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| "What Happened?" (Luke 22; 1-23:56) |
| Written by Pastor Fausel | |
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Grace, mercy and peace be to you … How did we get here? At the beginning of our service this morning, we relived the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey with all the shouts of the people. We heard the words and we sang accordingly. As a reminder, you still have the palm frond in your hand, or at least in the pew next to you, But then, what happened?? The Sky turned black, the curtain of the temple has been torn in two … Jesus Himself has died … and it’s not Good Friday, yet. … The calendar still says it’s Palm Sunday … and (we’re having) (We’ve had) an Easter Egg hunt today. Perhaps today we’re feeling a bit like those daughters of Jerusalem we heard about. They were praising God in Jesus as he came into town… and five days later, they found themselves following Him as the Romans are leading Him out of town, carrying His own Cross. They were probably thinking along the same lines we are today … What Happened? How can this be? How could things change so quickly? Some might think that what we’re doing today is an accommodation to our modern society//. Think about it. If you only attend Church on Sundays … what happens? Traditionally, you go from an account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the next Sunday’s account of Jesus’ Easter Morning Resurrection. You miss all that happens in between. How do you fix that? … You import Holy Week into Palm Sunday … and viola… If you miss Thursday and Friday Services … you now are ready for what happens on Easter, you have at least heard the Scripture. But for one, I would rather we not leave today with that Good Friday cloud hanging over our heads. I’d rather us leave waving the Palm branches as we did earlier. So I invite you to think of this Sunday of the Passion this way: As God, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, He saw in future exactly what we just heard read from Luke’s Gospel. Jesus could see it coming. Later He even prayed about it in the Garden of Gethsemane. So, pretend, if you would, that you’re one of Jesus’ closest companions, as close to Him as any of His disciples … And pretend you’re there with Him on Palm Sunday … waving your palm branch. And then, after His triumphal entry … Jesus takes you aside … and He tells you about what we’ve just heard read. “This is what’s going to happen,” He tells you. And so, as a close friend, what is your pleasure? Are you going to say to Jesus, “Oh, I’m so sorry, Lord … I’ll see you again, though, on Easter morning.” Or are you going to walk with him, walk beside Him, as He goes through what you both now know lies ahead? Are you going to be with Him in the Upper Room … sharing His body and blood with Him at the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday? Are you going to be praying with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane? Are you going to watch as He’s quizzed by Pilate, hustled off to Herod, mistreated by the soldiers …? Are you going to watch Him carry His cross, hear the nails driven home, stand beside His Mother Mary and Disciple John looking up into His eyes … Watching and waiting … ? Are you, can you, stand with Him this coming week? The invitation is there. But again, today is Palm Sunday. Jesus is welcomed with those words, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Words said on this occasion which point to the same words which will be said again … in our future … when He will come again on the clouds. And when He does … we can celebrate even more fully than those people of Jerusalem did on Palm Sunday. For because Jesus chose the way of the cross, your sins, my sins, all of them have been forgiven. And Jesus Himself has promised that He has prepared a mansion for us in heaven. And so … our eyes turn from looking back on Palm Sunday to looking forward to that day when He will come again in glory … and we will greet Him with only joy in our hearts. Saying: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord …” So when you go out today. Wave your palm branches in Joy. Your best friend is with you even now … and has promised to come and take you to be with Him … that You also may be where He is! Praise the Lord!! In Him. Amen. |