Bible Stories You Should Know: 5. Triumph

Bible Stories You Should Know: 5. Triumph

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

April 13, 2014 Palm Sunday

Luke 19:28-38

          Would you like to hear about my week?

          Bet you can’t wait!

          On Monday I went for a long bicycle ride.

          I felt like I needed to do something fun.

          It was a beautiful day and I was riding on the bike trail behind Rancho Canada Golf course.

          Suddenly I stopped because just a few feet from me a cow was giving birth to a calf!

          I don’t know why I am sharing this with you other than the fact that it was pretty awesome.

          The cow was walking around eating grass and leaves from the trees giving birth to a baby.

          So, how many of you saw a calf being born last week?

          I wish I could be that relaxed about life—eating grass and having a calf all at the same time!

          Last Sunday was a terrible horrible no good very bad day for me!

          I don’t know if you noticed but while I was speaking last Sunday I could smell something hot.

          Did you?

          It smelled like burnt bread so I kept going with my sermon but I know that I was rambling.

          It was actually egg rolls for the fellowship hour getting too well done but it scared the heck out of me.

          We have been having some electrical issues in the building so I was super on edge and I thought that I was going to have a heart attack.

          Or, a calf!

          Friday of this week we had the memorial service for a saint! Ruth Hobar was truly a special gracious and generous person with a deep faith. The service was a celebration of life but, even so, a part of me as your pastor dies when one of my church family dies.

         

          On Saturday, yesterday, I had a wedding.

          It was unusual in that the couple asked at the rehearsal that I not mention Jesus.

          Okay! What do I do now?

          I prayed that even if I didn’t mention Jesus’ name that they would see Jesus in me. I thought, Jesus is going to be here whether mention him or not.

          I’m glad that at least they choose to get married in a church by a pastor. I truly felt God’s spirit as we closed with the Celtic Alleluia.

          Joy and sorrow.

          Life and death.

          Conflict and triumph.

          All a part of my life last week.

          My guess is that you experienced much the same feelings last week even though you didn’t have the same experiences and you didn’t see a calf being born!

          Jesus must have had the same mix of feelings during his last week of life.

                   Hurt and hope.

                   Anger and love.

                   Fear and peace.

          All mixed up in what we call Holy Week.

          What a week Jesus had during his last week of life—not unlike ours!

          How does Jesus triumph over the mix of emotions?

          He does it with humility. He begins by entering Jerusalem on a colt instead of a war horse.

          He does it by laying down his life. His journey to the cross shows just how far Jesus will go to show how much he loves us. The good news of Palm Sunday is that Jesus came to make peace between us and God.

          He does it by inviting us to join him. The impossible becomes possible when we join with Christ to participate in his saving work.

          He does it through resurrection. The multitude said, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven."  Resurrection is what I felt at Ruth Hobar’s service.

          Although the Palm Sunday crowd cannot see beyond the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we know that Christ's work will continue throughout the week that follows, and even beyond the sacrifice of Good Friday.

          Jesus was a king, but no ordinary one. He was

                   the king of fishermen and tax collectors,

                   Samaritans and harlots,

                   blind men and demoniacs.

          Those who followed Jesus were a ragtag bunch.

          That's us—a ragtag bunch.

          And on Palm Sunday we welcome him with triumph, because we, too, have ‘stuff’ we're dealing with—the ‘stuff’ of life.

          I have ‘stuff’ taking place in my life right now.

          I have never journeyed this way before as I face retirement.

          Jesus had never journeyed his way before, either.

          The message this morning is that Jesus is with us as we experience

                   a pastoral transition

                   unemployment and guilt,

                   poverty and bitterness,

                   a critical spirit or a feeling of being unloved,

                   a sense of aimlessness and meaninglessness.

          We need Jesus who has already triumphed over it all to do the impossible.

          On this Palm Sunday, we praise him and ask him to do the impossible for us.  

          A few weeks ago Linda and I toured Air Force One at the Reagan Presidential Library. It was truly impressive to see how presidents travel.
          In the cabin everything is appointed with comfort and workability in mind.       • The president’s cabin suite is located near the nose of the plane and has couches that fold out into beds.
          • There are workspaces and conference rooms with leather chairs, plus a cabin just for the press corps.
          • There is a medical room on board stocked with a pharmacy, an X-ray machine and an operating table.

          Contrast that with life in Jesus day.
                  

          A Roman leader would have ridden in a chariot pulled by magnificent white stallions...
          Jesus entered the city on a donkey, and a borrowed one!

          A political leader would have been surrounded by security guards...
          Jesus was surrounded by his disciples and rode into the midst of the people, almost at their height.

          A military leader would have galloped along the road, passing the crowds...
          Jesus on a donkey moved slowly with the people.

          A religious leader in priestly robes would have prevented anyone who was unclean from touching him...
          Jesus, dressed in his usual attire, moved humbly through the crowds.

          We have to note certain things about this entry into Jerusalem.

          1. It was carefully planned.

          Jesus did not leave things until the last minute.

          2. It was a glorious defiance.

          It is a breath-taking thing to think of a man with a price upon his head, an outlaw, deliberately riding into a city in such a way that every eye was fixed upon him. It is impossible to exaggerate the sheer courage of Jesus.

          3. It was a deliberate claim to be king.

          Jesus by this action came as the king who comes to his people in love and in peace and not as the conquering hero.

         4. It was one last appeal.

          Jesus, by this action, came as it were with pleading hands outstretched. Before the hatred of the people engulfed him he confronted them with love’s last invitation.

          The Palm Sunday story is a Bible Story you should know along with the                              Great Commandment—Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself.

                   The parable of the Least of These—When you have done it to the least of these you have done it unto me.

                   The Great Commission—Go into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature.

                   The Last Supper—the cup and the bread of life.

          Let us pray:

          Focus right now on your feelings from last week.

          Give them to God.

          They are over.

          Accept forgiveness.

          Thank God for the joys.

          Think now about the week ahead.

          It’s Holy Week!

                   How will it be holy for you?

                   Will Jesus come anew to you?

                   Will Jesus be King Jesus?

                   Will you accept Love’s Last appeal?

          Amen.