Passion/Palm Sunday
Liturgically, the reading of the 'Palm Narrative' gospel has
become an entrance rite--not a text for preaching--and the long Passion
Narrative is too long to post here. In my circles I occasionally hear debate as
to whether or not this is a 'good system,' or if we should simply revert to the
'old way' and allow Palm Sunday to BE Palm Sunday. The thinking is that a long
Passion Narrative (and especially its mood) is somehow an encroachment upon
Good Friday. Yet, given that only a fraction of the congregation typically
attends a Good Friday service, I'm ok with the idea of an extended Passion
Narrative kicking off Holy Week.
So, for 'thoughts going in, I'll begin my reflections with a
snippet from the Sundays/Seasons folks:
A Different Kind of Bloodline
Combining into one liturgy the
"Hosanna!" of the triumphal palm procession and the "Crucify
him!" of the passion drama—especially as filtered through Paul's image of
the "exalted" slave—invites a meditation on the mystery of Jesus'
sovereignty.
How can we Americans or Canadians grasp what
it means to have or want a king when we reject the notion that bloodline
conveys the right to rule? And yet, thanks to fairy tales, the Arthurian
legends, and Shakespeare we have some inkling of the power, privilege, and even
"divine rights" of royalty. We can use our imaginations to muster up
a rousing "Ride on, King Jesus!" Then we can appreciate the
incongruity: this king has to borrow a donkey, a room, and a tomb. Then, even
more confounding, is that this king, "who, though he was in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited" and
even borrows our human likeness—including our death (Phil. 2:6).
Judas and Pilate are symbols of all
humanity—including the church, to its shame—in their desire for a grand royal
gesture: start a revolution, call in your army, dazzle us with eloquent
testimony. Jesus resists every such temptation and embraces the mortal human
scale of his limited earthly reign.
Jesus prophesied that when he was lifted up
all the world would be drawn to him; Philippians proclaims that "every
knee should bend" and "every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord." So, whose knee will bow at the name of Jesus? All those who,
following Jesus and trusting the faithfulness of God, are drawn to attend fully
to human life, need, and mortality.
In monarchy, leaders lead by virtue of divine
sanction of a particular bloodline. Our fond hope is that leadership is
bestowed on the basis of merit, hard work, and authentic charisma. Our cynical
fear is that it is bestowed on the basis of money, influence, and cronyism. The
witness of Passion Sunday is that Jesus' credential is innocent blood shed in
obedience to God for the sake of the broken.
~~
To which, I would add Jesus' credential is the
innocent blood of the only begotten Son of God.
On this Sunday there's room for a million
different observations--the Passion Narrative is, after all, immensely full. On
the other hand, there isn't *time to say much. I'm always struck with the
fickle nature of the crowd. They begin by saying HOSANNA, an old Hebrew word meaning save us now, Lord. It's a combination plea, prayer and invitation
of God to act in their lives. But then in the span of a few days the cries of HOSANNA turn to CRUCIFY HIM! And so that's what they do... they crucify him. Of
course the irony is that in so doing, Jesus is saving them now.
May you have a blessed Holy Week as you
meditate on the cross of our Lord and Savior, where the innocent and holy Son
of God saves us now.
Cheers,
T.M.
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