys after Christ's own journey. That means our journey here will have suffering and death.
As I meditated on this over the week I came up with quite a list. Here are just some examples of what this means for us:
- The Gym - We're tearing down the gym this year, but we won't have a new one. Are you so attached to having a gym… A place to play basketball… That you can't conceive that it would be St. John's without one? Perhaps that attachment needs to die.
- The Kitchen - Think that we can't possibly be St. John's without a smaller (though hopefully more efficient) kitchen? Perhaps that notion needs to die.
- Your Pledge - There are still some among us who don't feel that they can pledge much at all, so they haven't pledged anything. Are you afraid that you can't give enough? Afraid that a smaller pledge would be embarassing? It is time for those fears to die. No amount of time, talent, or treasure is too small when put to work for God.
- Being St. John's - I've heard several times that "But we are ST. JOHN'S!" We can't… We must… Is our pride in what we were once, or in what we are now, that we cannot move forward? Perhaps this too, should die so we can move forward?
- The National Church - Are you perhaps witholding your pledge because of the "turmoil" in the National Church? When we do such things, we're letting the "turmoil" win. Let your attachment to grudges and fear die, and help us move on.
There are of course, more things that may–should–die in individuals and corporately. Things that need to die.
All this talk of suffering and death… Where's the GOOD NEWS? The good news is that there is more than death, there is resurrection in Christ's journey, too. I've had the privlige of helping to lead The Stations of the Cross over the past several weeks. There's a phrase in that service that we use, "Christ went not up to glory but first he suffered and died." The same is true for us here: Through all the little things that we release and let die we will glorify God in this place.
So on this Palm Sunday my question for you, my sisters and brothers in Christ, is this: What do you, what do we need to let die so that we can glorify God at St. John's?