Palm Sunday 04/05/09 Text: Philippians 2:5-11 Title: Following Jesus to the Cross

Palm Sunday
04/05/09
Text: Philippians 2:5-11
Title: Following Jesus to the Cross
As we marched in this morning waving our palm branches and shouting hosannas I began to wonder; how many, of all the Christians doing what we did this morning, actually believe what they are saying as they entered their respective congregations. How many of them think that Jesus is going to be an earthly king someday freeing Christians and the Jewish people from the evil people of the world?
That day so long ago when Jesus entered the city the people that escorted him into the city thought him to be the Messiah, the promised king that would restore Israel to all of its glory. That is what they thought and when he did do as they wanted the shouts turned from hosanna to crucify.
Now there is no doubt that not all the people wanted him to be murdered. There were those who followed him and loved him. They mourned his treatment and death. They had lost their Messiah.
But I believe that, because Passover was less than a week away, there were thousands of people who did not know what was going on or cared about Jesus. They were more interested, if they were citizens of Jerusalem, in getting ready for the huge crowd coming in to the city. And if they were not getting ready for the crowd they were getting ready for the Passover, one of the required festivals. If you were an Israelite you attended the services of Passover even if you did not practice Judaism any other time.
I don’t think it is any different now than then. There are those that consider themselves to be Christians that consider that they are in God’s good graces if they belong to a church and attend two services a year; Easter and Christmas. That is all they need to do.
While we rejoice when they come, always hopeful that this year they will start attending regular worship, they usually don’t. I think the problem is that those who don’t attend regular worship only hear the good news of Jesus’ birth. Then, they only hear of his resurrection at Easter and nothing in between. They just don’t know Jesus.
But, I wonder how many of those that attend worship services on a regular basis really know Jesus? How many really believe in him as their Savior trusting in him for their salvation, but do not trust in him to care for them in their daily lives. I leave that up to God.
I am not sure they really know him because so many Christians miss the two most wonderful services of the year; Maundy Thursday, Maundy by the way, means command, as in the command of Jesus to love each other. And Good Friday which it is thought to have come from God’s Friday; that time when we observe Christ’s crucifixion, for it was, even though those there that afternoon did not know it, God’s day.
Paul in writing to the Philippians might have been dealing with the same problem that we have today. People, that is, followers of Christ were not living the life of Christ. They did not see the connection between being saved and living a life of servant-hood.
So Paul in what is thought of as being an early confession of faith for the Christian Church tells the people of Philippi who Jesus is. These few verses as they are found in our Epistle reading for this morning tell really the entire story of Jesus.
This is what I mean. Paul is telling them, and thus us, that Jesus is God, even though he was born in a natural way. He is not just God or just a human man, he is 100% God and 100% human. And since he is God while he is a human he could have used his Godhood to glorify himself.
He willingly chose not to live as the glorified God, which he had a right to do, and which he did in and after his resurrection, so that he could accomplish his task of salvation. To do this, he had to live as a human. He had to develop in his mother’s womb. He had to be born. He had to grow up physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually just as we do. He had to be tempted. He had to have opportunities to not trust in God to care for him, to not carry out his promises. And in living his life, as a human he perfectly obeyed God, trusting in him to do what he promised. He had to do that and he did, all of it, not for himself, but for his human creation that could not do what did. He did it all, not out of his God-hood, but out of humanness. He had to do it out of his humanness, for us to be assured of our salvation, resurrection, and eternal life in the new heaven and earth when he ends this world as we know it.
That is wonderful news indeed, but why is that we, as a people, still don’t live our lives in servant-hood. There could be many reasons, but I believe that the whole “I accept Christ” attitude that is so popular today, is to blame, for it makes Jesus stand as a beggar hat-in-hand awaiting our verdict on him, instead of our kneeling with troubled hearts awaiting his verdict on us. It may even permit us to accept Christ by an impulse of mind or emotions, painlessly, at no loss to our ego and no inconvenience to our usual way of life.…
To accept Christ in this manner is to form only an, intellectual, and emotional attachment to the Jesus. While this sounds good at first glance I would say that those who accept Christ in this manner will be in deep spiritual trouble before long, for they have formed Jesus in their own image.
Today we have begun the journey of Holy Week, a period when we have the opportunity to reflect upon our sinful lives and how we have failed to follow Jesus as he would have us follow him. Today we have a choice to make. What will it be? Will it be like any other week, or will we choose to follow Jesus, as he journeys through the joy, the sorrow, the pain of this week?
Christ has shown us the way. Jesus lived his life for others. He was never self absorbed, but always sought to give of himself in order to assist others. Jesus made every effort to give of himself so others would benefit. He reached out to the dispossessed and was always willing to welcome back the lost and those who had abandoned him. He forgave Peter when, as we will see this very week, his chosen disciple denied his best friend on three occasions. Jesus does not force us into mindless compliance. Rather he invites us to follow his journey, leading to death, but eventually to life eternal.
The path we must follow as a people of God can be quite difficult, but it is clear. Jesus is the suffering servant that the prophet Isaiah prophesied about some 700 years before Jesus’ birth. Jesus is the one who was prophesied to be abused and mocked by others, rejected and spurned, even as he is the God and man that Saint Paul wrote of in his letter to the Philippians; the one who, although God, put aside his divinity to be a 100% human and experience death on a cross.
Yes, it is this suffering servant, this God-man who enters Jerusalem today. It is this same one who in his eating the Passover meal with his disciples makes a new covenant and then willing chooses death to gain the freedom and salvation of sinful humanity. He is the innocent Lamb of God, the final sacrifice. He, although hated by those that murdered him that day is the same Jesus that rose and brought to all people for all time salvation.
Jesus’ birth, his life, and his journey to death and resurrection give us hope in this lifetime. Not a hope, of maybe it is really true, but a sure hope, a hope born in cruelty and death that says, despite what appears to be a paradox, that life can only come from death.
Are you willing to continue the Lenten journey with Jesus to the end? If you decide to follow him to the cross this week, then you too will find good through evil, triumph through defeat, and life through death.
I know for many of you, you have to drive a distance, and it is hard, for others there our children, and for others social events, and favorite television programs to watch. I know that there are those distractions, but I would urge you to attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services, for it is those services that you will see the real Jesus, not as you might want him, but as he is, not as people want him to be, a friend, a healer, a get a blessing if you give seed money kind of guy, but as he is, your Lord and Savior, and in the process you will find true life, life without end. Let us follow Jesus through his suffering and death, ending up on Sunday morning with his resurrection which gives us the sure hope of our own resurrection and eternal life with God. Hosanna, hosanna to the Lord. Amen

Palm Sunday 04/05/09 Text: Philippians 2:5-11 Title: Following Jesus to the Cross

Palm Sunday
04/05/09
Text: Philippians 2:5-11
Title: Following Jesus to the Cross
As we marched in this morning waving our palm branches and shouting hosannas I began to wonder; how many, of all the Christians doing what we did this morning, actually believe what they are saying as they entered their respective congregations. How many of them think that Jesus is going to be an earthly king someday freeing Christians and the Jewish people from the evil people of the world?
That day so long ago when Jesus entered the city the people that escorted him into the city thought him to be the Messiah, the promised king that would restore Israel to all of its glory. That is what they thought and when he did do as they wanted the shouts turned from hosanna to crucify.
Now there is no doubt that not all the people wanted him to be murdered. There were those who followed him and loved him. They mourned his treatment and death. They had lost their Messiah.
But I believe that, because Passover was less than a week away, there were thousands of people who did not know what was going on or cared about Jesus. They were more interested, if they were citizens of Jerusalem, in getting ready for the huge crowd coming in to the city. And if they were not getting ready for the crowd they were getting ready for the Passover, one of the required festivals. If you were an Israelite you attended the services of Passover even if you did not practice Judaism any other time.
I don’t think it is any different now than then. There are those that consider themselves to be Christians that consider that they are in God’s good graces if they belong to a church and attend two services a year; Easter and Christmas. That is all they need to do.
While we rejoice when they come, always hopeful that this year they will start attending regular worship, they usually don’t. I think the problem is that those who don’t attend regular worship only hear the good news of Jesus’ birth. Then, they only hear of his resurrection at Easter and nothing in between. They just don’t know Jesus.
But, I wonder how many of those that attend worship services on a regular basis really know Jesus? How many really believe in him as their Savior trusting in him for their salvation, but do not trust in him to care for them in their daily lives. I leave that up to God.
I am not sure they really know him because so many Christians miss the two most wonderful services of the year; Maundy Thursday, Maundy by the way, means command, as in the command of Jesus to love each other. And Good Friday which it is thought to have come from God’s Friday; that time when we observe Christ’s crucifixion, for it was, even though those there that afternoon did not know it, God’s day.
Paul in writing to the Philippians might have been dealing with the same problem that we have today. People, that is, followers of Christ were not living the life of Christ. They did not see the connection between being saved and living a life of servant-hood.
So Paul in what is thought of as being an early confession of faith for the Christian Church tells the people of Philippi who Jesus is. These few verses as they are found in our Epistle reading for this morning tell really the entire story of Jesus.
This is what I mean. Paul is telling them, and thus us, that Jesus is God, even though he was born in a natural way. He is not just God or just a human man, he is 100% God and 100% human. And since he is God while he is a human he could have used his Godhood to glorify himself.
He willingly chose not to live as the glorified God, which he had a right to do, and which he did in and after his resurrection, so that he could accomplish his task of salvation. To do this, he had to live as a human. He had to develop in his mother’s womb. He had to be born. He had to grow up physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually just as we do. He had to be tempted. He had to have opportunities to not trust in God to care for him, to not carry out his promises. And in living his life, as a human he perfectly obeyed God, trusting in him to do what he promised. He had to do that and he did, all of it, not for himself, but for his human creation that could not do what did. He did it all, not out of his God-hood, but out of humanness. He had to do it out of his humanness, for us to be assured of our salvation, resurrection, and eternal life in the new heaven and earth when he ends this world as we know it.
That is wonderful news indeed, but why is that we, as a people, still don’t live our lives in servant-hood. There could be many reasons, but I believe that the whole “I accept Christ” attitude that is so popular today, is to blame, for it makes Jesus stand as a beggar hat-in-hand awaiting our verdict on him, instead of our kneeling with troubled hearts awaiting his verdict on us. It may even permit us to accept Christ by an impulse of mind or emotions, painlessly, at no loss to our ego and no inconvenience to our usual way of life.…
To accept Christ in this manner is to form only an, intellectual, and emotional attachment to the Jesus. While this sounds good at first glance I would say that those who accept Christ in this manner will be in deep spiritual trouble before long, for they have formed Jesus in their own image.
Today we have begun the journey of Holy Week, a period when we have the opportunity to reflect upon our sinful lives and how we have failed to follow Jesus as he would have us follow him. Today we have a choice to make. What will it be? Will it be like any other week, or will we choose to follow Jesus, as he journeys through the joy, the sorrow, the pain of this week?
Christ has shown us the way. Jesus lived his life for others. He was never self absorbed, but always sought to give of himself in order to assist others. Jesus made every effort to give of himself so others would benefit. He reached out to the dispossessed and was always willing to welcome back the lost and those who had abandoned him. He forgave Peter when, as we will see this very week, his chosen disciple denied his best friend on three occasions. Jesus does not force us into mindless compliance. Rather he invites us to follow his journey, leading to death, but eventually to life eternal.
The path we must follow as a people of God can be quite difficult, but it is clear. Jesus is the suffering servant that the prophet Isaiah prophesied about some 700 years before Jesus’ birth. Jesus is the one who was prophesied to be abused and mocked by others, rejected and spurned, even as he is the God and man that Saint Paul wrote of in his letter to the Philippians; the one who, although God, put aside his divinity to be a 100% human and experience death on a cross.
Yes, it is this suffering servant, this God-man who enters Jerusalem today. It is this same one who in his eating the Passover meal with his disciples makes a new covenant and then willing chooses death to gain the freedom and salvation of sinful humanity. He is the innocent Lamb of God, the final sacrifice. He, although hated by those that murdered him that day is the same Jesus that rose and brought to all people for all time salvation.
Jesus’ birth, his life, and his journey to death and resurrection give us hope in this lifetime. Not a hope, of maybe it is really true, but a sure hope, a hope born in cruelty and death that says, despite what appears to be a paradox, that life can only come from death.
Are you willing to continue the Lenten journey with Jesus to the end? If you decide to follow him to the cross this week, then you too will find good through evil, triumph through defeat, and life through death.
I know for many of you, you have to drive a distance, and it is hard, for others there our children, and for others social events, and favorite television programs to watch. I know that there are those distractions, but I would urge you to attend Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services, for it is those services that you will see the real Jesus, not as you might want him, but as he is, not as people want him to be, a friend, a healer, a get a blessing if you give seed money kind of guy, but as he is, your Lord and Savior, and in the process you will find true life, life without end. Let us follow Jesus through his suffering and death, ending up on Sunday morning with his resurrection which gives us the sure hope of our own resurrection and eternal life with God. Hosanna, hosanna to the Lord. Amen