Palm Sunday

March 29                    NOTES FOR REFLECTION                         Palm Sunday

Texts: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47

Theme: This will very much depend on the practice of your local faith community.  The annual dilemma of having Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday effectively rolled into one means that insufficient attention is given to "The Triumphal Entry".  However, the value of reading the entire Passion narrative as the overture to Holy Week is immense.  Take your pick.  Probably the theme should be "The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ".  But for these Notes, focusing more on the Entry into Jerusalem, I'm going for "The Great Intruder".

Introduction.  Isaiah sets the tone for all that is to come in the next few days, but begins in a very interesting place: the gifts of a teacher are an articulate tongue and a listening ear, and the courage to keep teaching no matter what opponents may do in response.  Undergirding all that is faith in God who will vindicate the teacher.  [Clue: Jesus was known as "Rabbi" (Teacher) and was ultimately put to death for his teaching and his refusal to stop.]  The second lesson has a sting in the head instead of the more usual tail.  "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus" – that is, the mind of humility, of a total dedication to the needs of others, and an acceptance of the consequences up to and including death on a cross.  How all this plays out in practice is the subject of "The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Mark".

Background.  If we were to focus our attention on the so-called "Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem" what would we make of it?  How might we describe it?  What might it remind us of?  A street parade for a successful sports team returning in triumph with the much-coveted trophy, perhaps?  A graduation parade through the streets of Dunedin?  A cross-between Mardi Gras and St Patrick's Day celebrations?  Whatever image comes to mind the central question remains the same: what is Jesus doing there?  What, in other words, is the point of Palm Sunday from the perspective of our faith as Christians?

The more I pondered this question the more a curious idea kept coming to me: Jesus is the Great Intruder.  But what could that mean?

Well, let's step back a bit and think of what is happening this weekend.  It is unlikely that those who scheduled the dates of the Cricket World Cup gave much thought to the religious significance of next Sunday, but there it is: the cup final is to be played on Palm Sunday.  Equally, the Prime Minister, in fixing the date for the Northland by-election, probably did not consider the date of Palm Sunday when choosing the date of the by-election, but the fact is that it is to be held on the eve of Palm Sunday.  So somewhere in between those two events – both of great interest to many of us within and outside the church – Jesus arrives at the Holy City riding on a donkey.  Does that matter?  Do we notice?  Do we care?  Or is the outcome of the by-election or the cricket final of far greater interest to us?  And when I say "us" let's be clear that I mean "Christians".  Do we welcome our Lord into all circumstances of our lives, or do we sometimes feel that he is intruding?  Is Jesus The Great Intruder?

Two unrelated stories added layers to this pondering this week.  The first was an article in this week's ODT World Focus from Sweden about the controversial Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom.  It seems that Sweden is the world's 12^th biggest arms exporter, and one of its most important clients is Saudi Arabia.  Under a defence accord between the two countries Swedish firms had made $NZ758 million in 2011-14, but Sweden has now cancelled it because of Saudi Arabia's record on human rights, specifically its attitude towards women, and its recent sentencing of a blogger to a thousand lashes.  Far from being penitent, Ms Wallstrom is quoted as saying: "I won't back down over my statements on women's rights, democracy and that one shouldn't flog bloggers."  It does not appear that Ms Wallstrom is motivated be any religious faith – her principles are based on classic human rights grounds – but the result is the same.  She is accused of intruding into the business interests of Sweden.

Of particular interest to me was the little paragraph towards the end of the article suggesting that one consequence of her stand may be that Sweden will "fail to win enough votes to be a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council".  Dear me!  How naive this woman must be to upset the business and political elite of her day by insisting on human rights for all, women as well as men, Saudis as well as Swedes.  History tells us that it is not those who claim to be Christians who end up on the cross: it is those who follow Christ's teaching, whether knowingly or not.

The second thing that caught my attention this week was the priority given in news bulletins to the Black Caps' win in the Cup semi-final over all other items of news.  So after several minutes of interviews with people who were related to Grant Elliott, or had been at school with him, or knew someone who had once danced with someone who knew his mother (okay I made that last one up), we learned that a plane had crashed in the French Alps with the loss of all 150 people on board, including two babies and a party of German school children returning from a school trip.  Did anyone in the various newsrooms consider for one moment that the tragic loss of so many lives was more important than Grant Elliott's heroics?  Would it have been different if the plane had crashed in New Zealand, with the loss of 150 New Zealanders?  And, if so, why?

Jesus, the Great Intruder, arrives at the city gates.  Everyone in the city is busy gearing up for a trading bonanza – accommodation, and all other goods and services, are literally at a premium.  The city fathers are drooling in anticipation – an event like this can pour millions into the local economy.  The Temple staff are rushing to make last minute arrangements – the moneylenders, the providers of animals and birds for sacrifice, the priests and Levites, the Temple guards and others in the security business; all have their plans in place.

Not now, Jesus!  Not while the city is busy.  Not while the votes are being counted!  Not while the cricket's on!

Isaiah 50:4-9.  The third of the so-called Servant Songs emphasises the suffering that the Servant will undergo for his faithfulness to God.  The only previous reference to this came in 49:7.  As noted above, it seems to start in a rather strange place, but verse 4 is to be understood as a response to the Lord's complaints in the preceding verses, especially in verse 2: Why was no one there when I came?  Why did no one answer when I called?  Israel has given up on the Lord, turned away from him, no longer sure of God's love for them or his willingness to come to their aid.  The Servant is everything Israel isn't.  When God calls he listens.   He hears God's word day by day and teaches it to others.  He suffers for his obedience: Israel suffers for its disobedience.  He is convinced of the lord's love for him, nearness to him, and willingness to protect and vindicate him.  Far from being cowed by the abuse he suffers he is emboldened and challenges his accusers to bring it on.  They will not prevail.

Taking It Personally.

• The first challenge is to start each day in listening prayer.  Do you?
• Are you a listener?  Are you more likely to listen than to speak?  Do you really "hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church", or does your mind wander off while the lessons are being read in the service?
• Do you have "the tongue of a teacher"?    If so, do you use it for that purpose?  If you do not have such a tongue, what sort of tongue do you have?  Do you most often use it to build up or knock down, to encourage or belittle?  Do you have the tongue of a wise person or a critic?  Are you in control of your tongue or does it get away from you on occasions?
• Have you ever suffered because of your faith?  If someone criticises your faith, how do you respond?

 

Philippians 2:6-11.  This great hymn of the Lord's humility is one of the more famous passages in St Paul's writings, on a par with his great ode to love in 1 Corinthians 13 but probably not as much loved.  It's too scary to be popular.  It visualises the Son of God in free-fall.  He starts from heaven and falls down and then further down.  He sets aside his divine status to become fully human; in terms of human society he takes the lowest possible status, that of a slave; and then accepts in death the status of a convicted felon under God's curse.  In a world where upward mobility is promoted as the way to the good life, Jesus embodies downward mobility in its most extreme form.  That is the only way to honour and glory in God's kingdom.  And, we are told at the start of this passage, we should have the same mindset on this matter as Christ did.

 

Taking It Personally.

 

• This passage is particularly good preparation for Good Friday.  Read it slowly, preferable aloud, each day from now until then.  Let it soak into you.
• Let it challenge any element of pride, ambition or envy that may be in you.  Use it for a spiritual stock-take as you enter Holy Week.
• Spend some time in prayer, repeating the mantra "Jesus Christ is Lord".  In what way is it true that Jesus is the lord of your life?

 

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Mark.  Hopefully you belong to a faith community where the whole story (from 14:1 through to 15:47) will be read on Sunday, and read well.  Listen to it as carefully and intently as you can – not with your brain but with your heart.  Don't let your brain side-track you with clever ideas, or questions, or speculations.  Enter into the whole journey step by step.  Hear the plotting and mutterings, and the fear, among the religious elite as the Festival draws near.

 

Go with Jesus to Bethany: watch as the woman approaches Jesus and anoints him.  Hear the uproar this causes, even as you smell the sweet perfume of the nard.  See the expression on Jesus' face as he accepts her love, and his change of expression as he rebukes her critics.  Be aware of your feelings as you hear of Judas' betrayal.  Walk on through the practical interlude as the mundane details for the Passover meal are made, and the shocking disclosure that Jesus makes to his disciples that one of their own number is about to betray him.  Hear the protestations of them all.

 

Listen to the blessed words of the Eucharist, immediately followed by the hollow bluster of Peter.  How well Jesus knows him!  Spend time with Jesus in Gethsemane and enter into his anxiety and personal struggle.  Watch as he is arrested and subjected to trumped-up charges before the ruling council. Stand in the cold dark court-yard and hear Peter's fear as he denies even knowing Jesus, and hear that awful crowing of the cock.

 

As the darkness gives way to morning, follow again as Jesus is brought before Pilate,  Watch as that hapless man gives up what little shred of conscience he might still have had in favour of a quiet life.    Hear the mocking cries of the lynch mob.

 

And walk on to the cross.  Watch the final acts of barbarism inflicted on Jesus' shattered body.  Wait at the cross until death ends his torment.

 

THEN TAKE IT ALL VERY PERSONALLY INDEED.