Palm Sunday (A) 2011

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

Text: Matthew 21:9
Theme: Hosanna!

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Not every celebration is planned. God sometimes startles us with blessings that demand immediate expression of joy. The conception of a child, a cancer-free diagnosis, the acquisition of a job, rescue from an accident or pending disaster are but a few examples. Our sinful human nature is so potent at nurturing skepticism we are often surprised by His mercies great and small. Though such things tend to provide a boost to our faith, God desires that our trust be anchored more deeply in His promises. Our faith should not rely on a quota of personal satisfactions but the bare- and often masked- certainty of His Word.

Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem was not exactly a planned celebration. But hopes ran high and people joined the gathering crowd to welcome Jesus as a deliverer and ruler. Perhaps this would be the moment for Israel to regain independence and glory. It was actually a minor expectation compared to what Christ actually did accomplish. The climax of the Christian Church Year begins today. Shouts of jubilation on Palm Sunday crescendo to cries of “Crucify Him!” on Good Friday. It was an intense and bewildering week for Jesus’ disciples that ended with His resurrection.

All the hype of Palm Sunday was dashed by Good Friday. Pilate posed the question, “What is truth?”1 Others ridiculed Him saying, “Come down from the cross and save Yourself!”2 Jesus responded with, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,”3 and, “My kingdom is not of this world.”4 But the suspicion goes on. Falsehood, skepticism, and doubt about Christian truth increasingly saturate public discourse and educational institutions. It wears on the believer. It slowly erodes the underpinnings of our belief. Sometimes we hardly notice it. The frog is not boiled instantly. The water is slowly heated and the frog adjusts.

But before the frog attempts to leap to safety it is too close to death. It is paralyzed. Faith is more commonly lost through a gradual slipping away than it is by a dramatic turn of events. Through neglect and apathy faith loses it vigor and becomes vulnerable to attack. Faith is never partial. Saving faith is always a complete faith. But faith can be strong or weak and everything in between. A defenseless faith may limp along for a while- until the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

Throughout much of western society the image of God has transitioned from that of a father, with whom we have a relationship and to whom we are accountable, to that of an ageing and frail grandfather about whom people only reminisce and with whom there is little association. God is to be neither feared nor revered as Judge or Redeemer but only passingly referenced an obsolete concept.

Many believers have responded by retreating into a confidential sheltering of their faith. Yet the self-deception of being a ‘private’ Christian is a nearly always an infallible sign of danger and decay. It’s not, of course, that this withdrawal is usually planned or perpetrated with evil intent. Rejection of the Holy Spirit’s work is not usually as crass as we assume it to be. Overt blasphemy is not an activity even determined skeptics often care to engage in. Denial of God’s truth is more often manifest as a capitulation to indulgences that appeal to our selfish desires or a tacit failure to speak or act against evil or falsehood. Often rejection of the Holy Spirit’s work is clearly a triumph of human self-governance over God’s will. We want our way, God’s approval not excepted. Other things take priority in life, and little by little, God is squeezed out. Repentance for giving in to this temptation should be a regular part of our confession.

Into this milieu of complexity and spiritual struggle the cry of Palm Sunday goes up, “Hosanna, Lord save!” Lord, save us from rampant materialism in this age. Lord, save us from the skepticism and doubt that tears away the anchor of our souls. Lord, save us from denying your truth because of shame or fear. Lord, save us from addiction, depression and loss of hope. Lord, save us from loss of compassion for the unborn, the elderly, and the most vulnerable of society. Lord, save us from idolatry of persons and things.

Lord, grant depth to our devotion. Give stability to witness. Lord, increase our passion for your truth. Lord you were crowned with thorns that we might be crowned with eternal life. Make us worthy heirs of your sacred treasures. In all these petitions Christ does not fail us. He is the incarnate love of God. He rode a donkey, not a stallion; wore a crown of thorns not a crown of gold. He did not shrink back from bearing your sins and mine to the cross. He dealt death its fatal blow. He opened the gates of heaven to all repentant sinners who take refuge in Him.

The parents of a five-year-old daughter girl named Lindsay overheard her telling her little friend about Jesus. The children were sitting on the front steps of the house, and the parents tiptoed up to the window to see and hear better. Lindsay told her friend that Jesus had forgiven her sins and if she believed in Him she would go to heaven. The little girl was convinced, and said a prayer of thanks to God. When she was done praying, she looked up at Lindsay and asked, "Will my mother be in heaven too?" Lindsay thought for a moment and replied, "Yeah, if she believes in Jesus. But if you don't want her there, don't tell her about Him!"

Still, such possessiveness exists. St. Matthew says, “When the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things He did and the children shouting in the temple area, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant. ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked Him. ‘Yes,’ replied Jesus, ‘have you never read, ‘from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”5 Yes, out of the mouths of babes!

Christ is still the Lord of the church. Let us not be ashamed to follow a crucified Saviour. Let us not be embarrassed to worship the Servant King. The Lord of compassion welcomes those who are humble in heart. He raises us above strictly worldly concerns. You are not baptized into a kingdom of this world. You do not partake at this altar of cultural or earthly food. You need not wait to be surprised by God’s blessings. Always, the living Christ is with you.

Fittingly, the resurrection soon became the most important expression of joy in the early church. Once recovered from their stupor and enlightened by the Holy Spirit those early believers made Sunday the new Sabbath. They understood creation had been remade and restored. On the seventh day of creation God rested. But on the first day of the week, the eighth day, the dawn of the new era, He redeemed that lost creation. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! “6 Amen.


+ in nomine Jesu +

Palm Sunday
17 April, 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 John 18:38 2 Mark 15:30
3 Luke 23:34 4 John 18:36
5 Matthew 21:15-16 6 Matthew 21:9