We began the service today with an energetic procession, waving palm fronds, singing and shouting “Hosanna!” There was a lot of excitement in the liturgy and the music. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement, and it’s fun. It gets our attention and reminds us that something important is about to happen.
As Judas becomes increasingly frustrated by Jesus’ inability, or unwillingness, to do what he wants him to do, he begins his plan to betray him – he walks away from everything Jesus has taught him and places his trust instead in the Jewish Law and established government.
This is where Psalm 23 comes in. As I mentioned earlier, it is the Psalm that we often turn to when we seek comfort, especially during stressful and difficult times. But here’s a question: Did you ever notice that most of the anger we experience is over things we don’t control?
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Grace is enough, they claim. But Wesley reminds us that it is because of God’s grace that we are able to have faith, and faith is grounded in our love of God and neighbor. Wesley claims that it is impossible for a person to truly love God and not also love their neighbor. And this is what James is saying also. James wants people to act out the implications of their beliefs.
Ritually clean hands, while rooted in a sound knowledge of the law, need to be the starting point of their faith, not the sum of it. According to Jesus, it’s what we do, the words we use and the way we behave that determines whether we are clean or defiled.
The challenge here is to those of us who already consider ourselves disciples. Jesus keeps stretching our faith. Jesus keeps saying, “You have come this far, come a little farther. You have committed this much, commit a little more. You love these people, now open your arms to these people.
But can we really give thanks for all things at all times in a world that, even though God may be gathering up (or has gathered up) all things in Christ, still hasn’t fully realized that redemption? Do we have to forget all the brokenness in the world and simply give thanks to God for all that is? No. The call to give thanks is not a call to forget but, in fact, to remember. Part of what it means to be children of God is to be attentive to what is possible, even when we can’t clearly see it.
He wasn’t interested in being the bread provider. He wasn’t interested in being King. And he wasn’t interested in making people’s lives easier by providing manna everyday. He wanted us to recognize that in him there is life – an everlasting life. Bread sustains life, but you have to eat it everyday.
When Jesus responds to the people, "What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. And this bread, the bread of God, gives life.” The people say to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus had a shadow mission and that was to be a messiah without suffering. That was what the temptation in the dessert was all about. You don’t have to be hungry. Turn these stones into bread. Bow down and worship me (Satan) and I’ll give you this whole world. You don’t have to suffer, just call on the angels to rescue you.
Considering this makes space for the possibility that God actively enlists us in God’s work. This does create the unfortunate, and sometimes tragic, possibility for resistance, certainly, but it also invites our partnership and, in this way, makes holy (to use a Wesleyan word) our daily activities and actions in the world.
But Jesus wanted more for her. He wanted her to have peace. He wanted her to be restored to her community. When he asked, “Who touched me?”, he wanted to have a personal relationship with her so that she could experience the loving nature of the Kingdom of God.
As a result of this inner change, or transformation, a change in behavior occurs. In other words, we begin to treat our neighbors differently. When Sister Helen and Rev. Hood began visiting inmates condemned to death, they were putting this understanding into practice. They did not expect to change the outcomes of the inmates’ death sentences; rather, they hoped that their relationships would bring some peace and help them to experience the grace and compassion of God.
When Jesus listeners first heard this, they must have thought Jesus was being ridiculous. Intentionally planting a mustard seed anywhere near your field would be downright stupid. Not only does the seed start out small and grow really big, but the seed also spreads rapidly – much like a weed. In only one season mustard plants would have spread so prolifically that all the other crops would be choked out. It would compare to sowing dandelions or bamboo in the middle of our garden or wheat field.
Today’s scripture shows Jesus and his followers taking a risk as they walk through some grain fields and decide to break off the heads of the wheat in order to get something to eat. This occurs on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees are appalled that they would even travel to the grainfields, let alone actually harvest it for a meal.
If you paid attention during earth science, then you know that the air that the dinosaurs breathed is the same air that we are breathing now. It is the same air that Adam and Eve breathed, and it is the same air that Jesus breathed. When Jesus let go of his last breath, God captured it and blessed it and then set it loose on earth. It grew in strength and volume, until it was a mighty wind, which God sent through that upper room in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
The problem is that in today’s world, people spend an awful lot of energy trying to turn the odds to their favor. Waiting on the will of God requires having an awful lot of trust and acceptance. And this isn’t an easy thing because most of us have been betrayed more than once. The good news, though, is that the Lord knows the hearts of God’s people.
Christ reminds us that God is glorified when we bear fruit, and one of those fruits is love. I chose to share this story today because through this program these inmates are transformed from hardened criminals who care only about what they want and need into individuals who have a sense of self-worth that comes from loving, being loved and doing something for someone else.
After a rough weekend of experiencing Jesus’ death and resurrection, Peter decides to go fishing and invites the others to go with him. Jesus shows up, calls them out of the boat a second time, and tells them, “Guys, you can’t go back to doing the same thing you did before you met me. I’ve changed. You’ve changed. And you have a mission.
Our Resurrection story this morning reminds us that at the end of Luke’s Gospel, Peter and the other disciples are discouraged and feel alienated and abandoned by Jesus, who went willingly to his death and then disappeared from the tomb. When the resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples, he has to regain their trust before they will realize their potential for confident living and eternal life.
When Jesus says, “Peace be with you,” he is reminding them of the things he told them that evening. He shows them his hands and his side, as if to say, “Here I am. It’s me. I’m not a ghost. Just like I said when we shared that last meal together, ‘I am going away [for a few days], and I am coming [back] to you.’
It is natural for us to wonder why they didn’t recognize him. They had received Jesus’ teaching. Like Mary, they had probably sat at his feet. Perhaps there had been times when they spoke to him face to face. And yet…here he is, walking with them now. And for some strange reason, they don’t realize who he is…until he does something familiar.
The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, is the climax of John's "signs". It explains the crowds seeking Jesus on Palm Sunday, and leads directly to the decision of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin to plan to kill Jesus. Some theologians view the raising of Lazarus as a "pivotal miracle" which starts the chain of events that leads to the Crucifixion of Jesus.
As humans, we find all sorts of things in our lives to crown as king, but they’re often things that carry us away from the path God sets before us. On Palm Sunday, the people of Jerusalem looked to Jesus as a new king, not realizing that the crown he would bear would be made of thorns. As we celebrate his triumphal entry, as we declare him King of our lives, are we prepared to truly focus our hearts on Jesus?
Jesus was able to overcome his fears and apprehension because throughout his ministry, he made sure he remained in close relationship with God, taking time each day to separate himself from the world and his followers in order to spend time in prayer.
It isn’t hard to imagine the squeamishness of the Hebrew people to have a bronze snake on a pole in the midst of the camp while they were surrounded by snakes nipping at their heels. And we can be sure that their prayer was that God would move the snakes out of the way and give them a clear path on their journey. But God didn’t remove the serpents, or even stop them from biting, God chose a different way.
In other words, when Jesus, the Word made flesh, comes, everything changes. And among the first of these changes is that there is no longer a need to sacrifice animals, as God will interact with God’s people in a whole new way. Jesus is doing more than cleansing the Temple – he is preparing the people to change the way that they relate to God.
