This Morning, the Church Packs the Events of an Entire Week That Took Place 2000 Years

This morning, the church packs the events of an entire week that took place 2000 years ago into one worship service.

We begin by celebrating and reenacting that original Palm Sunday. On the Sunday before he died, Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph. We join in his celebration, crying out Hosanna to the Son of David along with those crowds of Jewish pilgrims who had gathered in Jerusalem for the coming Passover Festival.

They saw in Jesus a King, spoken of by prophets like Zechariah who foretold of a King who would appear humble and riding on a donkey. A king who would bring peace to Israel and perhaps, depending on how the prophesy was read, even military retribution and judgement on Israel’s enemies.

Throughout Saint Matthew’s Gospel the people have projected onto Jesus their own ideas of what a Messiah ought to be, and I think this case is no different. They saw in Jesus a new King, one that might even free them from the Romans.

Almost immediately Jesus begins to act in ways that caused more than a few to tamper their enthusiasm. Jesus’ first stop in Jerusalem is the Temple, where he does not come to pay homage to the high priest but rather creates a ruckus, overturning tables and chairs.

On Monday Jesus returns to the Temple and gets into a series of contentious discussions with the official religious leaders. First he tells a series of parables that portray them as villains. Then he turns the tables on them when they ask him “gotcha” questions about authority, money, and the interpretation of the Scripture. If that isn’t enough he denounces them to the crowds, calling them hypocrites, heirs to those who killed God’s prophets, and a bunch of snakes.

As the week moves on Jesus’ teaching gets more and more grim. He prophesies that the Temple will be destroyed, that he will suffer and die, and that his followers will abandon him. By the time we get to Thursday and the Passover supper, the crowds have dispersed and Jesus is surrounded only by his inner circle, and even one of them has set his arrest into motion, betraying the man whom he had only days earlier proclaimed as King.

This is where our liturgy today picks up. Suffice it to say, we end as Jesus had foretold. He is handed over to the religious authorities, convicted of blasphemy by false witnesses, turned over to the Roman Governor, and finally executed with two common criminals. The cheers of the crowd have turned to jeers, an angry mob demanding that he be crucified. He is mocked by soldiers, passersby, and even the two criminals who are crucified next to him. The eleven who didn’t betray him have fled, a few women have seen him to the cross, but even they don’t dare to stand near him.

It seems fitting that his final words recognize the reality that everyone, even God has abandoned him. The final insult that stays with him after he dies is emblazoned above his head for all to read – Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews – a sarcastic one liner that summarizes the end of the man who so many had cheered only a few days earlier as Zechariah’s heir to King David.

The crowds did not get the king they wanted, but I believe that they, and we, and the whole world got the king and savior that we need.

One of my mentor’s, David Bartlett once stated that “The God who suffers in Jesus Christ is the God who is present for us.” I believe this is true.

The crucifixion answers the great question asked of the Psalmist: “Where is your God?” The answer to that question, my friends, is the good news of Jesus Christ. Nothing, not even death can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. You might say, but I’m not dead yet, so what does it mean for me? I am not able to speak for you, but for me…

God is present even in my darkest moments.
God is present when I am misunderstood.
God is present when I am betrayed by my companions.
God is present when I am falsely accused.
God is present when I am being mocked.
God is present when I am in pain.
God is present when I am abandoned by my friends and family.
God is present when I am in sorrow.
God is present when I afraid.
God is present when I am dying.
God is even present when I believe that God is not present.

The God who suffers in Jesus Christ is the God who is always present for me.

I believe that the first step in following Christ is seeing Jesus on the Cross and being able to state in faith that “Truly this man was God’s Son!”.

A King who is not robed in glory sitting on a throne, but a King who is able to take his place naked, dying, and abandoned alongside all of humanity and comfort them not just with the hope of everlasting life, but with the knowledge that not even the worst that can happen will separate us from him.

That’s the first step I took when I followed Jesus, but it is only the first step on a journey of faith that we are on together.

The next steps require taking up our own cross, and being present to others in their darkest moments:

Seeking understanding with those who are misunderstood.
Being faithful to those who have been betrayed.
Testifying honestly on behalf of those who are falsely accused.
Standing together with those who are mocked by society.
Bringing comfort to those who are in pain.
Visiting and staying with those who are alone.
Consoling those who sorrow.
Strengthening those who are afraid.
Blessing those who are dying.
Offering hope to those who doubt.

There are two prayers in our Prayer Book that include the word “instrument”. I would like to close with them both….

O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our SaviorJesus Christ; and… Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.