Palm Sunday (B) 2015

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Mark 11:10
Theme: The Coming Kingdom

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The approach of God never goes unnoticed. Today He is met with heightened anticipation. Hosanna means “Lord, save!” It is a prayer of hope and an acclamation of truth. It is the mantra of Palm Sunday. Already by Jesus time it was an ancient utterance. It is a phrase weighted with such significance that the church chose to incorporate it into the song which accompanies our approach to the altar for Holy Communion, “Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”1

Today begins the holiest week of the year for Christians. Our Redeemer will be lifted upon a cross. He will succumb to death. His followers will teeter on the precipice of despair. But Easter will resurrect their shattered hopes. The decisiveness of the events before us can hardly be overstated. Without Good Friday the wrath of God remains unappeased. Without the resurrection the power of death remains unbroken. Without a living Saviour who bears the marks of sacrifice we would be only dying souls with no future beyond this present life.

But our God comes. Lacking the pomp and circumstance of a royal visitation the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem was the antithesis of worldly ceremony, outward similarities excepted. Cheering crowds welcomed Him. Palms were waved. Garments were strewn. Expectations were raised. Yet His retinue was hardly regal. His devotees included a core group of fisherman, a tax collector, a religious zealot, and a traitor. The donkey upon which He rode previewed the cross upon which He would be hung. A donkey was a beast of burden not a royal steed. Jerusalem was the venue for divine sacrifice. Pilate was soon to have a volatile situation on his hands.

The approach of God never goes unnoticed. His word exacts response. The arrogant mock it. The apathetic ignore it. The baptized cherish it. Christ came not with swords but with words. He came not to coerce but to convince. He came not to be served but to serve. He came not with ideas but with truth. His own followers harbored false aspirations about His kingdom.
Their deceived ambitions were quickly dashed. Their Messiah was arrested, sentenced to death, and hung on a cross like a common criminal. Their misplaced ideas are not unique. Do we too hold misinformed expectations about ultimate things? Sin is like an aggressive cancer that continually attacks our faith. We can never be comfortable with sin; never make peace with it.

The world forthrightly challenges our reason for joining this palm-wielding crowd; and along with it our repentance, our hope, our devotion, our anticipation. It seems to many people to be hopelessly out-of-step with the world’s agenda. Our world remains full of bloodshed and strife, violence and dissension. Ideological clashes within society are fomenting unrest. Traditional values are being turned upside-down. Belief in universal truth continues to decline. A general increase in affluence has brought opportunity for indulgence but not more meaning to life. Relationships are fractured, children are left vulnerable; families are often in disarray. Lives remain broken. We seem to have more opportunities available to us than ever before but less stability. It would seem to be a big leap to believe that all of these crises can be brought to justice and healing, wholeness and resolution by this one man who was hung upon a cross. It seems out-of-sync to raise our voices and say, “Hosanna! Blessed in He who comes in the name of the Lord…hosanna in the highest!”2

But the approach of God always elicits response. The response of faith must part ways with the response of unbelief. The mission field is at our doorstep. People are looking for answers. They are seeking help. Society is witnessing a resurgence of interest in mediators. Palm-readers, fortune-tellers, channeling mediums, wiccan priestesses; all enjoy renewed attention from those looking for contact with the supernatural. We can only help if we are wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Dabbling in the demonic is not an innocuous activity. It opens people to spiritual attack. It desensitizes people to the power of evil. Satan is masterful at giving the outward appearance that everything is being held together while inwardly there is chaos and pain. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for being nicely decorated tombs but on the inside full of death.

But we have the Lord of life! Born in Bethlehem, protected in Egypt, raised in Nazareth, crucified in Jerusalem, ascended from Bethany, and enthroned in the heavenly Jerusalem this Saviour also dwells in the heart of every believer regardless of time or place.
“He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures.”3 These words ground the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ in the context of history. The foundations of Christian truth are not based on unverifiable claims of cult leaders or the untenable ideals of humanistic philosophers. Christian teaching is based on plain, historical fact; truth which transformed the world. The historical circumstances themselves do not command peoples’ devotion. Christians are not materialists. That is, we believe there is more to reality than meets the eye; more than we can measure with our senses or comprehend with our intellect. Yet through these events -which crescendo to a climax with the cross and resurrection- the Holy Spirit incorporates believers into the life of God.

It seems remarkable that the crowds who welcomed Jesus with shouts of hosanna on Palm Sunday could so quickly be shouting “Crucify Him!”4 by Good Friday. Exactly which people were involved we don’t know. Clearly there was widespread and acute disillusionment. Many were misguided in their expectations of the Messiah. People are fickle by nature. They are easily turned away from defending the truth and we are no different. We may even boldly stand up with Peter and say to the Lord, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown you.”5 It was easy to do when Peter believed Christ would squash all worldly resistance with His power. When suffering was involved it was another matter altogether. Are we willing to conform our lives to the ways of honesty and integrity in the face of pressure in society, at work, in school, and even within the family? Are we willing to defend the name of Christ and the teachings of the Christian faith when ridiculed or challenged?

Dear friends, the only unassailable source of strength for you is found in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death was the darkest tragedy ever witnessed, but also the power of salvation. The crucifixion is the basis on which the Holy Spirit converts unbelieving hearts. The crucifixion is the reason baptismal water is effective. The crucifixion is the source of the forgiveness offered in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. The crucifixion is the power by which our sinful desires are put to death and our lives are sanctified. The Spirit says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”6

The Messiah comes for you. You are not saved because you know or are related to someone who believes. You are not nourished by watching someone else eat. Your God comes to you. He is with you in the presence of the Spirit. He is for you in the promise of forgiveness. He is in you in the power of the sacrament. In Christ the kingdom of God has come. You are a citizen of that kingdom. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +

Palm Sunday
29 March, 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 LH, p. 16, from the sanctus
2 Mark 11:9-10
3 Nicene Creed
4 Mark 15:14
5Matthew 26:35
6Romans 6:6