Sermon for Palm Sunday, 5 April 2020
by Revd George Mwaura
Based on Isaiah 50: 4–9a and Mathew 21: 1–11
While reflecting on the passages before us and the message that I want share with you, in light of the ongoing pandemic, I have been very careful not to trivialize the pandemic, at the same time not allowing it to take control of our lectionary. I have therefore tried to jealously guard the message and identity of each Sunday while keeping COVID-19 in the background.…It’s a tricky balance and I wanted you to understand this before I start. …So, let us pray:
Living God; may the words I speak be the words you want spoken and may the message I deliver be truly inspired by you.
Amen
The story is told of a British SAS soldier who found himself on a third tour of duty in Iraq and wrote to his wife telling her of his seven new friends with whom he had developed a close friendship. I am so grateful, he said, because in this isolated and barren land a person could easily be driven to despair. When his next birthday came, there was a large package in the mail from the UK. When he opened it, he discovered not one gift, but eight gifts: one for him and one for each of his seven friends. The soldier looked at the eight presents and, with tears rolling down his cheeks, exclaimed: ‘That’s my wife for you! Yes, sir, that’s my wife!’ This wife was revealed by her actions. That was the kind of thing she would do; it was her nature: she was that kind of a person. Today, as we stand at the doorway of Holy Week, we look at the cross and we recall the whole story of pain, suffering, darkness and death. And as we gaze upon our King, arms spread wide in forgiving love, we proclaim like that soldier: ‘That’s our God for you! Yes, sir, that’s what our God is like!’
The rude intrusion of COVID-19 into our lives has demonstrated to us that world leaders can (when they chose to), understand the suffering of humanity and act in their interest in the style modelled by our Lord. Not dying literally but acting with compassion to those who are needy. It’s my sincere prayer that this is a lesson they will not forget when our lives have returned to their normal routine. The people of Israel at the time of Jesus were anxious and desperate in the face of a different virus: that of the brutal occupation by Rome and they welcomed Jesus in Jerusalem with the words: ‘Hosanna to the son of David!’ Hosanna literally means I beg you to save! or please deliver us! It’s a prayer we echo with the same passion and desperation. Because we too are anxious, and we desperately call on the Son of David this Palm Sunday to come and liberate us from the grip of this tyrant known as Corona. In this crisis, some people might mistakenly think that God has forsaken us: absolutely not! Even though we have been quick to forsake and betray him and his commandments, God still stands with us. After this darkness there will be an Easter for all; a time for renewal, for Christ’s death was not in vain. Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem signalled the start of the last week of His earthly ministry. So, this is a week is when we remember that our sinless Saviour took the punishment that we should be receiving. This is the week when we remember that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is the week when we are reminded that we can’t save ourselves, but in the darkness that we face; Christ can and will deliver us. It’s unfortunate that most people were ignorant of Christ’s identity then, and even now. There are three facts from this Palm Sunday event that I want to share with you.
First: Jesus always intrigues people. We read in our passage that when he entered Jerusalem, the entire city was excited, and they asked: who is this? The crowd was intrigued by Jesus, even though they were confused about his identity. When a local survey team asked people in Cambridge city what historical figure, they would most like to spend a day with, two out of three chose Jesus, including 37 percent of those who claimed no church affiliation. Jesus had such charisma that people would sit three days straight, without food, just to hear his riveting words. Today no one would wait that long, except maybe for football tickets if their team made it to Wembley or outside shopping malls to catch the January sales. Jesus was a fascinating person who displayed a wide range of emotions: compassion for the sick and dying, tears for a dead friend, concern for his disciples and a warm hospitality that dangerously transcended racial and cultural boundaries. These are the same qualities we as his followers are asked to display and practice, especially in these dark days of anxiety.
The second fact is that Jesus is misunderstood by most people: The people of Jerusalem speculated about who Jesus was and most got it wrong on the issue of his identity. They thought he was just another prophet and nothing more. On a different occasion Jesus asked his disciples who people said he was, and they said: John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. People then, just like now, have a hard time getting a fix on who Jesus is. A lot of Christians have tried to domesticate and tame Jesus. They have turned him into something resembling a 1960s hippie; a sweet, meek-and-mild Jesus who wouldn’t hurt a fly. When Hollywood tries to present Jesus, they usually create an airbrushed Jesus who speaks in monotone, never smiles, and looks so surreal. But Jesus was utterly exuberant and frighteningly courageous. He enjoyed parties and loved to hang out with the politically incorrect. Some other people have tried to make Jesus the champion of their group’s ideology, but Jesus is bigger than anybody’s political agenda. I am heavily inclined to agree with C.S. Lewis when he said that: Jesus either was who he said he was, i.e. the Son of God, or else he was a madman or a liar. People have usually been wrong about who Jesus is. Try not to make the same mistake.
The third and central truth is this: Jesus becomes King one heart at a time: He wins the world, one heart at a time. He will never be elected by a popular majority. No dictator will ever install him as Lord of all. Every one of us in the privacy of our own hearts and souls must decide who he is. After Jesus questioned the disciples about the crowd’s perception of him, he asked them: but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter responded: you are the Christ of God. Each time a person makes such an affirmation of faith, Jesus is crowned in that person’s life as King. One of my favourite golfers on the professional tour is the American Tom Lehman. He often says: I think of myself as a Christian who plays golf, not as a golfer who is a Christian. What about you? Are you first a Christian and then retired professor, nurse, teacher, an accountant, a career, an EC member? Is the word Christian your most important adjective? When you declare Jesus is Lord, have you revealed the essential you? In his classic novel The Robe, Lloyd Douglas has a character named Marcellus, who has become captivated by Jesus. In letters to his girlfriend Diana in Rome, he tells her about Jesus’ teachings, his miracles, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. Finally, he informs her that he has decided to become a disciple of Jesus. In her response, Diana says: what I fear is that this Jesus character might affect you. The story of his life is beautiful. Let it remain so. We don’t have to do anything about it, do we? Oh yes, Diana we do! This Jesus is still marching down the streets of Wuhan, Milan, New York, London, Madrid, Teheran, Jerusalem, MK, and everywhere else in the world, calling people to decision and touching them at their point of need.
Jesus is the unidentified king who has no crown to wear or a kingdom to rule until each person at a time declares by faith that Jesus is Lord in my life. Maybe Jesus has walked the streets of your life for a very long time, seeking a heart to rule and a life to transform. Maybe today you’ll ask him to enter – maybe! In the meanwhile, our world continues to pain and groan under the weight of the oppressive Corona just like the Israel of Jesus’ time. Many people feel powerless in the face of this pandemic. We see in a devastating way how widely a virus spreads from person to person. But we have confidence that God allows the good that we do, through our prayer and our actions, to make a positive impact on our sisters and brothers everywhere. As Pope Francis said recently: Let us call upon God today, firmly rooted in prayer, for without prayer all our activity risks being fruitless and our message empty! And so, we shout together: Hosanna to the son of David!
Finally, my dear friends, follow the advice and wash, your hands, not of responsibility for the suffering sisters and brothers, no, no, but of the germs that our hands may transmit. May the Spirit of God abide with you.
Amen
