Servant Savior, Palm/Passion Sunday, April 9, 2017

Palm/Passion Sunday (Year A)

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Then, as now, the crowds ask who this is. Then as now the answer lies not in the frameworks of power and dominance, but in the mysterious, gentle influence of meekness and love – which, in the end, is what the powerful fear the most, because they cannot control it.

– John van de Laar

Theme: Servant Savior

Reflection:  What is power?

One of the best definitions I’ve ever heard of power was from a teacher, years ago. “Power,” she said, “means you never have to use it.”

At the time, I thought of the biggest bully in the school, never getting in a fight because no one dared challenge him. Later, it occurred to me that the real power belonged to the smartest kid, who never got anywhere near a fight.

Today, decades after that wisdom was gifted, I thought about the passion story. The reading is dripping with authority, brutality and control. The high priests refuse to allow their authority to be undermined. Pilate wants no disruptions during the festival. Whippings and beatings, along with crucifixion itself, were inhumane public spectacles, specifically designed and displayed to make the public think twice about breaking the laws or challenging authority. Order and control were maintained by fear. Power motivates every character … except for one.

Jesus.

God’s own son. The one with unlimited power at his command, if he chose to use it. But he doesn’t.

Instead, the Messiah stuns everyone throughout the passion narrative. He tells a disciple to drop his sword and stop fighting. And the disciples flee for their lives. He amazes Pilate with his silence. He startles the crowd by not responding to their taunts. And when he breathes his last, and the earth quakes, the terrified centurion proclaims, “Truly this man was God’s Son.”

Aren’t we mystified, too? Or have we heard the story so many times we’ve skipped over the injustice of an innocent man going to a brutal death in the place of a murderer? Stopped thinking that the Rabbi Jesus with hundreds, if not thousands, of followers was suddenly betrayed, deserted and alone, save a handful of women? That within five days, Jesus went from the Messiah entering Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna (Save us)” to a cross on a hill called Golgotha, where no one – not the crowds, not the disciples and certainly not Jesus – was saved?

Jesus demonstrates no superhuman, last-minute, crowd-pleasing rescue. Instead he lays down his life, chooses to respond to power with powerlessness. Or does he?

Jesus doesn’t overcome power with the power that the people, his disciples, the high priests and Pilate expect … the power of force. He counters power with the greatest power of all.

That, of course, is the power of Love.

(You always are welcome to respond with your thoughts and reflections in the comments section at the bottom of the blog post.)

Faith App:  Imagine responding to power with the power of love. Sounds foolish – until we realize it’s how Jesus lived. Speak softly to a child losing his cool. Be the first to apologize in an escalating argument. Offer a gentle compromise with your partner.

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

All Glory, Laud and Honor, ELW 344

God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending, ELW 678

Prepare the Royal Highway, ELW 264

Beneath the Cross of Jesus, ELW 338

Great God, Your Love Has Called Us, ELW 358

Lift High the Cross, ELW 660

Were You There, ELW 353

Now the Silence, ELW 460

Now We Join in Celebration, ELW 462

Hosanna (Praise Is Rising) Brenton Brown/Paul Baloche

Overwhelmed, Big Daddy Weave

All of Creation, Mercy Me

History, Matthew West

White Flag, Chris Tomlin

LESSONS

Entrance with Palms

Matthew 21:1-11: Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Readings

Isaiah 50:4-9a The third song of the suffering servant – I gave my back to those who struck me.

Psalm 31:9-16 They scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.

Philippians 2:5-11 He humbled himself, obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Matthew 26:14 – 27:66 The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Summary of the Lessons: This was not the story of a man sent to die, overpowered and killed on a cross. This was the story of the Son of God, willingly becoming a servant and laying down his life in love for God’s people, for you. The Messiah, our Lord, truly could have saved himself. But he stayed silent, chose powerlessness, and died, so the word of God would be fulfilled. What is power, but the ability to not use it?

OPENING WITH PALMS based on Matthew 21:1-11 (or text may be read)

L:  This Holy Week begins in triumph, with Jesus leading a parade.

C:  Hosanna! Praise to the Son of David! Hosanna!

L:  Crowds lined the roads, spreading their cloaks and branches before Jesus.

C:  Hosanna! Praise to the Son of David! Hosanna!

L:  The people saw Jesus as the Messiah, who would release them from Roman rule.

C:  Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!

L:  But this confused them – why was the Anointed One riding humbly on a donkey?

C:  Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!

L:  Their expectations didn’t match this Jesus, who wasn’t who they wanted him to be.

C:  Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Hosanna!

L:  How about us? Do we expect Jesus the powerful, or Jesus the servant Savior?

C:  Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest heaven!  Hosanna!

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 31:9-16

L:  Lord, bring your peace to me in the midst of my pain;

C:  I’ve cried my eyes out – my chest is wracked by sobbing.

L:  My heartsong is silent and I have no energy to go on;

C:  I’m like an emptied-out cup, a torch long since gone cold.

L:  My friends and even my foes left me eons ago;

C:  People who barely know me see me and turn away.

L:  I’ve been forgotten – completely deserted like the dead;

C:  Death, I hear you closing in on my withered bones.

L:  But none of that suffering will turn me from you, Lord;

C:  To everyone who will listen, I say “You are my God.”

L:  I trust you to deliver me – I place my life in your hands.

C:  Gaze kindly, O God, and call your servant Beloved forever.

CONFESSION

L:  The passion narrative is a story about various kinds of power:

C:  Brute force wielded by men with swords, clubs and whips,

L:  Authority of political and religious leaders like Caiphas and Pilate,

C:  Worse yet, the emotional torment only a betrayer can inflict.

L:  History overflows with accounts of misguided rivals:

C:  From feuds between families to two World Wars,

L:  Regimes that enslave people by gender, race and religion.

C:  This crucifixion could have been another political death.

L:  But Jesus offered only silence to the charges of his accusers:

C:  Beaten and mocked, he prayed forgiveness for his tormenters;

L:  The Son of God lived love from first cry to final breath,

C:  And promised that the Cross wouldn’t have the last word.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … We struggle because we view the events of Holy Week through the lens of our world. Why didn’t the Messiah use his saving power to save himself? Why did disciples who loved Jesus deny and flee from him in his most difficult hour? Why did it have to turn out this way? We just can’t fathom the Son of God laying down his life. We can’t imagine power that looks like powerlessness. Be patient with us, God, as we ponder your love that is beyond any love we’ve ever known.

Here is Good News: If the Passion of our Lord makes you struggle, you are in good company. Even the disciples, who heard Jesus tell them over and over that he would die, could not believe what was happening. God’s love and mercy is beyond our comprehension, yet we don’t have to understand it to receive it and be set free by it. Through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, you have been forgiven of your sin.

In the name of…

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  God of Infinite Love … Just like you arrived in this world as a fragile infant, you arrived in Jerusalem in a humble way, without the power and fanfare your people expected from the Son of God, the Messiah. In this week of trial, instead of saving yourself, you emptied yourself, giving yourself in great love. Teach us, Lord, your way of selfless, servant love.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give you thanks, most gracious God, for this bread of humbleness, the cup of life poured out in love for us. We join together in this meal, overwhelmed again and again by a Savior willing to be a servant unto death, fulfilled in complete love for us. Send us out, eyes blinking, ears ringing, heart overflowing with the vastness of that kind of love, carried away in the flow of sharing that love with others.  Amen.

SENDING

L:  Yes, we proclaim Christ crucified,

C:  Infinitely powerful in powerlessness,

L:  Jesus, servant Savior, laid down his life.

C:  Jesus, our Lord, his love brings us life.

L:  Go now, humbled by the Cross, to love and to serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God!

Entrance Reading Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV)

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

“Tell the daughter of Zion,

Look, your king is coming to you,

    humble, and mounted on a donkey,

        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

First Reading Isaiah 50:4-9a (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Isaiah contains four poems called the songs of the suffering servant. In today’s third one, the prophet describes suffering and the price of being God’s servant. The book of Isaiah was close to Jesus’ heart and he likely contemplated these during his own suffering.

The Lord GOD has given me

    the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain

    the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens—

    wakens my ear

    to listen as those who are taught.

The Lord GOD has opened my ear,

    and I was not rebellious,

    I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me,

    and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face

    from insult and spitting.

The Lord GOD helps me;

    therefore I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set my face like flint,

    and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

   he who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?

    Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?

    Let them confront me.

It is the Lord GOD who helps me;

    who will declare me guilty?

Second Reading Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Paul uses an ancient church hymn that tells of Jesus in the beginning of time, his life, death and ascension back to heaven. Think of it as a creed, taught to new believers as a song.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

    did not regard equality with God

    as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

    taking the form of a slave,

    being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

   he humbled himself

    and became obedient to the point of death—

    even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him

    and gave him the name

    that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus

    every knee should bend,

    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue should confess

    that Jesus Christ is Lord,

    to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel Matthew 26:14-27:66 (or read just Matthew 27:11-54) (NRSV)

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,

    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And so said all the disciples.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again he went away for the second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, in whose house the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest; and going inside, he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” The high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you,

From now on you will see the Son of Man

    seated at the right hand of Power

    and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then they spat in his face and struck him; and some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who is it that struck you?”

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.” After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.