[Propertalk] Palm Sunday a 2017

[Robert P Morrison]

The draft for this Sunday, based on the Gospel for the Liturgy of the
Palms. I preach after that and we conclude the whole liturgy with a
dramatic reading of the Passion Gospel.
Bob 

	THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ST. ALBAN, ALBANY  THE SUNDAY OF THE PASSION:
PALM SUNDAY a 

	MATTHEW 21:1-11   9th APRIL, 2017 

	ISAIAH 50:4-9a    PSALM 118:1-2, 19-29 

	PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11   PSALM 31:9-16 

	MATTHEW 26:14 – 27:66 

	 You and I – WE – are the sermon today. 

	 I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying attributed to St.
Francis: “Always preach the Gospel. Use words if necessary.”
It’s true! I’m sure you’ve found this out for yourselves
already. We try to teach our children and grandchildren to have a life
that will be as fruitful and satisfying to themselves and others as
possible. We try to bring people up to be decent human beings. But
whatever we say may be contradicted almost immediately by thoughtless,
careless behavior. And saying. “Do what I say, not what I do.”
simply doesn’t cut it. 

	 You and I, then, are called upon, again and again, to centre our
lives on the way that Jesus’ words and actions were completely in
sync. 

	 Despite the fact that today’s Gospel passage is used only once a
year, it’s firmly imprinted on our minds. I mean, what’s not to
like? There’s an animal involved! Jubilant crowds, practically
through the gate in the wall surrounding Jerusalem. Ahead lies the
central focus of their lives as Jews – the Temple, and at Passover,
the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Salvation and Renewal. Already the
crowd was filled with expectation and thanksgiving. Plans, developed
and tested year after year, were on the point of coming to fulfilment.
All the thoughts of lambs ritually offered to God and then brought to
dinner tables throughout the city; the thought of gathering together
in all the magnificent sacred spaces; the anticipation of unique,
intimate celebrations with the extended families; all of that must
have energised the people as they came to the end of their long
journeys. 

	 As much as anyone else, Jesus’ friends would have been bubbling
over with emotional feelings. No matter that the last time that they
were there, the authorities with varying jurisdictions had tried to
have Jesus deported or killed. That worry had been set aside because
of the importance of their religious commitments. Their love of God,
especially as explained by Jesus, was THAT strong. 

	 Then Jesus actually appeared, riding on a donkey. 

	 Immediately, everyone remembered the prophecy, “Daughter of Zion,
rejoice with all your heart; shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king is coming to you, his cause won, his victory gained,
humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 1
Jewish people had been taught to look for God’s Anointed Messenger
coming in such a manner. 

	 Finally, it was looking as if everything was coming together, and
all that brought anxiety, and trouble, and oppression, and despair –
all of that the people thought would be done away with. So, in their
frenzy, they ripped the limbs off trees, and tore off their cloaks and
threw them on the dusty, stony path in front of Jesus. 

	 It was a scene that put even the Super Bowl half-time show to shame.


	 So far, so good. 

	 We all need to have experiences like that in our lives. We too need
to grab branches, and to shout and sing our way through life. THIS is
what it’s like to put the Gospel into action. But we know that this
is only part of the story. 

	 However, I’m getting ahead of myself. Everyone, Jesus included,
knew the value of providing heart-lifting experiences to anyone faced
with monstrous dreariness. 

	 “My soul tells out the greatness of the Lord,” as Mary sang when
she and God started this whole ball rolling. 

	 Jesus and His friends so enthused most of the crowd that they joined
in Mary’s song. They recognized that “This IS the day the Lord has
made, so LET us rejoice and be glad in it.” 

	 If you and I DON’T act as if we recognize all the incredible
opportunities of blessing God gives us, then we may be missing out on
some wonderful chances to preach the Good News to the world. 

	 I know there are always pressures. There are always those who try to
push us. Of course, there are times and places for different styles of
appropriateness. And there ARE some whose walking and praising
abilities are limited. But there are always gifts we can offer. 

	 St Bernard of Clairvaux has a marvelous comment on this. “…
shall I now comfort (the donkey) a little? We know he cannot sing; he
is not of those who can say, 'Thy statutes have been my songs in the
place of my pilgrimage'! But he has something, all the same, that all
the others lack; for to none other is the Lord so near. No, no(t) even
those who keep close to His side have Him so close to them as has the
beast whereon He sits; the prophet says as much, 'The Lord is nigh to
them that are grieved at heart.' For a mother also, when she knows her
son is sick, takes all the greater care of him and folds him in her
arms more frequently. Let no one, therefore, think it an unworthy or
small thing that he should be a riding-beast for Christ. 

	 “That beast on which Christ sits, is it not you, who glorify and
carry Christ in your own bodies, as the apostle says?” 2 

	 So, take a palm frond, in a moment. Join with your neighbours in
singing and praising – and listen to one another – not just this
morning, but every morning – and afternoon – and evening. Go down
the hall. Stop at the door to the place where we usually worship and,
palms in hand, singing again after the prayer, be prepared to be
startled, to be disappointed, maybe even to be silenced, that the
purple drapes are still there; the deep red of the vestments don’t
seem to shout so much “Rejoice!” but, instead, “Is that
blood?” 

	 Take your singing with you, however, as a comfort for all those
times when we feel we CAN’T sing. And, remember, “Blessed IS the
one who comes in the Name of the Lord.” Let us preach! 

	NOTES: 

	[1] Zechariah 9:9, Revised English Bible, translation.  

	2  Bernard of Clairvaux 1090-1153 from Dominica Palmarum II and
Dominica Palmarum 1.4. See
https://www.cistercianpublications.org/Products/GetSample/CF052P/9780879074524
[1] 

	https://www.cistercianpublications.org/Products/CF052P/Bernard-of-Clairvaux
[2] Quoted by Suzanne Guthrie in “_At the Edge of the Enclosure:
Soulwork Toward Sunday: Self-Guided Retreat Palm Sunday/ Passion (Year
A)” by _Suzanne Guthrie 9th April 2017
http://www.edgeofenclosure.org/palmliturgy.html [3] 



Links:
------
[1]
https://www.cistercianpublications.org/Products/GetSample/CF052P/9780879074524
[2]
https://www.cistercianpublications.org/Products/CF052P/Bernard-of-Clairvaux
[3] http://www.edgeofenclosure.org/palmliturgy.html

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