Palm Sunday sermon

Palm Sunday
March 28, 2010
John 12:12-19
Make it, Fake it, or Take it?

In the name of Jesus, amen. John’s gospel lesson will be our sermon text this morning and it underlines what I’ve thought for a long time, that the word ‘expectation’ is the cruelest, harshest, most vile four letter word in the English language. Expectation is cruel, harsh, and vile when those expectations are unknown. Because then all sorts of misunderstandings and hurt feelings can arise.

The triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem was an event loaded with expectation. In reading some of the other gospel accounts of this story, the disciples found everything just as Jesus had told them- the colt tied up just where it was supposed to be, the owner saying just what he was supposed to say. They had their expectations met. And when they saw and heard the commotion, they likely had more expectations come to their mind.

The crowds who spread their cloaks on the ground and waved the palm branches triumphantly had some different ideas. This was a triumphant day. This day appeared to be all that the OT prophecies had foretold. The king was here! Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the son of David. Glory, majesty, might, power- all of these thoughts were with the crowd. They expected God to fulfill his promises, and now, right in front of their eyes it was happening.

There were some enemies present who saw this and did not share in the happiness and joy. They had heard that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and that many people had started to believe in Jesus because of this sign. The Pharisees were being challenged. Their way of life was being threatened. And they thought that something had to be done. They regarded Jesus as a fraud. There were many people who claimed to be the Christ and it was their expectation that Jesus would flame out like all the rest had before him. But their stranglehold on the religious life in the region of Palestine was slipping.

Expectations were probably running pretty high amongst the friends and enemies of Jesus, and among the casual onlookers.

Yet it is obvious to us, quite painfully obvious at times, that expectations go unmet. This life we live seems to go from one letdown to another. Promises are made and then broken. It is disappointing, discouraging, and depressing. Rather than being people who trust other people, we start to trust ourselves. Why look to someone else when I’m only going to get burned. I’d rather not get burned anymore.

And so we start to regard life as something that we make. Make your own happiness. Create your own truth. And you know what, that works in some areas. I fix my own breakfast. I dress myself. If the garden is going to get weeded, I’m going to be the one on my hands and knees pulling those weeds out by the roots. In our work life, if you want a promotion or a raise, you know that you have to show up on time, do what needs to be done, certainly do more than the minimum so you can get noticed. In some areas we can make our life.

And we can make happiness. If a nap makes you happy, you can carve out an hour in the afternoon, close the door to your bedroom, turn off the lights, and close your eyes. If reading a book can make you happy, you have the ability to pick up that book, sit in a comfy chair and lose yourself in the pages.

At times we fake our way through life. We honestly do not know everything and so we pretend that we do. Parents understand that sometimes you have to fake your way through your day. You pretend you know what you are doing, hoping that your kids won’t discover the truth that you have no clue what to do next. We do that in school when we get summoned to the chalkboard and we fake our way through that scientific equation or when we discuss one of Shakespeare’s plays in English class. We fill essays with adjectives and adverbs, hoping that the flowery language will mask the fact that there is no other way we could write a five page paper with just the knowledge in our head.

We fake our way through our jobs. We fake our way through our relationships. We want to give the appearance that we know what we are doing, but the truth is quite the opposite. We cover up our faults. We hide our insecurities behind a fake smile. We bury our emotions beneath the veneer that everything is all right when everything is most definitely not all right. Being wrong is to be avoided. Showing your emotions is a sign of weakness. Admitting that you don’t know everything is viewed as a detriment. Thus we fake our way through our life.

We fake our way towards our salvation. We pretend that we know all the answers, that we know how we are supposed to act, what we are supposed to say in order for God to be pleased with us, in order for God to love us, in order for God to save us.

Palm Sunday presents this relevant truth to us that we cannot make or fake our salvation. Here comes Jesus, riding on a donkey, humbly, lowly, doing what He was sent to do.

This past Thursday we had our very first Annunciation service. The angel Gabriel from heaven came to Mary in Nazareth and told her that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son. Quite logically Mary said, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel answered by saying, “With God all things are possible.”

This coming Thursday, in Gethsemane’s garden, Jesus will say, “Abba Father, all things are possible with you.”

It was the will of the Father that Jesus would put on flesh and bone, that he would take up residence in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. And Mary was scorned because of this. You can imagine what the others in Nazareth were saying, pointing at her expanding belly and shaking their heads in pity at a young woman would not admit her wrongdoing. And Joseph? What a fool for not putting her away and washing his hands of the whole situation.

Yet it was the will of the Father that His Son would walk the way of scorn and shame. It was the scorn of the crowds. It was the shame of the cross. It was the scorn of those who hated him. It was the shame of being abandoned by his disciples, completely denied by Peter. That shame, that scorn…that brought to us our salvation. Take it.

You cannot make it and you cannot fake it. All that the Father asks is that we take the salvation that is held out to us and marvelously, joyously receive it!
Take Palm Sunday as the day Jesus came to endure His Passion, His passion for your redemption. Take God’s grace as the opportunity to live as God’s son or daughter, as your opportunity to reflect God’s love to the many people in your life. Take God’s mercy as the beautiful knowledge that in Christ you are forgiven. Unexpected, but true. Take the gift God offers. SDG