Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday (Year B)

(Free Version)- Mark 11:1-11; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 15:1-39

Artwork: “Sacrificial Love” by Ulyana Tomkevych

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One would understand why the preacher might feel overwhelmed on Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday). In the traditional liturgies, the service has two parts: the Liturgy of the Palms and the Liturgy of the Passion. In the former, we hear the story of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. In the latter, we hear a description of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 50:4-9a), Paul’s famous hymn extolling the (subversive) Lordship of Jesus (Philippians 2:5-11), and a very long account detailing Christ’s Passion (Mark 14:1-15:47, or the abbreviated version Mark 15:1-39). The Old Testament and Gospel readings do not change from year-to-year. The gospel accounts change. So what should be the subject of one’s sermon?

To look at it positively, the preacher has many different options, not only with the different readings, but also with the layers within the readings. In contexts where you are reading the Passion account, I would suggest avoiding the explication of atonement theories. Let the story speak for itself. Perhaps it is helpful to point out the ways in which power, authority, and influence are redefined in the way of the cross.

This is clear in the gospel for the Liturgy of the Palms (be careful not to call it “the palm reading” or it will confuse everyone!). Obviously, Jesus turned out to be pretty disappointing to many in the crowd. He continued to speak about His coming death, allowed Himself to be arrested and ultimately killed. The same crowd that chanted “Hosanna," “Come save us now” less than a week later chanted “Crucify Him!” He did not meet their expectations.

Some scholars say that we should approach this passage as a sad time rather than celebratory because the expectations of the people were wrong. They were eventually let down. Certainly, there is grief here. But we serve a God who redeems our “Hosanna. We don’t always know what we want or what we are asking for. But, He does.

Jesus takes us in our broken state and heals us! None of us are without sin. None of us has been fully faithful to God. Only Jesus has done that. Jesus did save them. He saved all us. But, Jesus did not simply defeat the surface evil of the Roman Empire. At our heart, we want to be free from something in our lives. But we need to be free from more than that. By allowing the forces of evil to do their worst to Him, He defeated evil at its core.

Jesus does not appeal to control, separation, materialism or anything else. What does he do instead? He lives out self-giving love. In fact, the controversial Christian proclamation is that love saves the world. Through the love of God, death itself is undone.

Our Old Testament reading (Isaiah 50:4-9a), provides a description of the “Suffering Servant” in Isaiah. Christians have understood this to be a foreshadowing of Jesus. The one who was faithful in he midst of suffering. The reading point to the beatings which Christ endured as well as the insults. Placing this reading alongside the Passion narrative, we are reminded that crucifixion was a shameful death, a reminder to any would-be usurpers that Rome was ultimately in charge. The Suffering Servant has set his face like flint, knowing that it is God who vindicates. God’s glory is revealed in Christ’s crucifixion and vindicated in his resurrection.

Our New Testament reading (Philippians 2:5-11) Paul describes the nature of redemption in the God who does nothing out of selfish ambition. In Christ, the true nature of God is revealed. He is the self-giving God, the one who made himself nothing in dying for us. Paul challenges the Church in our selfishness to have the same mindset as Christ. He is not merely appealing to Jesus as an example of humility. He is pointing to who God is and therefore who his people are called to be.

When I hear this reading, I can’t help but think of the donkey on which Jesus rides at the Triumphal entry. If one rides on a mighty steed, one looks down on the crowds. Jesus chose to ride atop a creature which would place him eye-to-eye with the crowds. The powers of the world look down upon others. Jesus looks us directly in the eye.

Several elements in our lengthy gospel account (Mark 15:1-39) show the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world. Mark is consistently calling Jesus “King of the Jews.” He knows that personal spirituality is not what is threatening to the empire. Only kingship would cause a stir among the powers-that-be. Yet, Jesus is not trying to violently overthrow the powers. He’s not even speaking to Pilate, but his silence speaks volumes. He does not need the same kind of validation. He doesn’t follow the same metrics. His kingdom is not of this world.

It is significant that the crowds choose the prisoner who attempted violence (Barabbas) to be released over Jesus. Barabbas is a known quantity. He was an insurrectionist, fighting for a good cause. Jesus is given a mock robe, a painful “crown,” a staff that he is then struck with, and mock “homage.” Mark is showing us the king who displays true kingship, the one who did not exploit his equality with God, but revealed what it truly means to be God.

All along, Jesus is accused for not showing power like the crowds think that he should. The cross, after all, looks like defeat. It is nothing but failure. Why does he not destroy the temple and rebuild it as he said? Why can’t he save himself? He can’t even make us believe in him! Still, even in this seeming failure, some see Jesus for who he is. The centurion, of all people, is drawn by the love of Jesus as he dies upon the cross.

May we know the true king who rightly defines kingship for us and saves us from our longings for false kings. May we know the one who looks us in the eye, standing in solidarity with us. May he redeem our Hosanna, even when we do not know from what we need to be saved. May we know the one who suffered with us and for us, enduring not just pain but shame as well. In a world which identifies glory in domination, strength, “getting things done,” may we know the glory of the cross. May we know the love of God.