Palm Sunday

I want to reflect very briefly on four points in the Passion Narrative.

The Last Supper
What was the mood that evening?  It was meant to be a festive meal, but there was uneasy overtones and a real sense of the coming events over shadowed the twelve. 

Rather quickly they realized that this meal was not about the moment.  It was laying the table (so to speak) for the future.

Despite the darkness of the known betrayal or perhaps because of it, Jesus does something ordinary but full of new meaning, after the blessing he broke bread and gave it to them. But, it was the words that startled them and made this radical and new.
               Take and eat; this is my body
Did they remember Jesus’ words heard on the road to Jerusalem?

I am the bread of life. My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Then he took the cup gave thanks
            Drink from it, all you (Judas!) for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many                                                                   

This table fellowship was Eucharistic.

This is Jesus, the Christ, forever being broken and given, poured out and shared.
This was victory over betrayal and disappointment and a reminder to us that we too are to be broken and given, poured out and shared.

The Garden
After supper, Jesus leads them to the garden where he prays alone.

If possible, Father, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but your will

Jesus is uneasy and afraid and turns to his Father, as he always did.  Jesus does not want take the cup, but in his heart he knows that only the Father’s will matters and it is the Father’s will that Jesus, the loving and obedient son embraces.

It is a little childish and even a little dangerous and to give human attributes to God, who is transcendent and unknowable.  But, Jesus calls him father and came to him as a father.

So perhaps on that night the Father in an unknowable and mysterious way, looked down in something akin to human tenderness, and something akin to human sadness, when he willed ( for our sake) that his son must suffer and die.  Son and Father, wept that night.

It is victory over paralyzing fear and self-interest and a model of courage and selflessness through faith.

The Trial
The temporal power always tries to pass judgment on the divine.  The will of man tries judges the will of God.

Caiaphas the high priest, gathers his cronies in the dead of the night and they bring Jesus bound and shackled into the dim candle lit room where those gathered try to construct a case against Jesus .

None can be made.

Caiaphas in frustration finally demands –

Are the Christ, the Son of God?

 The irony of this self-evident question is not lost on Jesus -
            You have said so “ he replies.

And Jesus adds
           From now on you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Power.  

This was blasphemy to their hardened hearts and too dangerous for them to let loose into their world.

Only death could hide the truth (or so they thought)!  But, only Rome had that kind of power.

The Roman authorities try to figure Jesus out.  Jesus doesn’t meet their expectation.  They try to figure out why they should care – political terrorist or crazy holy man. The Romans have only Roman minds and Roman tools and they use them; blunt questions and relentless, but useless torture.

This leads them nowhere; Rome washes her hands of the mess, and opens the door for the crowd to choose Barabbas over Jesus - to choose death over life.

This was victory over pride, anger and self-righteousness and our model for radical humility.

 Crucifixion
Outside the walls of Jerusalem on a hilltop called Golgotha; the Son of God is raised on the cross.

Jesus, becomes (as he always was) self-gift and redemptive sacrifice.

Jesus crucified, the instrument of our salvation, is an unmerited and undeserved gift and we can never pay it back.

But, as the Holy Spirit teaches us, it does not need to be paid back, only graciously and generously lived out.

Finally, dying on the cross, Jesus looks down onto a familiar face, Satan in the guise of an onlooker who tempts Jesus one last time with the words Jesus knew so well.

If you are the Son of God - come down form the Cross and to sweeten the lie Satan sneers

                and we will believe.

 The final and greatest temptation of evil was to entice Jesus (at the hour of death) to claim his divinity, to choose love of self over love of God, to save himself and not us!

And Jesus would not do it He died for us.

 Jesus, loving obedient and trusting son, refused to deny his Father and to deny our Salvation.  

This is victory over the world, victory over evil, and victory over death.

Along with the Roman soldier, let us proclaim in our hearts and with our lives,

truly this is the Son of God 

I Have Put My Spirit in You

The sisters Mary and Martha reached out to Jesus.  They reached in distress and sadness to their teacher and their friend.  They sent word that their brother Lazarus was near death that the spirit of life was leaving him.

Jesus tells the messenger and those around him that “This illness will not lead to death.” Perhaps they were all relieved that Lazarus would regain his health and life would go on as usual.

But, we know that this was not the case and Lazarus dies before Jesus arrives.

Distraught and dispirited, Martha, upon hearing that Jesus was drawing near, runs out to meet him with tears of sadness and perhaps tears of rage. “Lord if you had been here you would have saved our brother”

Jesus says (I take great liberties here) “I have saved him” How could you “he is already four days in the tomb” Jesus says “I can and I will “for I am the resurrection and the life”.

We must be clear and hold dear that Jesus does not speak of natural, old life, but of the LIFE, ever new and eternal, a life with him and in him, a Spirit filled life. A life that echo’s God’s great promise through revealed through the prophet Ezekiel “I will put my Spirit in you so you may live”

Paul is clear just what Spirit this is;  the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead. This is the spirit, coming forth from Jesus’ command that brings Lazarus back to his natural life.

But, it would be Faith; Martha’s faith, Mary’s faith, Lazarus’ faith, our faith that leads to everlasting life.

A faith that repeats over and over Martha’s confession “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, and the One who comes into the world”

And as Jesus reaches out to comfort Martha, and us all, he could repeat God’s words  “I have put my Spirit in you that you may have life . . . so you might know I am the Lord”