Take a moment to imagine yourself a pilgrim on the streets of Jerusalem - will you get caught up in the excitement? The betrayal? The fear? The faith?
Holy God, come through the gates of every
city
Where the people wait for you in hope of love
and justice.
Come with joy and bring peace deep enough to
last forever!
And when the cheers turn to jeers, and the
cry Hosanna fades away,
Forgive us for turning away from you like the
crowd long ago.
For this is your doing, marvellous in our
eyes.
God’s love endures forever!
The
lectionary offers us a choice between 2 themes:
Palms or Passion?
In many
Catholic/Anglican churches the service is simply reading the whole gospel right
up to the death of Jesus. In reformed churches, the emphasis was traditionally
letting the week unfold.
How do we
give people the real story, and a sense of the whole without speeding things up
or anticipating the ending?
Read Luke 19:28-41 TRY TO
LISTEN WITH NEW EARS!
How is
Luke’s account different from what you expected? Did you notice what is missing
from Luke’s account? (Hosanna, palms)
Luke
emphasizes the traditions around king returning from battle, Romans – the
author is more at home in the Greco-Roman tradition than Jewish temple.
In verse 31,
Jesus makes a strangely prophetic request - did Jesus physically pre-arrange it
or did he just trust that God would provide?
To simply
say: “the lord has need of it” begs the
questions - what are we willing to part with?
Verse 37
doesn’t mention crowds - who was doing the praising? Just 12 disciples? Or does disciples mean more than 12?
In verse 40,
where stones will shout out – Jesus reflects a truth about God - that God does
not rely on us alone – all creation is part of God’s mission.
Jesus
weeping over Jerusalem - Jerusalem’s legacy – is it a holy city or the place
where prophets are destroyed? Ambivalence
about a place that is both holy and scene of violence.
Luke’s main
theme is that “Jesus is King” - but not a worldly king.. Jesus could have had
all the priveleges, but chose justice instead - criticizing institutional
faith, criticizing Rome.
Power, popularity, prestige
was an instrument to manipulate others.
But humility, servanthood, working from within brings human
dignity to the lowest social groups.
It is interesting
that this parade is found in the same chapter as Zaccheus - who is
Jesus’ ministry directed at? Not the
comfortable but the outsiders.
And the Parable
of the talents is about risking, and being faithful with what we have.
Read Isaiah
50:4-9a TRY NOT TO THINK AHEAD TO JESUS!
Two levels
of understanding:
1)OT -
Isaiah is someone who has suffered to do God’s work. Israel has been like a
servant nation to God they also suffer persecution from other nations (and even
their own kings!)
It was probably
written at time of exile - time of suffering for Jews in Babylon.
2)NT - Jesus
has been consistently identified with Isaiah in his prophetic, suffering role
What does it
say to us as followers of the servant king?
Verse 4 “the
tongue of those who are taught”: He has been given power beyond himself “to
sustain the weary” - not just speaking for but hearing the voice of God.
How well do
we speak or listen? We’re usually good
at one or the other!
Risk for our faith?
Verse 5 – not
rebellious - accepting suffering (for the greater good?) This is a message that has been misused.and manipulated
to keep people under the thumb of abusers.
Verse 7 -
the Lord helps me (sense of God’s presence) - confounded (other translations?)
confusion/ afraid/insulted/ashamed.
The prophet set
faces like flint – which has the strength of rock and yet easily shattered or
made sharp.
Verse 8 -
the strength of two together - not a rescuer but a companion. Who is “we?”
Faith is not innoculation against evil, but
the "treatment" to give us quality (depth) of life.
God writes
the last chapter of every story.
READ Psalm 118:
1-2, 19-29
In its ancient Jewish context, Psalm 118
was most likely an entrance liturgy to the Temple, used at the festival of
Passover. It proclaimed God's deliverance from Egypt and, later on, from the
Exile. The Psalm was a liturgical script, complete with speaking parts for
leaders and congregation. One can hear the jubilant call and response in
118:2-4: "Let Israel say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.' Let the
house of Aaron say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.' Let those who fear
the LORD say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.'"
LOOK at the part that is left out by
lectionary verses 3-18. They speak of distress, of fear, of God’s rescue. Christians will see in the movement from
humiliation to exaltation a foreshadowing of Jesus... His rescue from death is
a new exodus and a fresh sign that God's steadfast love endures forever...
New Testament writers used Psalm 118
"as a means of understanding and articulating the significance of
Jesus."3 (See Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7.)
Christians have long read this Psalm with Jesus in mind.
But in its original context, the priests
and people processed into the Temple singing it. The approach to the Temple
culminates in verse 19, "Open to me the gates of righteousness..."
and the condition for entrance is given in verse 20, "The righteous shall
enter through it." The physical movement begins outside the Temple,
progressing inside and all the way to the altar. The people express their faith
that since God has saved them in the past, God can be trusted in the future
(verse 25).
READ
Philippians 2:5-11
It has been
woven into Paul’s letter, but is perhaps one of the churches oldest hymns?
Letter to
Philippians written about 61 AD, so it is likely that this passage is even
older. Its theme is unity not to let
small divisions separate them, have humility and admit mistakes.
In verse 3 “do
nothing from selfishness/ count others better than yourselves”. Early Christianity will find unity if they
remember the character, humility of Jesus.
The theme of
the hymn is emptying oneself, listening to God, even to the cross. It is very similar to Isaiah’s servant song,
it reflects the choice/sacrifice of faith.
In verse 6 Paul
cites Jesus “in the form of God” (Christ/logos/part of creation) but not Son of
God! Status is not something to be
“grasped” “exploited”. The Greek word
for “robbery” – taking something that belongs to God.
Verse 7
“therefore God exalted him ...” Jesus is not so much rewarded but made the model.
The themes
are similar to a homage given to Caesar “every knee shall bow down”.
God the
Father” (whose? Jesus’ or humankind?)
Gates make an
interesting statement! I live in an area where there used to be low fences with
low gates. After a few years, the gates were removed, because they were simply
being left open all the time. But now, high fences and locked gates are
becoming the “fashionable” norm, sending distinct messages of privacy, exclusion
and even hostility. When the first such fence was built in my neighbourhood, my
children describe even it to this day as “Fort Knox”, and its owners live up to
the implied reference!
In many places
it is popular to live in “gated” communities, as a way of controlling crime, or
perhaps contact between the haves and have-nots. What does it mean to you that God opens the
gates to you? To others? To the desireable and the undesireable?
What does it mean to you to open
the gate on your heart to God?
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