Sermon Prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church

8:30 & 11:00 AM traditional services – 03/24/02

by Gregory S. Kaurin

Associate Pastor for Spiritual Care and Development

 

Text: Matthew 21:1-11

 

The Sermon:

Were You There?

 

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This morning I decided to focus on the processional Gospel before we move into the words of confession and forgiveness in the second part of today’s worship.  I’m doing this because I’m going to give you a question that I want you to carry with you for the rest of this hour, and then the rest of this week, until next Sunday.  The question I want you to focus on for one week is this: Were you there?

A few moments ago, we read the words of Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem.  We just finished singing, “All Glory, Laud and Honor,” one of the hymns that is being sung today by millions of Christians around the world.  And with our palm branches we were trying to enact that scene a bit.  We were trying to be a part of that crowd.  So, tell me, where are you this morning?  Are you a part of that crowd?  Are you here with us this morning?  Or are you somewhere else?

 

In today’s lesson there was that one brilliant moment, that one glorious day, in which a crowd of people shouted and sang their greatest desire to be close to God, victorious, and free.  They saw Jesus on a donkey, and maybe they didn’t understand who Jesus was, or exactly what he meant by this ride into Jerusalem—but they knew it spoke about victory; they knew it pointed to the coming of a new day. 

It was exciting for them to have that old Bible passage physically enacted in front of their eyes: “He will come riding on a donkey.”  The voices grew, and the crowd gathered and shouted: Hosanna!  (which means, God saves).  “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!  The Son of David, Hosanna in the highest.”  This shout was their prayer and hope.  They were there that day; heart and soul, they were there.  And in that one glorious day, that one exciting moment, they honored Jesus.

And Jesus honored them by accepting their praise and hopes, even though he knew where this would end.  He accepted them.  That day, Jesus ignored their fickleness and he forgave the hypocrisy to accept their praise as his own mission and desire.  Because this was the will of God: to be close to his people.

 

So, the crowd was there, and Christ was there.  But were you really there?  Heart and soul, are you here, this morning?  Or, do you find yourself distracted even right now.

Did you come this morning just because it’s Sunday, and that’s what you do on Sunday.  Did you come because someone grabbed you by the ear and told you that “You will go to church today”?  Did you come because it’s Palm Sunday and that’s one of your favorite Sundays?  Did you come because you got your weeks mixed up and thought today was Easter?  Or, did you come today because you—like all the people who were shouting and praising Jesus—did you come because you want to feel closer to God, because you need forgiveness and salvation? 

Whatever got you here today, I believe that what finally brings us together is the hope that we have in our heart of hearts, the desire to feel that God is in my life.  We want to feel and shout our own Hosanna.  We want to be there in that crowd celebrating the victory and salvation.  Maybe it’s a little quieter for some of us.  But we want that emotion; we long for that closeness to God.  We want to be there.

 

The truth is we are there.  We are all there, in that crowd at Jerusalem’s Gate.  There was a parade of people shouting and singing, of course.  But there were also quiet spectators watching the parade, who took it in smiling and feeling what the others felt, but they quietly rejoiced in their hearts.  Then, there were others around who didn’t quite get it or feel it, and wondered if there really needed to be all that noise and hullabaloo.  And still others stood further back scowling, scoffing, fearing, hating.

There were all kinds of people there.  For that reason, we can all find ourselves somewhere in that crowd.  We will see this crowd’s opinions and shouts shift from joy, to doubt, to “Crucify him.”  We are all in there, too!  You and I are a part of this great big human crowd.

With our hatred of others, whenever we are mean or arrogant, cynical or vicious, we join that crowd of scoffing, hating people who shouted for crucifixion.  When we stand back, rolling our eyes, checking our watches, criticizing the form, or this or that liturgy, or this or that preacher or teacher, or doctrine, and plug our own ears up with cynicism and boredom.  We are in that crowd, too.  The crowd that didn’t care, the crowd who wouldn’t listen, couldn’t love.

We were there.  We are there.  And it should cause us to tremble.  For these sins and for these attitudes, Jesus died.

I have been in that crowd.  Sometimes it causes me to tremble.  Jesus died for my sin.

But Jesus also died for the sake of a deep hope, a deep longing that God has built into me and into all of us.  He also died for the sake those glorious moments when we do turn to him and shout our praise.  He died for those glorious moments when we cry out in either excitement or anguish, “Blessed are you!  Help us, Lord!  God, save us!  Hosanna!”  He died for our sin.  And he also died for our love.

 

We were there with the crowd!  They reflect our lives… Look at all the different people who gathered around Jesus, and you’ll find yourself somewhere in that crowd.

 

This week, if at all possible, I ask you (If I had the authority to use stronger words, I would.)  I ask you to commit yourself, to change your plans or change your schedule.  Do whatever it takes.  This is the Highest Holy Week in your Christian life—use it to walk with Christ.  Attend a Maundy Thursday service where you will sit and eat Christ’s Last Supper with the disciples in the upper room.  Then go to a Good Friday service to witness his passion for you and his crucifixion and death.  When you come back to his House of Resurrection next week, you will really understand this victory, and his love for you.

As you make this journey through Holy Week, think about where you are in your faith, where you are in the crowd.  Then look at Jesus Christ.  What did he tell people like you?  What did he say to people feeling like you do? 

How did Jesus react to the praise of the crowd, to the palm branches lifted, to the perfume poured on his head and feet?  He accepted them.  He loved them.

But, then, how did he react to the soldiers beating him, to the crowd scoffing him, crucifying him?  How does he react to all of those, like you and me, who nailed him to the cross with our sinfulness?  How did Jesus deal with them?  He looked out over the crowd, and loved them.  He said, "Father, forgive them."

You were there.  You are there.  That’s the kind of love that God has for us.  It should cause us to tremble.

 

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