Moving forward

April 5, 2020 Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11

I was speaking with a member of Trinity earlier this week and we were talking about the major national and global events that have helped shape our lives. Now, she has just a few years on me since those events in history that helped shape her life include the aftermath of the 1918 Flu and World War I. She has lived through the Great Depression, World War II and countless other wars. I marvel in those stories and her ability to remember and share them.

For me, the first major event that has shaped my life was 9/11 and the wars that have occurred in response. I could also point back to 1986 when the Challenger Shuttle exploded after takeoff as it was ascending into space. As my class watched it live on television, it brought about the discussion of tragedy and death. For those that were born after 9/11 in the United States, this time right now will be one of the major events that have helped shape them as people living in the world. God has been present throughout all these major events and there is no reason to believe that God is not present and grieving with us today.  

This morning I would like to turn our focus more toward the Processional Gospel, the beginning of the twenty first chapter of Matthew. In the past, we have tended to blend Palm Sunday and the Passion Gospel together as we know that many of you usually do not attend the mid-week services during Holy Week. And truly, you cannot have a resurrection without a death, so we make sure you can witness Jesus’ death on Palm/Passion Sunday. However, due to our current stay at home orders from the state of Michigan, you will have the ability to follow along during Holy Week on your phones and computers as you watch our Facebook Live feeds or go to YouTube.

If you noticed, when talking about those events that helped shape our lives, they were events that brought turmoil and left us searching for a greater sense of community amid the uncertainty. We find ourselves in a similar time and place as we approach every new day not knowing what the news of that day will be. Reading the gospel of Matthew once again, something caught my eye that had not stood out in the past. Matthew 21:10 states, “When [Jesus] entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking “Who is this?” The Message translation says that “the whole city was shaken.”

For me, there is some reassurance in these words that during the uncertainty that we find ourselves, it is nothing new. Those that began following Jesus nearly two-thousand years ago were also gripped by fear and unknowing as they approached the festival of Passover. We are approaching Holy Week where everything will be different. So different, that we have never truly had to confront things on this level.

Maybe, seeking new and meaningful ways isn’t necessarily a bad thing. God has been at work from the very beginning of time creating and drawing us ever closer to the mystery that is the kindom of God.

We have been walking with Jesus since Christmas as he has encountered many people that others would not have given the time of the day. He has brought healing to the sick and broke bread with the very people of God living on the outskirts of society. This is a sign for us that the love of God is greater than anything that we will encounter in the world today. It washes away all preconceived notions and welcomes us in just the way we are, sinners and all.

The hope that I find on this day is that over the past three years of Jesus’ ministry, he keeps moving forward. Even as he approaches Jerusalem and there is a sense of turmoil in the air, he continues to move forward. He knows what lays ahead of him and he knows that his followers will disperse, and he will be left to face Pontius Pilate alone. Yet, he moves forward. He moves forward into what he may know, but the disciples see as an unknown.

As we move day by day into this new normal (at least for the time being) of doing church online and not being able to see one another face to face, it is important to remember that we are still moving forward towards the kindom of God. This Holy Week is going to be different from any we have experienced in the past, but during the longing for the familiar, God is at work and breathing new life into our community. We have talked more than we have in a long time. We have been able to hear stories from people and grow deeper in relationship through those stories. People have stepped up to help friends and neighbors.

In the midst of what we call darkness, Jesus has brought the light and is calling us forward into a new creation where the church is being renewed and given new and abundant life. May we be open and listen to how God is calling us forward towards a new heaven and a new earth.

Let us pray. God of grace, you have trusted us in this time to just be and opened our hearts to new ways of slowing down when we are used to being busy. May we continue to listen to your guiding word in our lives and be open to what is to come. Ame.