back to sermons

March 15, 2008

“All Glory and Honor ” Rev. Cheryl Magrini

Prayer Over the Palms

Hosanna Savior,

We wave our palms and sing our praise

as we remember your

triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

May your Spirit enter

the heart of our worship this day

giving us the strength

to endure the journey which is ahead.

Processional

Open the doors of this holy place,

that we may enter and give thanks to God

for this is the day God has made.

WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

God has opened the doors of grace

and all creation is invited to join in praise

for this is the day God has made.

WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

Blessed is the One

who comes in God’s name to shed light on our darkness

for this is the day God has made.

WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

        A walk is good for your health and well-being. It can be a time to meditate on God’s Word and pray. Since moving into the city from the suburbs, I have developed a route from my building to the church and back. I try to walk nearly everyday. I have been fortunate that this winter has not had single digit or below zero actual temperatures! In our path of driving, walking, or taking the train on a regular basis we develop what anthropologists call a “daily round” So on my daily round as I get to the Blue Cross Blue Shield building and then the Aon Center, I walk by several large tourist style buses. What I see most days or nights on a regular basis are the employees waiting in line to get on the buses. I imagine these buses are quick run drop-offs to the metra train stations on Madison Avenue just across the bridge. What has struck me as an unusual sight is that even before the bus arrives, the employees are lined up with tickets in hand, some chatting, most just standing there and oh so well behaved! If only children and youth could do this! And I’ll admit it would be nice if some adults would be as well behaved!

        In our Palm processional we had our own line up this evening. Were we lined up like the employees or a little less orderly and excited or having fun like in a parade? I think we made a conglomerate group of folks as we moved into the Dixon Chapel.

        The procession of Jesus into Jerusalem has the feeling of a parade. Why waive palm branches like we just did? Only John’s Gospel includes palm branches: People had gathered for the Passover celebration. “When the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him shouting “Hosanna!” (12:12-13) Palm branches are a symbol of national triumph and victory. Victory over whom or what?

        Are parades something that is part of your childhood or do you go to any one of the many parades in Chicago? Today as I was driving around this morning I saw crowds of people making their way to the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade. I saw tall green hats, sparkling and shiny. I saw bright green boas wrapped on girls. I saw families with young children who looked cold, and the children seemed that they had absolutely no interest in going to a parade on this chilly day – but one that could be even colder – Chicago spring day. There will be barricades and plenty of police and probably television cameras.

        In the parades I watched as a child, I remember that there was an invisible “feet line”. If our feet stuck too far out into the street a police officer would come by and tell us to move back. Then in some popular viewing places there were ropes to keep the people back. Order was maintained in some fashion, but certainly not as orderly as the bus employees.

        Jesus took the route from Jericho to Jerusalem for his parade route. It was a fifteen-mile trip up a steep road. What did the people think knowing that Jesus was on his way? For the Jews, he had been seen as a possible national warrior, one who would lead the way to a revolution that would overthrow the Roman government that oppressed and killed the Jewish people. Jesus must have known from how his healing, teaching, and preaching, and all the ways he politically challenged the chief priests and the Pharisees, that at this time of rising tension at Passover that going to Jerusalem would mean his death.

        After the disciples obtained the donkey as they had been instructed, Jesus rode toward the city. As the Messianic King of the people, he entered humbly on a donkey with the cloaks of his disciples as his saddle. The road filled with more cloaks and tree branches to make a “yellow brick road” highway for his journey.

        Next the different Gospels move the story along: Matthew, Luke and John all indicate that crowds surrounded him, either entering the city before our following behind and as multitudes (Luke 19:37).

        How long have the Jews been looking for a Messianic King? “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13). Psalm 118:25-26, is a processional psalm from which these lines originate. In John this pronouncement ends with calling Jesus the “King of Israel” that portrays the people’s desperate hope that Jesus would be the one who will restore Israel to be God’s chosen Kingdom. But the people are to be disappointed because the Messianic King comes in the name of God’s love, peace, and inclusion of the oppressed, the disable bodied and all who suffer. The Gospels describe different reactions of the people when Jesus finally enters Jerusalem. What we know is that his appearance into the city affected the Passover celebration of the whole city and that all in the city were impacted in some way.

        There is a let down when the parade is over. There is garbage everywhere, and you feel disillusioned that the bands and floats did not meet your expectations. After an afternoon of crowds and some fun we now are back to the reality of the daily routine. The Jews in Jerusalem felt let down, perhaps even betrayed. The ecstasy of the moment plummeted into a downward turn.

        Assuming that Jesus knew that going to Jerusalem would mean his death, why go? Because of God’s great love for us that passes all our understanding. Paul writes in Romans: “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (5:8) My closing words come from Henri Nouwen in Can You Drink the Cup?, our Lenten study book.

        “Jesus’ unconditional yes to his Father had empowered him to drink his cup, not in passive resignation but with the full knowledge that the hour of his death would also be the hour of his glory.” (50)