Palm & Passion Sunday: Called to Obey God through Joy AND Pain

This Blog Post is the gospel excerpt of Week 6 of the Lenten Bible Study I'm writing for Good News Sunday School Class at Ashford UMC which we'll study together on April 17.  

Palm and Passion Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week.  I remember the days when we just "celebrated" Palm Sunday ... there was no "Passion" on Palm Sunday, right?  Well, ok I really don't know for sure but I remember that special Sunday when children could walk into church smiling and waving those palm branches and sometimes ... shouting "Halleluah!"   We were the center of attention.   And then ... we'd listen to the story of Jesus riding in on a donkey.  How cool is that!  Now Jesus is the center of attention.  It was FUN!


And now ... they've ruined it all ... whoever "they" are.  These days we treat this last Sunday of Lent in a rather "choosy" way ... we can celebrate Palm Sunday OR we can do a more somber Passion Sunday OR we can invite our rather chaotic selves to come out to play and do both!   I guess I'm intrigued by this sense of chaos because it is rather like ... L  I  F  E

So here we are, chaotic children of God.  And in all of this chaos, we are called to obedience.  Don't you just hate that?   We are called to seek and know God in Christ, and to do God’s will in good times and in times of struggle … through joy and pain.  Ahhh, through the Palms AND the Passion!   Don't you just love that :) !

Think of a time in your life that was filled with joy.  What were the circumstances?   On the other side of your pondering, think of a time in your life that was filled with pain.  What were those circumstances?   How are these times different and how are they the same?   When do you feel closer to God, in your joy or in your pain?   How do you discern God’s will?  Where and how do you get your strength in times of struggle?

As we make our way to Palm/ and Passion Sunday this week, perhaps the highlight of our week is the struggle of Jesus the human being in the Garden of Gethsemane … Having begun in the joyous celebration of the palms we walk with Jesus as he struggles down the long dark path of the Labyrinth with only tiny sparks of light to show the way … letting go … releasing his own human will with obedience to the will of God all the way to the  "center" and he receives what he needs in order to cry out ... 

“My Father …  

I want your will to be done, 

not mine.”   

  

Read the Psalm of the Palms 118:1-2, 19-29 as a prayer to begin your time of study       

Tell the LORD how thankful you are,
because God is kind and always merciful.
Let Israel shout, "God is always merciful!"

Open the gates of justice!
I will enter and tell the LORD how thankful I am.
Here is the gate of the LORD!
Everyone who does right may enter this gate.
I praise the LORD for answering my prayers and saving me.

The stone that the builders tossed aside
has now become the most important stone.

The LORD has done this, and it is amazing to us.
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate and be glad today.
We'll ask the LORD to save us!
We'll sincerely ask the LORD to let us win.
God bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD!
We praise you from here in the house of the LORD.
The LORD is our God, and he has given us light!

Start the celebration!
March with palm branches all the way to the altar.
The LORD is my God!
I will praise God and tell him how thankful I am.
Tell the LORD how thankful you are,
because God is kind and always merciful.

Read Matthew 21:1-11

which is the “Palm” reading for Palm/Passion Sunday using all of your five senses and your imagination.

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.   



Entry into Jerusalem.
Painting by Giotto, ca. 1300. Public Domain.  http://www.gbod.org   

 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." 

In your mind’s eye (your imagination)

What do you see?

What do you hear?

What do you smell?

What do you taste?

What can you touch?

As you read the text with all of your senses, what do you notice?   What emotions can you sense from the crowds?  from the disciples?  from Jesus?   As a bystander experiencing this scene as it unfolds in your imagination, what are you thinking about?  What are you feeling?  What one word would you use to describe your experience?  Treasure that word and carry it in your heart as you journey through Holy week.

Read Matthew 26:14-50 which is a portion of the “Passion” reading (which is Matthew 26:14-27:66) for Palm/Passion Sunday

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.  On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”  “As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’”  So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.   When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve disciples. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”  Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”  He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me.  For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”  Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?”   And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”  As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”   And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.  Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”   Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.   On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’   But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”  Peter declared, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”   Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.”   “No!” Peter insisted. “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the other disciples vowed the same.   Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”  He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished  and distressed.  He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”  Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”   Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”   When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.   So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.  Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”   And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people.  The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.   Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”   Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.

Lectio:   Re-read the bold print slowly, savoring each of the words.  In silence, identify and recall the word, phrase, sentence, or idea that most caught your attention.  Ponder and reflect on it for five minutes or longer. 

Meditatio: Read the bold print aloud again.   

Ask yourself:  Where do these words touch my faith and my prayer life? 

Pause again and reflect for five minutes or longer.  

Is there an invitation to prayer and obedience? How so?  

Oratio:  Sacred reading leads us to prayer.   

What begins as God addressing us – through the reading and our response – leads eventually our movement toward God in prayer.   Respond to God in prayer.   Carry that prayer with you today.

Contemplatio: Rest in the presence of God in blessed silence for at least five minutes.   Amen.  

This week we are challenged to consider both our Joy and our Pain as opportunities to experience God’s presence with us always.  We are encouraged to remember that it is God who gives us the grace to enjoy the good times and to strength to endure the twists and turns on this Labyrinth of Life we are living.  This is a really tough teaching because it simply doesn’t make sense to our human sensibilities … does it?    And yet, it is our remembrance of the consolations of God which carries us through in the disconsolate times.  

There is a wonderful little book by the Linns:  Dennis, Matthew, and Sheila Fabricant.  It is called Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life.  They begin the book with this story … During the bombing raids of WWII, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve.  The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care.  But many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night.  They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food.  Nothing seemed to reassure them.  Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime.  Holding their bread, these children could finally sleep in peace.  All through the night the bread reminded them, “Today I ate and I will eat again tomorrow.” (1)

Many of us struggle with obedience, not because we do not want to follow God’s will but because we have a difficult time determining what God’s will is … Can you imagine Jesus the human being struggling with the reality of what God the Father was asking him to do?  I believe it was a real struggle … not because he didn’t want to but because he had a hard time grasping the horror of it all ... and it was horrible, wasn’t it?  And yet, we are called to trust in God ... for as Jesus finds in the Garden, we can was the path of obedience when we trust in God completely. Sleeping with Bread is about engaging in the spiritual discipline of the Daily Examen, during which one would “light a candle, become aware of God’s loving presence, and take about 5 minutes of quiet while [asking two questions.]”  (5)   

As a result of our study this week, we might ask: 

1-where did I experience the greatest love or joy today and 

2-where did I experience the most discomfort or pain today?   

The Linns tell us that “this simple process is the most helpful way for people to hear the voice of God guiding them from within.”  (back cover)  Over time, we learn to find God’s voice in the consolations and the desolations of life.

I invite you to engage in the Daily Examen each day until Easter Sunday.     I challenge you to continue until Pentecost!    

Perhaps you might find it becomes easier to discern God’s will and become obedient to God.  Experiment with many questions or just a few until you find the (2) questions that fit your personality and your spiritual life.  Consider sharing your experience of the Daily Examen with another person or a small group that you are a part of.

Read the Psalm of the Passion 31:9-16 (CEV) as a Prayerful Amen (which mean “so be it”)

Have pity, LORD!

I am hurting and almost blind.

My whole body aches.

I have known only sorrow all my life long,

and I suffer year after year.

I am weak from sin, and my bones are limp.

My enemies insult me.

Neighbors are even worse, and I disgust my friends.

People meet me on the street, and they turn and run.

I am completely forgotten like someone dead.
I am merely a broken dish.
I hear the crowds whisper, Everyone is afraid!"
They are plotting and scheming to murder me.
But I trust you, LORD, and I claim you as my God.
My life is in your hands.

Save me from enemies who hunt me down.
Smile on me, your servant.
Have pity and rescue me.  Amen.

      

If art and music is a pathway to God for you, this is a wonderful arrangement called Ride on to Die from Michael Card, with an art and video montage which manifests our palm/passion story in a beautiful way.

If music is a pathway to God for you listen as you watch this video which emerges from verse 15 of Psalm 31 called My Life is in Your Hands.  It is a sung by Kathy Troccoli. She begins "Life can be so good. Life can be so hard."   Joy and Pain ... we trust in God and respond to God's call with obedience.