Musical Prelude and Service.

Due to tech issues, today’s service is in 2 parts.

Thank you

Part 1

 

Part 2

 

Luke 19:28-40 & Luke 22:14 – 23:56
Typically Palm Sunday is a celebration of Jesus the Christ riding into Jerusalem. The acknowledgment
and the excitement of the overturning of the power and authority of empire. The forces of darkness,
of violence and oppression pushed back by the Prince of Peace, the light of the world. But that focus
has shifted in the last many years.
Yes, we start with that excitement and anticipation. But we also take time to remember to
acknowledge that as much as we anticipate the overturning of the money changers tables, we need
to remember that the imperial powers of this world don’t relinquish their authority willingly. The
empire does not run and hide. The forces of this world that profit from our fear and utilize violence
and death maintain their grip on power, do not easily loosen their grip.
And so, we take time on this day to relive or re-enact the events of Holy Week.
We walk with Jesus as he overturns tables in the temple.
We watch with unease as Judas agrees to betray Jesus.
We sit with Jesus as he shares a last meal with his friends and followers; as he shows his love by
washing their feet.
And we stand and watch with heartbreak and horror as he is arrested, put on trial, tortured and
nailed to a cross.
We are often told that all this is necessary. There is a popular view of Christ’s death as atonement;
that says God requires this terrifying death so that we ca be forgiven and welcomed into eternal life
with God. I confess I struggle with that view of atonement.
That word – atonement, is what is used to discuss the process of humanity being reconciled to a
loving relationship with one another and with God. We atone for our sins or our misdeeds. We
acknowledge that we have made mistakes; have done things that seem beyond forgiveness.
How do we as individuals or as a society seek forgiveness from those we have wronged? This can be
a process between individuals or groups pf people. It can also be a conversation of our relationship
with God. That of course is what we are discussing here. Is penal substitution the only way of
viewing Jesus dying on a cross? That God required this sacrifice in order to forgive and welcome
humanity back into a loving relationship with the holy? No. I don’t find that theory consistent with my
faith in a loving and ever-present God described over and over by Jesus, and also described in the
writings of the Jewish prophets.
God never gives up on us. Jesus never gives up on us. As we journey through Holy Week; as we look
back on Lent and Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, we recall and witness numerous occasions when Jesus
could have said ‘I have done enough. I have taught you plenty, I can’t remember how many people I
have healed. I think I will stop now. You can figure it out from here.’
He could have made that choice countless times and gone on to live a quiet life of a rabbi in some
forgotten village in Galilee. But he didn’t.
He was committed to living out his love for us, to demonstrating in stark detail – just how complete
God’s love is for humanity. It was a love that held no compromise, and that is held in contrast to the
attitude, the greed, the reliance on violence and death that is the nature of the powers of this world.
The lack of humanity that is found in the empires of this world. All is subservient to the will of
empire.
We humans tend to attach our values, our own sense of love and justice to the holy. We frequently
confine God to our own limits and boundaries. We see our failings and our society’s capacity for
inhumanity and evil and conclude that no-one, not even God could forgive us; love us.
And so, we see a need for a whipping boy or a sacrificial lamb to reconcile us back to God. If we
would need such a sacrifice, so must God require that level of blood.
I am left to wonder as I consider how we explain the crucifixion and how it leads us to a renewed
relationship with God. Do I need to adhere to only one way of seeing God and seeing that
relationship? Perhaps, it is us who demands Christ’s sacrifice. Perhaps we need this explanation for
nailing God to a cross. But God is not constrained by our view of justice and of love. God’s love is not
confined by our rules. God’s love resists the empire and is not limited by our insistence of what is
fair. God simply loves us and desires to show us a different way of being in relationship with one
another and the world; and with God.
Medieval theologian Peter Abelard suggested a different view of the cross; that Christ offers us a new
moral example. Christ teaches us about love, of peace, of resistance to the forces of violence and
death. That example includes resisting the status quo to the point of dying on a Roman cross
proclaiming that love and offering forgiveness to his killers.
Another vision of atonement views the cosmos as a constant battle between the forces of Good and
Evil. The crucifixion is one scene of that battle. In his love, Jesus allows himself to be nailed to a
cross by the forces of that evil. The forces of death assume this will be the ultimate victory, not
recognizing the true strength of God and God’s love. And of course, the story does not end on a
cross.
Next week we will gather to celebrate the fact that Christ’s tomb is empty. That in the midst of our
tears and our grief, Jesus comes to us; alive and offering us his continued love. Love is greater than
death. Love is more powerful than the fear peddled by the forces of an empire that demands the
status quo of retribution and cruelty; greed and self interest.
And so, we continue our journey; eagerly anticipating the advent of a new way of being in this world,
but witnessing the cruelty, the greed and the fear that threaten to keep things the same as they have
always been. We will witness the agony and the abandonment that Jesus faces as this week comes
to a close. But let us not forget that what moves Jesus is not fear. It is not self aggrandizement or a
desire for more power. Jesus is moved by a love for all of us. A love for this world and for humanity.
It is a desire to see us fulfill what God sees for all of creation. So let us not turn away from what lies
before us. Let us see this world for what it is but also recognize what we can be if we let ourselves
be governed by the love of Christ instead of the fear of Empire. Thanks be to God.
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

 

 

 

 

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789