Palm Sunday 24 March 2024 - Stepped, as he had to, forward

I’m not normally one to read poetry. But, I was flicking through a magazine the other day (not woman’s weekly - another illustrious magazine called ‘Journal for Preachers’, and the opening sentence of the first article declared that “Preachers should read more poems and fewer commentaries. A great poem can jolt your faith.”

Given that I hadn’t a clue what I was going to preach on today (there are only so many angles you can take on Palm Sunday!) I thought I may as well give it a go and see where the Spirit might lead me. A cheeky google for Palm Sunday poems lead me to this poem by the Pulitzer prize winning poet, Mary Oliver, entitled ‘The poet thinks about the donkey”

On the outskirts of Jerusalem the donkey waited. Not especially brave, or filled with understanding, he stood and waited.

How horses, turned out into the meadow,    leap with delight! How doves, released from their cages,    clatter away, splashed with sunlight.

But the donkey, tied to a tree as usual, waited. Then he let himself be led away. Then he let the stranger mount.

Never had he seen such crowds! And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen. Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.

I hope, finally, he felt brave. I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him, as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.

Mary Oliver

Fear not, nor be dismayed, I’m not going to dig in to the anthropomorphism of the donkey - but those last six words shone like a beacon from my computer screen and have been rattling around my heart as I’ve journeyed through this week - stepped, as he had to, forward.

While the crowds were spreading their cloaks and palm branches on the road in front of Jesus on the donkey, and shouting ‘Hosanna’ and celebrating the coming kingdom of their father David, it is all too easy to get swept away with the celebration and hope of the moment and forget that Jesus knew what was coming for him (he’s already tried to tell his disciples three times!). Yet Jesus, like the donkey in Mary Oliver’s poem “stepped, as he had to, forward.”

In our Lent studies small groups this week we’ve been looking at John 16 - and in particular we’ve been looking at the paradox of experiencing grief and joy at the same time. The study focussed us particularly on verses 21 and 22, where Jesus compares his death and resurrection to a woman giving birth.

John 16:21 NET 2nd ed.

When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world.

The video that partners with the study this week features Emily Spence, a friend of ours, who is one of the co-priests in charge at All Saints Hataitai. In it she talked about how people don’t tend to think or talk about labour until they’re pregnant - and that’s when all the stories about other mother’s labours come out, and you’re left with the knowledge that you have to give birth somehow - that’s just inevitable, but then you have this beautiful thing that comes after it. Despite the pain and anxiety of the moment, in childbirth a woman too steps, as she has to, forward.

Last week Bishop Justin preached on the power of the resurrection - and unpacked how there is always another, more glorious, way forward, even if what we are facing feels insurmountable. Thanks to the resurrection we know that even death is not the end of the story.

But the thing that stood out to me most was Justin’s statement that the disciples were not exactly brave people - but thanks to the power of the resurrection they went on to share the good news, baptise and heal people - and most endured their own torturous deaths. They stepped, as they had to, forward. Yet there is a deep irony for us who know and love Jesus and trust his promises, that sharing our faith with others can feel an insurmountable challenge. The fear of exposing ourselves in this way can feel so perilous that we choose to keep our mouths shut and instead live lives that we hope will reflect Jesus to others. But the truth is that we ARE called to share our faith - to make disciples of all nations. Even if we are like the donkey, not especially brave or filled with understanding, we are called to step, as we have to, forward.

One of the most painfully inspiring things is talking with Jesus followers who know they are facing death. I had the privilege of doing this with Ray late last week. The first time I had this kind of conversation was nearly a decade ago with my good friend Lisette Wesseling. Lisette was a remarkable woman who died aged just 44 from a rare and aggressive cancer. Lisette was one of the most gifted sopranos I’ve ever had the privilege of working with, and was blind from birth. I remember one conversation I had with her a few months before she died - idle chitchat turned to her talking about how being blind wasn’t really a barrier for her - but it was her stutter that caused her the most embarrassment and anxiety. Then all of a sudden she blurted out “You know, I’m not afraid of dying. I know it’s not the end - Jesus is with me.” Even facing the inevitable uncertainty of her death, Lisette stepped, as she had to, forward.

And that is the power of the resurrection. Even death is not the end. And just as all of scripture, right from the beginning of the Old Testament, points towards Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection - it also points towards that glorious day when Jesus will return, and the world is restored to the way it was in the beginning - when the new Jerusalem descends, possessing the glory of God - and there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain - for these things will cease to exist.

When we are facing what seems to be insurmountable, whether it’s childbirth, illness, death, loss of a job or a loved one, grief about what is happening around the world, sharing your faith with someone else - or whatever it is that hangs like a millstone around your neck - these are the promises to cling to. Cast off that millstone and wear the yoke of Jesus - his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Remember that we too have access to the resurrection power of Jesus - and that our eternally faithful God - creator, redeemer, and giver of life - promises that the world he created at first will be restored. Cling to those promises, and step, as you have to, forward.

We’re going to take a few minutes in silence to reflect on what has been stirring within you, and where God is calling you today, then we’ll sing together to close.

- Ngatiawa we trust in God’s unfailing love