Dear St. Paul’s Family,
As Holy Week draws near, we approach the firm footing of some very familiar territory. As veterans of Lenten seasons past, we know what lies ahead: the waving of palm branches, the breaking of bread, a kiss of betrayal, and the agony of death. These stories are etched into our collective memory, and we think there are no surprises.
Such perspective might make it difficult to enter the story of Palm Sunday in real-time terms. We might find it difficult to identify with the cheering crowds in Jerusalem, knowing that in a few days time, they would turn against Jesus. “Surely we would not make the same mistake,” we convince ourselves. We want to believe that we are much clearer about Jesus’ mission. He did not come to instigate a political overthrow or a military mutiny, as the crowds had wanted, but to usher in a broader, deeper, more cosmological reality – God’s kingdom on earth.
In the span of a few days, the communal psyche of the crowd shifted, from “Hosanna” (which means “Save us”) to “Crucify him!” While all four gospels record this event, John is clearest in pointing out this sudden mood shift. Whereas the other three gospels spend time chronicling the events of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, John skips right ahead, going from Palm Sunday in John 12 to Maundy Thursday in John 13. And, while the other gospels talk about Jesus riding a donkey as he was greeted by the crowds, it is only in John that Jesus gets on a donkey in response to the crowds. With people expecting their warrior king to come riding in on a mighty stallion, it is as if Jesus said, “You think I’ve come to meet your expectations? Well, guess again.”
By the time the week’s public opinion polls close, the people have shifted, from praise to prosecution, from adornment to indictment. It turns out, we now know, that the people were expecting an entirely different kind of king, who would address an entirely different set of their needs.
Before we cast aspersion to this crowd with the kind of clarity that only hindsight can offer, let’s let the scriptures speak to us today. Aren’t we as guilty of offering the same kind of hollow praise as the Palm Sunday masses? Isn’t it possible that, even in our best efforts to worship God, we really emphasizing ourselves – our own needs, our own desires, our own expectations?
Maybe we can call it “boomerang praise.” It is a feigned worship of God that circles back to our own needs. It’s a kind of devotion to God that is more descriptive of ourselves than it is directed toward God:
- We pray to God, but our prayers contain more personal pronouns that divine ones.
- We celebrate God, but only to the extent that we are in the mood.
- We come to worship, so long as we find it entertaining.
- We give God our gifts, so long as we have ability to do so (and as long as we have enough left over.)
- We will follow this Jesus, so long as it costs us little.
No, we may not have the palm fronds in our hands, but we have the sentiment in our hearts.
So why do we observe Palm Sunday at all? To remind us that the Lenten journey is not at all about aligning Jesus with our needs and expectations. It is to radically reorient our lives toward the way and will of Jesus.
Biblical scholar Alan Culpepper writes:
“How, then, can the church’s celebration of Palm Sunday be such an act of reflection and remembrance? When the church celebrates Palm Sunday, when it shouts, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” it is not participating in a victory march. Palm Sunday is not one more excuse for a parade; it is, rather, a moment for communal reflection on Jesus’ identity. The life of the church derives form the life and love of Jesus, and the Palm Sunday liturgy invites the church to remember the shape and character of that life and love.”
I invite you to join us this Sunday for all the pomp, pageantry, and passion of this most important week of the year. Come experience again the wonder and glory of Holy Week, and rediscover Something to Believe In.
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org
John15:1-17
15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE
March 16 Palm Sunday “Something to Believe In: I am the Vine” John 15:1-17
March 20* Maundy Thursday with Celebration of Holy Communion 7:00 pm
March 21* Good Friday Service (Tenebrae: Service of Darkness) 7:00 pm
(*Note: Nursery care is available for both the Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services)
EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 23 “Something to Believe In: I am the Resurrection and the Life” John 20:1-18
7:00am Easter Sunrise Celebration with Holy Communion
8-10:00am Easter Brunch in the Fellowship Hall
10:10am Easter Celebration
EASTER BRUNCH
Share in the joy of Easter morning as our youth program once again hosts a brunch for the church. This is a wonderful gift to those who come to worship at our 7:00 and 10:10 worship services. Families are needed to provide brunch items and help host/clean-up during the event. If interested, contact Karla Wilkie.
THANK YOU FROM THE YOUTH
The youth group had a wonderful time on its Progressive Dinner on Sunday night. Thanks to Dick and Betty Point, John and Kay O’Connor, John and Jill Chalstrom, and Gene and Jean Anderson for hosting the kids throughout the night.
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