Palm Sunday 2018

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!

2 Let Israel say ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through the and give thanks to the LORD.

Exciting days in Jerusalem: something was going on: Upsurge of Nationalism: perhaps now they could get their independence from Rome.

And the celebration is in full swing – but for those Jews living in Jerusalem the party were a week early – this was just a foretaste of what is to come!

I smiled when I saw a few extracts from - It’ll be all right on the night as the family gathered round –

As each morning I stole an hour or so away to the quietness of the study and my sanctuary to make ready for today. The reading – studying – praying – the listening – it will be all right.

The guests arrived on time, and soon the party was in full swing. The little nibbles, a whole variety of tasty little morsels, were delicious. The wine sparkled in the glasses. A lovely smell wafted through from the kitchen; clearly there was a major treat in store. The decorations made an already attractive room look like a fairy palace. How easy it was for the guests, enjoying one another’s company and a good evening out, to take it all for granted.

I caught my wife’s eye. Yes, it was good they were all here. We were glad to do it. But only she and I knew—and only she really knew—what it had taken to bring us to that point. The butcher had let us down, and an emergency dash to another shop had only just come up with the goods on time. The fridge hadn’t been working properly, and she had worried all night that everything that should have been cold and crisp would be warm and soggy. I had blown the house’s main fuse in putting up the extra lights. And in the middle of it all the key person who had kindly volunteered to help make all the little extras had gone down with the flu. The surface glitter of the party nicely covered over the days and hours when it felt as though we were pushing water uphill with our bare hands.[1]

Our reading this morning – selections of

13 other verses that paint a different picture

Palm Sunday – the prelude to the real thing – but missing out those 13 verses is like trying to have a party without the preparation.

The party is great, but it’s the preparation that counts:

Too many rely on Auntie Bessie – the bird’s eye and the Find us

Without the preparation – the party isn’t going to happen!

Yes, the party will be wonderful: the gates of righteousness,

the gate of the Lord, will open and let in the pilgrims;

the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone; this is the day the Lord has made;

blessed in the name of the Lord is the one who comes;

give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever!

Absolutely.

That’s God’s party.

That’s what a genuine festival ought to look like and feel like. That’s what the crowds at Passover time wanted, and they were right to want it.[2]

But Jesus was living through verse 5 – 18 – sometimes this is where we are living –

Psalms can be used as a prayer book

How do we pray – Psalms are full of prayers – see us as we really are

Others have passed this way before

Out of my distress I called on the Lord.’ ‘It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’

‘I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.’

‘The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.’ Except that Jesus went further and deeper.

His preparation for the ultimate festival meant that, having taken refuge in the Lord, he ended up crying out that God had forsaken him.

He put his confidence in the Lord, but the princes strung him up anyway.

He was pushed hard, and fell, and nothing happened except more beating.

He was punished severely, and he was indeed given over to death.

The Psalmist knows that you only get to the joy of the festival by living through the pain and anguish of distress, opposition, danger and sorrow.

Jesus knew that he would only arrive at it by drinking those horrible cups to the dregs.[3]

Palm Sunday – a bittersweet moment

They enjoyed the moment – but between now and Easter Sunday – theres a whole lot of living to do –

Valleys to walk through

Bridges to traverse

Rivers to navigate

Mountains to climb

Moments of doubt and fear and trial

The climax of this week for many will be Friday

Sometimes we are so good remembering the death and passion of the Lord – forget the festival

Let’s keep the Psalm, and this coming week, in balance, and so prepare the ground by following Jesus all the way to Calvary that Easter, when it comes, will be the proper,

thorough,

well-grounded outburst of praise that it ought to be:

the day the Lord has made, in which we will indeed rejoice and be glad.[4]

[1] Wright, T. (2012). Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B (p. 146). London: SPCK.

[2] Wright, T. (2012). Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B (p. 147). London: SPCK.

[3] Wright, T. (2012). Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B (p. 147). London: SPCK.

[4] Wright, T. (2012). Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B (p. 148). London: SPCK.