Sermon by Lou - March 20 - Palm Sunday

The Triumphal Entry and Passion Gospel According to Luke

This morning we experience liturgical whiplash. One minute we’re waving palm branches and singing “All glory laud and honor.” The next, we’re singing “Were you there when they crucified my Lord.” Maybe 20 minutes separate the triumphal entry into Jerusalem from death on the cross as we collapse the events of about a week into about an hour.

As nice as it might be to linger on the celebration of the palms, the rapid turn of events does serve important purposes. It reminds us that life can turn on a dime. As the old Frank Sinatra song says, “that’s life, riding high in April, shot down in May.” We’ve all experienced times in our lives when suddenly things turn south really fast. A job loss, a bad diagnosis, the death of a friend or loved one; Palm Sunday reminds us that God knows what it’s like to experience the fickleness of life and to suffer pain, sorrow, loss, and even death, painful death. We can take comfort in knowing that Jesus has experienced it all.

Palm Sunday also compensates for the fact that many people won’t be back in church until next Sunday. I urge you all to participate in the Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Great Vigil of Easter services to experience the full story of Holy Week. But for those who can’t, today allows us to enter into the death of Jesus before celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. I guess I should have given you a spoiler alert: now I’ve let the cat out of the bag, the story doesn’t end at the cross.

Each year we get to hear two different versions of the Passion Gospel. Today always uses the Gospel for the year, Matthew, Mark, or Luke, and Good Friday always uses John’s Gospel. The four Gospels give us somewhat different perspectives on the passion story, like being able to walk around a statue and examine it from different angles. Because we are in Year C, today we hear Luke’s version of the story.

Luke is probably my favorite Gospel, except of course when it is John, or sometimes Mark. I believe Luke records some of the greatest stories in the Gospels, stories that don’t explicitly appear in the other Gospels. What we have heard in Luke’s passion narrative reflects perfectly the unique stories that have preceded today’s events, perhaps most notably the parable of the Prodigal Son.

You know the story. The younger son demands his inheritance from his father, leaves for a distant land where he soon loses his money on wine, women, and song. He’s left feeding the pigs and starving to death. He decides to return home and beg his father’s forgiveness. The father runs to welcome him home, forgiving him before hearing his son’s confession. The father treats him as a returning hero, not the ungrateful bum he is. Extravagant and probably underserved love and forgiveness.

So it is with Jesus, caring enough to urge peace at his arrest and heal the ear that is cut off of the high priest’s slave. He doesn’t condemn Peter for denying him three times. Peter’s story is our story: how often do we deny Jesus by what we do or fail to do. Jesus forgives his executioners from the cross, as he forgives us. Jesus promises paradise to the thief, showing that no one is beyond saving. And of course Jesus dies, peacefully and prayerfully: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Extravagant and probably underserved love and forgiveness.

At the beginning of our service we heard how the people spread their cloaks on the road for Jesus to ride over on his donkey. Not a word about palm branches. If we only had Luke’s Gospel, we would probably call today Cloak Sunday. But here’s what we might not understand about the point of the cloaks. For many people in the ancient world, their cloak would have been there most valuable possession. They provided warmth, shelter, and protection. They were guarded carefully, mended as needed, and kept essentially forever. The people were literally giving up everything for Jesus when they laid their cloaks on the path as the donkey bearing Jesus approached Jerusalem and his ultimate sacrifice for us.

What are we willing to lay down, what are we prepared to give to Jesus, as he prepares to lay down his life for us? What is our response to Jesus’ extravagant love and forgiveness for us?

Today’s story ends with Jesus’ body lying in a tomb. But this story ends with a comma, not a period. I invite you to return next week for the rest of the story.

Amen.