The Scripture Readings this week are:
- Psalm 118:19-29 (read responsively to open the service)
- Mark 11:1-11
- Mark 11:27-33
- Mark 14:1-2
The Sermon title is Triumph!??
Image source
Early Thoughts: Hosanna, loud hosanna the happy children sang... All glory laud and honour to thee Redeemer King... Ride on ride on in majesty...
Opening lines from 3 Palm Sunday hymns. Just typing them out conjures up images of people parading around the church waving palm branches. It brings out feelings of hope and joy.
When I read the story of the entry into Jerusalem it carries with it that feeling of hope and possibility. The air seems to resound with the triumphant glory that the king has entered the city. It may well have been street theater. It might have been carefully staged to make a point. But there is a clear sense that the air rings with great news.
Unless you look beyond those verses of course.
The trouble seems to start immediately. People with power see Jesus' street theater as a threat. They start to wonder how they should react. (To be fair Jesus seems to be doing a fair bit to antagonize them as well.) By the beginning of chapter 14 the direction is clear. As Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice put it "this Jesus must die".
What type of triumphant story is this? When we sing those hymns and wave the branches what victory are we celebrating? The next few steps of the story seem far from victorious, in fact they lean more toward disastrous.
The Palm Sunday story is often called "the Triumphal Entry". But there is a big shadow looming over the parade. In fact one of those hymns I quoted above includes the line "in lowly pomp ride on to die".
Where do we go from here?
--Gord
No comments:
Post a Comment