Between Shouts of “Hosanna”and “Crucify Him”

This is manuscript from the sermon preached on Palm/Passion Sunday, April 13, 2014. 

The Passion of Jesus Christ according to Matthew can be found here.  

Between Shouts of "Hosanna" and "Crucify Him"

 

  Welcome to Holy Week. The week that has been proclaimed by our theological ancestors as “the Great Week.” The week that takes us from the table of the last supper, to the garden of prayer, to the courts of fallen justice, to the cross. And finally to the empty. The Sunday that we move towards is the Sunday of Sundays, the day of victory of our God. Welcome to Holy Week.
    We mark today, the start of Holy Week with palms and passion. We celebrate the parade of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem where he is hailed as a savior. He hear the shouts of “Hosanna” and we join our own voices to that chorus. And then we turn quickly to his passion. To his arrest, trial, and execution. We hear the crowd boil into cries of “crucify him.” The hour grows dark indeed. 
    We live between these shouts of “Hosanna” and “crucify him.” The story from Matthew that flows through our worship today contains moments of both joy and anger, Shouts of praise and shouts of hate. A rally of support and an absolute abandonment. Jesus celebrated as a triumphant king. Jesus killed as a criminal.
    We live between these moments. Our lives are lived out between the joy and anger. Between the moments of celebration and desertion. We live in between the shouts of “Hosanna” and “crucify him.” We know the moments of great joy when we praise God and give glory to the one who blesses us beyond measure. We know the moments of doubt when we wonder if there really is a God our there. We know the moments of suffering when it seems that could not possibly be a God, in our time or ever. These are all real emotions. And God can handle them. Through the joy and pain, the happiness and anger, God is with us.
    This week, Holy Week, is not about raining down guilt, charging our emotions, or blaming ourselves for the cross. This week is about how God acted in human history. On our behalf. For us. Out of love, not anger.
    Holy Week is about being drawn into the story of how God took on the fallen powers, the brokenness of sin, and the power of death that runs rampant in our world - and destroyed their power on the cross. We encounter the story of Jesus passion’ - where God chooses to enter into our suffering and our sinfulness in order to create life out of death. God chooses to act on our behalf. We celebrate a love story this week - the story of God’s love poured out for the world.
    Our lives are lived between the shouts of “Hosanna” and “crucify him.” And right in the middle of those moments is the garden of Gethsemane. Where Jesus prays and the disciples sleep. Where Jesus acts on our behalf, and we struggle to stay awake. But that’s exactly what we are called to do - to stay awake. To witness the power of God to take the sin of the world and destroy its power on the cross. That’s what Holy Week is about.
    So stay awake. Jesus knew the temptation of averting our eyes all to well. It’s easier to sleep through the hard times, to sleep through the truth about ourselves. We don’t like to watch what’s about to unfold. We encounter enough violence and death to last us a lifetime. But Jesus calls us to stay awake, to witness how God acts on our behalf. How God binds our brokenness and sin to the mystery of the cross and through the cross God destroys their power.
    So stay awake friends of Jesus. Come back on Thursday and join together around God’s table. Receive the break broken and the wine poured for us. Come and celebrate with our youth who will take the bread and wine for the first time as they celebrate their first communion.
    Come back on Friday and sit at the foot of the cross. Come and hear John’s passion of Jesus - where Jesus is lifted up for the sake of the whole world - where God’s love is poured out for us and for all people. 
  Join in the moments of Holy Week that carry us to the words of victory at the empty tomb on Easter morning.
    Stay awake friends of Jesus. Witness the story of God's love.