The Refrain

Introduction: The Album vs. The Single

I’ve been thinking a lot about music lately, and the way music comes together.

One of my favorite musical experiences growing up is when my dad gave me the cassette tape of Tommy by the Who.

First of all, as a drummer, Keith Moon is absurdly good.

I absolutely loved the idea of a whole album having a single idea, one story to tell, no matter how many songs it took to tell it.

When I would tell the youth group kids that I was listening to Tommy and calling it research, they looked at me like I had three heads.

But just about anyone else I told, I would get the same response.

Tommy can you hear me?

It’s this beautiful refrain throughout the whole musical. They bring it back in different keys, different meters, different voices, but it’s always there.

When the tape had gone the way of the dodo, and it came time for the CD to rule the earth, Tommy was actually one of the first albums I spent my own hard earned money on.

When the tape had gone the way of the dodo, and it came time for the CD to rule the earth, Tommy was actually one of the first albums I spent my own hard earned money on.

But then a few months ago a friend was talking with me and noted that our kids would likely never have the conversation that so many of us had about which album they first bought with their own money.

We have so many streaming services now, it’s just easier to pay the 14 bucks a month and have access to any album you want.

A few months ago we were interviewing a young Christian hip hop artist for the J and Ed Variety Cast (wherever you get your podcasts!) and he told us something fascinating.

Now artists get paid by play, not by album.

So it almost makes no financial sense for an artist to put so much time and effort in to a whole album, let alone a concept album like Tommy, because you can make more money putting out a single every month or so.

Two Parades

Scholars believe that around this passover festival, there would have been two different processions:

From the west would come the Governor, a guy by the name of Pilate.

Pilate would have rolled out the red carpet for himself.

He would be surrounded by soldiers, chariots, weapons, and guards.

Think of one of those military parades you see coming from other nations like North Korea.

Pilate himself would have had a royal mode of transportation.

The finest horses, the most glimering chariots, anything to make himself look powerful.

As the parade would go on, the soldiers would “gently encourage” the people watching the parade to chant “Pax Romana”, which means “Peace of Rome.”

The irony kind of speaks for itself, does it not?

Peace is achieved by amassing weapons of war?

Cheering crowds are a result of the guy holding the spear?

Can you really bully someone in to peace?

Pilate and his crew were coming to Jerusalem this week, during Passover, to try to keep the peace. To make sure things didn’t get too out of hand.

But then, there’s the other parade. Coming in from the east, here comes Jesus.

This story, this day, is so important that it is one of the few accounts from Jesus’ life that all four gospel writers have included.

Luke: The Concept Album

When I first started reading the Palm Sunday story as given to us in Luke, I started to be a little bit of a Biblical Scholar Nerd.

There are some differences in Luke’s story from the other Gospels.

Luke puts more emphasis on Jesus’ disciples, rather than a nameless crowd in his version.

The disciples actually set Jesus on the colt, kind of making it seem like they picked him up and set him down on it.

Luke is the only writer who has Jesus quoting Habbakuk 2:11- “The very stones will cry out from the wall.”

And did you notice, that Luke has a different chant in the “multitude of the disciples” as Jesus rides past.

There’s no Hossana here.

There’s no Hosanna here.

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven.

Now, I don’t want to get too nerdy here…but!

Most scholars are in agreement that Mark was the first of the synoptic gospels, and that Matthew and Luke borrowed from Mark and some other mystery source called “Q” to write their gospels.

John is kind of wild man who didn’t need anyone else’s help in crafting his gospel.

Which means that if Luke’s version is different from Matthew and Mark, it’s because Luke thought the changes were important.

So what is Luke trying to do here?

The Palm Sunday story is the Refrain of the concept album Luke’s been working on.

Bruce preached last week from the Christmas story, which was timely because it’s what sets all this in motion!

While I don’t want anything to do with the snow of that season, let’s take our minds back to the shepherds out in the field tending their flocks by night.

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.

So this is a story that begins with the idea of peace on earth

Truth be told that’s one of the biggest themes of Christmas, isn’t it?

We all celebrate a season of calm and peace, or at least we try through all the presents and shopping and family dinners and getting kids ready for church.

But still, at Christmas time there is this emphasis on peace.

And here, at Palm Sunday, Luke fills in the other half of the refrain.

Peace in heaven.

Peace In Heaven

Now, the need for peace on earth is terribly evident then and now, isn’t it?

How do we define peace?

The concept of Shalom- Wholeness, wellness, completeness.

The more basic- Absence of conflict.

The world around us can’t even get the basic definition right.

The prophets told us that there would be wars and rumors of wars, and that line seems to hold up pretty well huh?

So I totally understand the need for angels to wish us peace on earth.

Why would the crowd need to wish for peace in heaven?

Heaven is seen as so peaceful that some have told me they kind of don’t want to go because it will be so boring.

There are harps and singing and clouds and angels. What could be more peaceful?

Where’s the conflict?

The conflict is in what the Divine wants.

From the beginning, our Creator has desired a relationship with you and I.

We know how the story goes.

Humanity started out ok, and held it together for exactly two chapters of the Bible.

Then we sinned, and sin permeated everything we have and know.

Our relationship with God was fractured, and so God couldn’t have the very thing that God wanted.

Some people assume that heaven is the reward for a life of faithful following Jesus Christ, and that’s only half right.

Heaven is the place where the reward happens.

The reward for a life of faith in Jesus Christ is relationship with the Triune God who has longed for unhindered relationship with us from the beginning.

I would argue that from the moment that humanity fell, there was no peace in heaven, because God could not have what God wanted.

And so by echoing the peace claim in Bethlehem, in proclaiming a peace in heaven, Luke is telling us exactly what Jesus is marching in to town to do.

He is on his way to restore our relationship with the Triune God.

He is on his way to buy back our seat at the table.

He is on his way to show us EXACTLY how much God loves us.

He is on his way to restore peace in heaven.

And by the way, no one is going to stop him.

Even if you could some how shut up the followers, the crowds of disciples crying out and willing this to happen, the very rocks beneath our feet would shout it all the louder.

What do we do with this?

Up until now, this is pretty cool bible nerd stuff.

But what are we going to do with this information?

Contemplate the cost of peace.

Interesting that Luke puts this proclamation of peace at this point in the Holy Week story, isn’t it?

Jesus is just getting in to town.

He’s still going to flip over the tables in the temple.

He’s still going to offer some teachings that are going to bother the religious leaders of his day.

He’s still going to commemorate what’s at hand with a simple meal of bread and wine.

He’s still going to be arrested.

He’s still going to be tried by the powers of Pax Romana

He’s still going to be killed on a cross.

He’s still going to be buried.

If you only came on Sundays during Holy Week, all you would get is the good stuff.

We have a super powerful and peaceful procession today.

We have a resurrection on Easter.

But we would miss all of this action in between.

My encouragement to all of us is to make sure that we contemplate the cost of peace, of the restoration of our relationship with the Triune God.

Now, there are factions in Christianity that get this all wrong.

There are some among us who turn an encouragement like this into some sort of cosmic guilt trip.

Two examples.

I have been at camps and retreats where a speaker will stand up in front of the crowd and in gruesome and painful detail describe what crucifixion is, how it kills a person, and how exactly Jesus suffered.

I love Jesus and it kind of creeps me out every time I hear that.

The idea is that if you only knew how much Jesus had to suffer, you would live a better life.

I was at a camp where I kind of anticipated a talk like that, but I was friends with the guy who was giving the talk so I was curious how he would approach it.

He pulled out the book of Luke, and just sat before us reading from chapter 22-24.

Just the story, just the facts ma’am, just the basics.

Because grace is free but it isn’t cheap.

We don’t want to be overrun by guilt, but we also don’t want to forget just how far our God was willing to go to restore our relationship.

We owe it to ourselves this week to spend some time meditating on what Jesus offered up for us.

We could spend time here for Maundy Thursday service at 7:30.

We could come to the chapel some time between noon and three on Good Friday and pray.

Or we could just sit with our calendar and intentionally pick out some time to spend in meditation before our Lord.

My encouragement would be to remember the price of peace not as a way to feel guilty, but as a reminder of the love God has for us.

We sing the refrain.

In more ways that one, Luke has given us a refrain.

He’s called back his reminder that Jesus is about to bring peace on earth by reminding us that Jesus is also to give peace in heaven.

He’s reminding us of the cost of peace, not as a way of guilt but as a reminder of how far God is willing to go to get in to relationship with us.

He’s comparing and contrasting the parade of Pax Romana with the humble and lowly procession of Pax Christi.

Much like I’ve been singing “Tommy can you hear me?” all week, I wonder what it would look like for us to sing the refrain of Pax Christi?

When the world insists to us that the only way to peace is through violence and power and intimidation, I wonder what it would look like for us to sing back “Pax Christi?”

When our own families become crazy, when we gather this weekend to celebrate and share meals and kids are running around and we want to pull our hair out at the insanity of it all, I wonder what it would look like to catch our breath and whisper to ourselves “Pax Christi”

When we forget how much God loves us, when we have questions in our heart about whether we could truly be the object of the God of Creation’s affections, when we aren’t sure of ourselves or our own standing, could we have the eternal ear worm of “Pax Christi” to keep us on track?

This might look strange to the rest of the world.

I’m sure there were more than a few in the crowd who watched their Messiah walk by on a donkey and shrugged their shoulders at the idea of calling him king.

Kings don’t look like that.

Peace isn’t the way of the world.

Don’t be naive.

Some may think it’s naive. It’s not.

When we are in conflict, we sing the refrain.

When we are uncertain, we sing the refrain.

When others threaten, we sing the refrain.

When the world has lost her way, we sing the refrain.

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!

Pax Christi,

Amen