Palm Sunday 2019

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Simsbury, CT

Palm Sunday, April 14, 2019

Luke 19:28-40; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Philippians 2:5-11; Psalm 31:9-16; Luke 22:14-23:56

May God’s Word be Spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I love Palm Sunday. That may seem a funny thing to say, and yet it is true. I love Palm Sunday because it is so real, so like actual life. The happiness and the pain are right next to each other.

We start our service with shouts of Hosanna, celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. We are joyfully celebrating that so many people are recognizing a truth that has such power in our own lives. They see that there is something special, something profound, something life changing about the manon the donkey. He is different. He is offering a way of living, a way of understanding that is different. He is bringing people hope and joy. He is not settling for the status quo. The atmosphere is electric. People want to join him. You can feel the excitement.

Then before we leave here, we will have taken ourselves all the way to Golgotha. We will be left standing with the women at the foot of the Cross trying to figure out how in a such a short period of time, we went from triumph to tragedy.

If we acknowledge our own feelings, there is probably a little bit of us that would like to just pause at the happy part. We would like to just end the story with Jesus’ triumphal entry. Couldn’t we just add “And Jesus and his disciples lived happily ever after” instead?

The fairy tale ending is tempting, really tempting. And yet there is something ultimately unsatisfying in just leaving our story there. And not just because we know intellectually that the Gospel of Luke goes on for a few more chapters.

It is unsatisfying because our lives are much more complicated. Fairy tales are not real. Part of what enables us to connect to Jesus, at least a large part of what helps me connect to Jesus, is the fact that he is human, fully human. He knows the fullness of the human experience, and that includes the fullness of what it means to grieve, to suffer, to feel pain.

Suffering is a part of our lives. It is a part of what it means to be human. And there can be great meaning and value that come out of suffering. There is something about the reality of loss, or even the possibility of loss, that makes us sit up and pay attention. It is like the shadow in a painting; it helps us to see things more clearly. We experience joy and success more deeply when we see them in full perspective of the times when we have known loss and failure. Because we have known pain, grief, and seemingly insurmountable challenges, our joy just a bit fuller.

Now, I think you all know by now that I do not subscribe to the theory that just because suffering has meaning and offers us valuable learning experiences that we should seek it out. Life has certainly taught me that suffering comes all by itself. We do not need to go looking for it. The question is, when it comes, how do we respond? Do we allow it to be our teacher and to help us widen our perspective? Do we learn from it so that we might use our knowledge and experience to build up the kingdom of God, that we might care more fully for all of God’s people?

We have chosen to follow Jesus. And following Jesus means that we will have wonderful moments of celebration - those Hosanna moments. It also means we will have our moments of seemingly unbearable pain. But the marvelous truth of of the fullness of Palm Sunday, with its “Hosannas” and with its story of the crucifixion, is that we are given the reminder that we are not alone. Jesus knows the fullness of our experience - our joys and our sufferings.

And in all of this there is also an invitation for us to remember that suffering does not have the last word. We don’t get a “happily ever after,” but neither are we left to suffer without hope. Today reminds as that suffering and joy are inextricably connected. We will not have one without the other. The question is how do we frame it?

Do we let the suffering dominate and define our experience? Or are we able to hold onto the reminder that we are not alone in our suffering? Do we “look for the helpers” as Mr. Rogers advises? Do we turn our focus to those who are helping, those who are seeking to bring comfort and hope? Do we look for the blessings and the gifts that are present? And they are there. Always. In the smiles and the love of those who care for us and walk with us. In the gifts of perspective and gratitude that come when we are reminded of the fragility and preciousness of life. In the way our focus is narrowed and our awareness of beauty is heightened when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

That is the truth that Palm Sunday shows us so clearly. Joy and suffering are inextricably linked. They will come together in our lives. Sometimes back to back. Sometimes all at once. That is okay. There are great blessings to be found, even in the midst of our challenges. And we can always hold fast to the beautiful and life changing truth that this Holy Week proclaims so boldly. Do not fear. God’s Love, made manifest in so many ways in our own lives, is stronger than anything we humans can come up with. God’s Love always has the last word. Thanks be to God for that.

AMEN.