Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Palm Sunday - C

5 Practices: Passionate Worship

Palm Sunday is known for the parade. Every year we begin Holy Week with a re-enactment of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem complete with a procession of palms and loud hosannas. However the gospel of Luke’s version of this story does not have palms or hosannas. Nor does Luke have the fickle crowds who adore Jesus today, but call for his crucifixion on Good Friday. The multitudes that cheered Jesus unto Jerusalem in the Gospel of Luke were his faithful disciples who had journeyed with him throughout his whole ministry. These were folks whose lives were forever changed by witnessing the deeds of the power of God through the miracles, exorcisms and teachings of Jesus. This ragtag group of sinners, lepers, tax collectors, women, fishermen, poor people and yes even some Pharisees came into Jerusalem in a makeshift royal procession setting their King Jesus on a donkey and laying out their ragged, sweat stained cloaks on the ground for him to ride in on.

I just want to give a nod here to our fifth week; and fifth practice: Passionate Worship.

When we speak of the word “passionate” we are describing an intense desire, an ardent spirit, strong feelings, and the sense of heightened importance. Passionate speaks of a connection that goes beyond intellectual consent. It connotes eagerness, anticipation, expectancy, deep commitment, and belief.

I would like to suggest to you that the one thing Jesus’ followers were as they entered Jerusalem that day was passionate.

These disciples had high expectations for their King Jesus. After living in oppression under the brutal power of the Roman occupation, they imagined that Jesus would restore the Davidic kingdom and chase the Roman army away with a cosmic force greater than any of their military might.

We know now, however, that Jesus’ power did not come from force; rather his power was peace and compassion.

Throughout his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus told his disciples several times that his way of peace was a threat to the powers of the day and that when he comes to Jerusalem, he would be killed those who feared him, the very powers and principalities that his disciples thought he would defeat. However Jesus also told them that in the end he would have the ultimate victory of life over death, but his disciples just couldn’t hear it. They could not wrap their heads around anything other than a military victory.

We remember that Jesus came into Jerusalem during the celebration of Passover. Every year at that time Jewish people from all over came into Jerusalem to celebrate the Exodus, the freedom of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt. Part of this celebration included a parade into the temple where they sang a song about a king victorious in warfare coming to the temple. This was their song in anticipation of the Messiah yet to come. As they drew near to the temple the pilgrims sang, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!” As they stood outside the gates of the temple they sang, “Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.”

As the pilgrims continued through the gates of the temple, the priests and choirs that surround the entry sang to them, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the House of the Lord.” And the pilgrims go into inner temple to give their sacrifices in thanksgiving to God.

Now – what we sometimes forget is that at the same time the religious pilgrims were parading into the temple there is a second parade coming into the temple on the west side. Pontius Pilate, the Roman Empire’s representative entered into the temple in order to “keep the peace” in the city Jerusalem during the turbulent time of Passover. His troops with shields, spears and brute power were moved in to take control of the crowds and show them who was really in charge.

But no amount of intimidation is going to dim the passion in these followers…. They dance and sing and parade into the East side of the Temple… singing…

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”

The disciples as usual were clueless as they sang and danced around Jesus. They had no idea that their celebration would lead to the cross. However some in the crowd, the Pharisees knew exactly what would happen if the Jesus parade clashed with the religious procession or worse yet the military parade. So they gave him a friendly warning, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” They wanted Jesus to tell the disciples to tone it down so as to keep everyone safe from harm.

However Jesus responded by telling them, “if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” He was telling them, if you try and stop me, God, the one who is real peace will come to set things right…

Even the stones would cry out, would worship… there is a time and a place for us to be passionate about what we believe, even when there are risks…

Passionate Worship means worship that connects people to God, worship that people enter into with expectancy, and with the anticipation that God desires to speak to them and connect to them. Whether traditional, blended, or contemporary, Passionate Worship is authentic, connecting, and sustaining.

You see, the soldiers, Pilate, they were there for the wrong reason – their parade did not connect them to anything spiritual that would bring them to a better understanding of the world. I would suggest to you that that meant the real power was in the hands of the disciples – who risked that they might have that closer and deeper relationship with God.

Where are you in the crowd?

Are you that passionate about your faith that you are willing to journey on from here, no matter what the risks? Do you believe that God is calling us to take those first steps along the dusty roads that lead to confrontation with the powers of this world?

Jesus was the king “who has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly…filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.”

He was the king of outcasts and sinners, of you and me… so this day, this week, this year, let us passionately reclaim our faith that God is in charge and that God’s justice will always reign and that not even the violence of brutal armies or even nails on a cross can contain God’s aim of abundant life for all of God’s creation.
May it be so.

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