It’s Thursday in the Pastor’s Workshop. Today we take the work of our week and see how it all comes together in a sermon. As always, we pray the message will be a story of grace for our lives.
As we noted on Monday we are preparing for Holy Week. Holy Week is the climax of Jesus’ ministry and the culmination of his saving work. Palm Sunday, which is this Sunday, is our entry into this high drama of God’s grace.
Our Scripture for following Jesus as he “moves ahead to Jerusalem” has been Luke 19:28-44. It is the story of that first Palm Sunday “parade”.
On Tuesday we noted how this Scripture reflected the Messianic hope of the people, the opposition of the leaders and the resolute purpose of Jesus in fulfilling God’s saving will.
Yesterday we highlighted how important this message of Palm Sunday is, particularly in our troubling times. The praise of the people, as they sang “Hosanna”, is also the prayer of our hearts. They hoped for God to “save now” (the meaning of Hosanna), and so do we!
So how might the message of Palm Sunday reflect this hope? And how might Jesus’s triumphal yet humble entry into Jerusalem fill us with an encouragement of Christ’s unswerving dedication to God’s saving purpose?
For me Sunday’s message begins to come together like this:
The praise and prayer “Hosanna”, lifted by the followers of Jesus on that first Palm Sunday, is a cry of the heart.
The literal meaning of “Hosanna” is “save now”. That prayer is particularly poignant with all we are facing. We deeply desire for Jesus to “save now”. There is an urgency!
Just as with those first followers, we also have our ideas of what “save now” might look like. Often our thoughts have “miraculous overtones”. “Save Now” might be an incredible breakthrough, an amazing deliverance, a turning of events that immediately lifts the sense of threat and returns life to normal.
When Jesus came on Palm Sunday he entered into that expectation. But he did not embrace the people’s vision of how that would happen. Instead of God miraculously “lifting us out”, Jesus came in humility to “lead us through”.
What those first followers found, and what we find, is that Jesus enters into life with us. He is Immanuel – God with us – in the best moments of life, and also in the darkest, hardest, most difficult, “lost” moments of life. As he rode the donkey, he knew that he would embrace the Cross. In that ultimate act of grace Christ shows us how salvation is lived out in compassion. Compassion which means to “suffer with”.
And so when we pray “save now” we realize how Jesus, our Humble King, would be our Good Shepherd. In embracing the cross Christ walks with us through the valley of the shadow, the shadow of these days and every dark day. His presence is our strength and our ultimate hope.
In that strength and hope, we seek to follow Jesus, the Cross bearer, by “picking up our cross”. In these days part of the way we share in “save now” is to connect with each other in Christ’s compassion. As we share in each other’s suffering we are part of bearing Christ’s hope to others.
Our message seeks to move from a plea of “Save Now” to a position of “Stand With”. As has been said, we will make it through all this – together! Together with Christ and together with one another. In that faith we would join with the first followers in singing “Hosanna. Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Prayer: Lord, as we get ready for Palm Sunday, prepare our hearts and minds to receive your message so it would be light of truth and a guide of grace for how we would live our lives with you and one another in these difficult days. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen