Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 22:14-23:56
Palm Sunday is one of those days in the Church year which we moderns might call “intense.” We welcome Jesus as our Savior and our King, and then we walk with him through all he endures, and we stand at the foot of the Cross feeling helpless as he suffers for us.
This is a day full of paradoxes. Were are so happy to welcome him as our K ing. Then we plunge to the depths of despair as he dies on the Cross. And, as we walk with him, we hope that we would not deny him, as even Peter did. We hope that we would see him as who he really is. We hope that we would not join in the mob mentality and yell, “Crucify him!” at the top of our lungs.
Even Pilate, the great Roman governor, can see no guilt in our Lord.
The soldiers and the priests mock him. One of the criminals admits his own sin but says clearly that Jesus has done nothing wrong and asks our Lord to remember him when Jesus comes into his kingdom. And Jesus tells him, from the Cross, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”
The Centurion has the last word. Here is an officer in the Roman army who commands one hundred men. he is disciplined; he knows the chain of command; he serves in the legions of the powerful emperor. And yet, he has the courage and the insight to say, “Certainly this man was innocent.”
Jesus, our King, our savior, “set[s] his face like flint,”goes to Jerusalem, empties himself, gives his life for us so that we can realize, at last, that he loves us and that he will lead us into new life. May we follow him. Amen.
Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: Isaiah 50:4-9a, Luke 22:14-23:56, Palm Sunday, Philippians 2:5-11, Pilate, Psalm 31:9-16 |
Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT) 