Palm Sunday Sermon
Hosanna in the HighestMatthew 21:1-11
In the past decades, youth flock to rock concerts to listen to music and gather with similar minded folk.
My older son joins several thousand folk every summer at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin to hear the Dave Matthew's Band. My younger son joined with several hundred people to listen to Jon Mayer in Tinley Park.
Fifty-thousand people gathered at Woodstock in Bethel, New York, in August of 1969 to listen to three days of music and camp out. Many call this the greatest rock concert of all time.1
An older generation flocked to hear the Beatles in what was called the British invasion. I remember watching the Beatles first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.2
On February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly died in a plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa.3 Buddy Holly was one of those “rockers” that people went to see.
A friend in Ames, Iowa, lived across from the university arenas that housed large crowds. He said the two biggest crowds came to see Elvis Presley and Lawrence Welk (wunderful, wunderful).
For decades, country music lovers gather each Saturday night in Nashville for the Grand Ole Opry or listen to the show on WSM radio. I attended the “Opry” one Saturday night when I was in Nashville.
When I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, I went to see the Count Basie orchestra upon a mountain north of the Golden Gate Bridge and heard others like Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis. The crowds were smaller at these concerts in the late sixties.
About fifty or sixty years ago, some of you listened to the big bands like Glenn Miller, Harry James and the Dorsey brothers at several locations here in Chicago. The big bands generated large crowds and excitement
At the pastor’s Bible study on Tuesday, we said that the first Palm Sunday has over-tones of a modern-day rock concert. Please bear with me and keep an open mind. The first Palm Sunday gathered a crowd. The crowd, from my study, was much smaller than the crowd at Woodstock. The crowd showed excitement for Jesus who was the star attraction on that particular Sunday.
However, the Hebrews thought they wanted a Superman to solve the problems in Jerusalem and through out Israel. The first century Hebrews had no idea about a Superman.
Superman combated the “evil forces” in Metropolis in our time in comics, the movies and television. Jerusalem could have used comic heroes the likes of Superman, Batman or Captain Marvel, my favorite comic hero when I was a kid.
Jerusalem was a mess. The Hebrew nation became easy prey for the larger nations with big armies. The Babylonians marched through in 586 BC and destroyed the city. They dismantled the Temple, the cathedral of their religion. They captured the Jerusalem residents and marched them back to Babylon.
The Hebrews hoped for a Messiah, a super hero, to come and “fix” Jerusalem and Israel.
Jesus came not as a Batman and or a Superman. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. The donkey echoes the Old Testament where Zechariah proclaims in chapter 9, verse 9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”4
Jesus came humbly riding a donkey into Jerusalem. Scriptures call this “the triumphant entry.”
The crowd acted like a concert of today by being excited and taking off their clothing. The Palm Sunday crowd didn’t throw tee shirts and other things on the stage like they do at rock concerts. The participants took off their cloaks and spread them on the ground for Jesus’ donkey to walk on.
Others went to the trees and cut branches from the trees and waved them saying “ shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (21:9). Today’s concert goer waves objects and cheers, too.
The Bible texts give a “fuzzy” account of what was actually waved on the first Palm Sunday. Bible scholars tell us John is the one who talks about psalms. Luke does not mention branches. And, Matthew writes that branches were cut from trees.
The waving of branches, though, again echoes to an earlier time in Hebrew history. Let us return to Nehemiah. “The actions described by John resemble one of the standard processions of Tabernacles where the people carried twigs of myrtle, willow, and palm. Originally these were used in the construction of booths (Nehemiah 8:13-18). Later some of them, at least, were bound together into a sort of festal plume, called the lulab, to which a citron was also attached. The lulab was a symbol of rejoicing and was carried ceremonially during the daily singing of the Hallel (Psalms 113-118).”5 Remember the Psalms was the hymn book of the Hebrews. Branch waving was also a tradition from Hebrew religion.
As they waves their branches, they cried “Hosanna in the Highest” on that first Palm Sunday. Hosanna is “an expression of adoration, praise or joy.” Hosanna echoes again from the Old Testament, Psalms 118:25 which reads, “ Save us, we beseech you, O LORD! O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!” In human terms, the Hebrews wished for a superman to come and save them.
However, the Son of Man rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, an humble man. The crowds continued ahead of him shouting their “hosannas”.
The Palm Sunday texts stop here. The only part left is that Jesus’ parade raises some eyebrows in the City. The people clamor to find out what all of the commotion in town is about. The Hebrews don’t have the television evening news to tell them that the “so-called Messiah” rode in town on a donkey. In our world, we turn to instant media to find out what happened within The Loop. We have radio, television, the internet and cell phones to find out. In Jerusalem they find out by word of mouth. Jesus rode a donkey into town.
The text ends there. Neither Matthew, Mark, Luke or John tell us what happens after a parade. All of us know that after the parade or a rock concert, they had to clean up. On the First Palm Sunday, the cloaks had to be picked up. The branches must be cleaned off the street. And, some one has to clean up after the donkey.
One of my friends’ father walked in many parades with his organization. The mother always asked the dad when he got home, “Were you in front or behind the horses?”
The four gospels stop here after Jesus’ triumphant entry. All we have of the First Palm Sunday comes from the four gospel writers. We don’t have a scrapbook of photos that goers have of their last concert. We don’t have sound recordings like my son does of the Dave Matthews Concerts. You can’t buy a DVD of Palm Sunday like you can from “Woodstock” or the Grand Ole Opry. All we have is the account written in the Gospels.
What comes next? Stay tuned. Read the daily devotions that will come in your email in boxes. Worship with us on Maundy Thursday as we re-live the the Seder service in the Upper Room. Walk with us through the dark days of Good Friday at worship. Remember Jesus as we pray on Dark Saturday, as the creed says “he descended into hell.” Join with us as we celebrate the Resurrection on Easter Sunday at the 7:30 a.m. or the 9:30 a.m. service.
The first Palm Sunday was a loud one. There were cheers of “Hosanna in the Highest.” People took off their cloaks and laid them on the road. Jesus didn’t arrive in a lemo. He came astride a lowly donkey. He didn’t come flying with a cape flowing from behind like Superman. He didn’t chase the evil people from Jerusalem like Batman. Jesus came rather humbly to die on a cross that all human-kind might be saved. Amen.
Robert L. Hempel, M.Th.
Preached on March 16, 2008 (Palm Sunday)
Preached on March 16, 2008 (Palm Sunday)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
We Have Seen the Lord
Psalm 16, John 20:19-31
Psalm 16, John 20:19-31
I trust you had a good Easter. We had wonderful services here at St. Petri followed by a home-cooked meal at my home. Several of you said you had a good Easter, too. Children had Easter egg hunts and other family rituals.
By the second Sunday of Easter, Easter seems like a blur from the past. By now, the ham or egg salad sandwiches have disappeared from the kitchen table. A small portion of ham remains in the refrigerator at my house.
I remind you that the Church continues to celebrate Resurrection long after Easter Sunday is over, The Church celebrates Easter from March 23 until May 11, the Day of Pentecost.
The Introit that we sing during the Easter season captures the message of Easter
Easter is more than left overs from the Easter dinner. Easter represents a way of life by moving from death to joy, from sadness to rejoicing.
The verses of the Introit reflect the essence of Easter:
Verse One:
Yesterday I was bored and lonely; But today look and see!
I belong to the Easter People! Life’s exciting to me!
Because we are the Easter People, Christians are called to live in the joyous light of God’s love.
The ground for being the Easter People comes from today’s Gospel lesson, John 20:19-31.
The Risen Jesus appeared to the disciples twice in today’s Gospel lesson. The first is on the evening of the Resurrection, verses 19 to 23. The appearance occurred at Jerusalem. The second appearance in our Gospel takes place eight days later, verses 26-29, also in Jerusalem.1
I think his appearance must have been a thrilling and a scary experience. First, you don’t expect to see your dead friends show up uninvited for dinner. That would be like Pastor Hans Jacoby appearing here for worship this morning. Hans Jacoby served this church about 50 years ago. I’ll tell you that would scare the pants off of me if Jacoby showed up today.
On the other hand, the Risen Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdeline and the other Mary. Because of their relationship with Jesus, his presence thrilled them. The revered Master joined them again. What a joy for them.
To the first Easter people, three times the Risen Jesus tells them, “Peace be with you.” The Greek word for peace in John is eireneuo (e-i-r-e-n-e-u-o). Peace here means more than a casual hello. Peace means a very special, meaningful relationship between him and his disciples.
I suspect it was like an experience I had last summer with my seminary room mate whom I had seen in 45 years. It took Russ and I 15 seconds to reconnect with each other. We had a joyous time together visiting and eating New England seafood together.
The disciples had only been separated from Jesus for about three days in the first appearance and eleven days in the second appearance. Besides joining them for a meal, he ordains them to be Easter people. The Risen Christ breathes the Holy Spirit upon them.
A Bible scholar I read suggests “that the ‘peace’ of (God’s) kingdom is not primarily a personal, inner tranquility, but the way people and all creation and God will relate to each another -- a harmonious existence.”2
I was sent a story that has made its rounds on the internet. It seems to fit here by some strange quirk of mine.
“An atheist was walking through the woods. ‘What majestic trees’!
‘What powerful rivers’! ‘What beautiful animals’! He said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a seven-foot grizzly bear charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him.
He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.
“At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!’
“Time Stopped.
“The bear froze.
“The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. ‘You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.’ ‘Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer’?
“The atheist looked directly into the light, ‘It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?'
"’Very Well,’ said the voice.
“The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And, the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke:
“‘Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.’"3
Many of you know that our household inherited a stray Beagle, a year old dog. He was found in a school play ground one January night, dirty and covered with ice and snow. A family friend who found him gave him to us because his family couldn’t take care of him. My family named him Wrigley.
Wrigley was scared and wild when he came to us. I suspect he lived in a family where youth were kind to him and male of the family beat him. That was my hunch because of his behavior.
He had a rocky start with me. On Ash Wednesday, I came home from errands and found him chewing up my Bose headphones I got as a Christmas gift. He immediately got on the wrong side of me. Two days later he visited the vet. The vet found a severe ear infection and several other things wrong with him. He hides when he notices it is the time to clean his ears and put the medicine in them. I remember as a child my mother washed my ears. I didn’t like it either.
However, yesterday Wrigley and I spent the day together. I thought back how he and I grown to really love one another since Ash Wednesday. He is a different dog than my beloved miniature Dachshund, Abby. Wrigley and I have developed signals with each other. For example, he puts his foot in his bowl. That is Wrigley’s way of telling me he wants a drink.
I am beginning to find harmony with him. He slept at my feet while I wrote this section of my sermon.
The peace that Jesus talks about holds a loving existence with all this planet we call the world. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples. He gave the power to forgive sin and to withhold forgiveness.
Our introit supports our Gospel lesson. The theme of John’s gospel, “Love one another as I have loved you.” That’s the task of the Easter people. When everything goes smoothly in relationships, love is easy. When conflict comes, love becomes difficult and forgiveness becomes difficult.
God gave the Resurrection and the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Today in 2008, we are his disciples because of our baptism God breathed the Holy Spirit upon us. As the disciples we must respond by saying, “We have seen the Lord.”
By the second Sunday of Easter, Easter seems like a blur from the past. By now, the ham or egg salad sandwiches have disappeared from the kitchen table. A small portion of ham remains in the refrigerator at my house.
I remind you that the Church continues to celebrate Resurrection long after Easter Sunday is over, The Church celebrates Easter from March 23 until May 11, the Day of Pentecost.
The Introit that we sing during the Easter season captures the message of Easter
Ev’ry morning is Easter morning from now on!
Ev’ry day’s resurrection day, the past is over and gone!
Easter is more than left overs from the Easter dinner. Easter represents a way of life by moving from death to joy, from sadness to rejoicing.
The verses of the Introit reflect the essence of Easter:
Verse One:
Good-bye guilt, good-bye fear, good riddance! Hello, Lord, Hello, sun! I am one of the Easter People! My new life has begun!
Verse Two:Daily news is so bad it seems the Good News seldom gets heard.
Get it straight from the Easter People! God’s in charge spread the word!
Verse Three:Yesterday I was bored and lonely; But today look and see!
I belong to the Easter People! Life’s exciting to me!
Because we are the Easter People, Christians are called to live in the joyous light of God’s love.
The ground for being the Easter People comes from today’s Gospel lesson, John 20:19-31.
The Risen Jesus appeared to the disciples twice in today’s Gospel lesson. The first is on the evening of the Resurrection, verses 19 to 23. The appearance occurred at Jerusalem. The second appearance in our Gospel takes place eight days later, verses 26-29, also in Jerusalem.1
I think his appearance must have been a thrilling and a scary experience. First, you don’t expect to see your dead friends show up uninvited for dinner. That would be like Pastor Hans Jacoby appearing here for worship this morning. Hans Jacoby served this church about 50 years ago. I’ll tell you that would scare the pants off of me if Jacoby showed up today.
On the other hand, the Risen Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdeline and the other Mary. Because of their relationship with Jesus, his presence thrilled them. The revered Master joined them again. What a joy for them.
To the first Easter people, three times the Risen Jesus tells them, “Peace be with you.” The Greek word for peace in John is eireneuo (e-i-r-e-n-e-u-o). Peace here means more than a casual hello. Peace means a very special, meaningful relationship between him and his disciples.
I suspect it was like an experience I had last summer with my seminary room mate whom I had seen in 45 years. It took Russ and I 15 seconds to reconnect with each other. We had a joyous time together visiting and eating New England seafood together.
The disciples had only been separated from Jesus for about three days in the first appearance and eleven days in the second appearance. Besides joining them for a meal, he ordains them to be Easter people. The Risen Christ breathes the Holy Spirit upon them.
A Bible scholar I read suggests “that the ‘peace’ of (God’s) kingdom is not primarily a personal, inner tranquility, but the way people and all creation and God will relate to each another -- a harmonious existence.”2
I was sent a story that has made its rounds on the internet. It seems to fit here by some strange quirk of mine.
“An atheist was walking through the woods. ‘What majestic trees’!
‘What powerful rivers’! ‘What beautiful animals’! He said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a seven-foot grizzly bear charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him.
He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.
“At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!’
“Time Stopped.
“The bear froze.
“The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. ‘You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.’ ‘Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer’?
“The atheist looked directly into the light, ‘It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?'
"’Very Well,’ said the voice.
“The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And, the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke:
“‘Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.’"3
Many of you know that our household inherited a stray Beagle, a year old dog. He was found in a school play ground one January night, dirty and covered with ice and snow. A family friend who found him gave him to us because his family couldn’t take care of him. My family named him Wrigley.
Wrigley was scared and wild when he came to us. I suspect he lived in a family where youth were kind to him and male of the family beat him. That was my hunch because of his behavior.
He had a rocky start with me. On Ash Wednesday, I came home from errands and found him chewing up my Bose headphones I got as a Christmas gift. He immediately got on the wrong side of me. Two days later he visited the vet. The vet found a severe ear infection and several other things wrong with him. He hides when he notices it is the time to clean his ears and put the medicine in them. I remember as a child my mother washed my ears. I didn’t like it either.
However, yesterday Wrigley and I spent the day together. I thought back how he and I grown to really love one another since Ash Wednesday. He is a different dog than my beloved miniature Dachshund, Abby. Wrigley and I have developed signals with each other. For example, he puts his foot in his bowl. That is Wrigley’s way of telling me he wants a drink.
I am beginning to find harmony with him. He slept at my feet while I wrote this section of my sermon.
The peace that Jesus talks about holds a loving existence with all this planet we call the world. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples. He gave the power to forgive sin and to withhold forgiveness.
Our introit supports our Gospel lesson. The theme of John’s gospel, “Love one another as I have loved you.” That’s the task of the Easter people. When everything goes smoothly in relationships, love is easy. When conflict comes, love becomes difficult and forgiveness becomes difficult.
God gave the Resurrection and the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Today in 2008, we are his disciples because of our baptism God breathed the Holy Spirit upon us. As the disciples we must respond by saying, “We have seen the Lord.”
