Sermon Notes for April 9th
April 9 – 2006 Palm Sunday
“Why are you doing this?”
Mark 11:1-11
1. Charles Dickens began his famous novel “A Tale of Two Cities” with the words “It was the best of times – it was the worst of times.”
One could say the same thing about the time in which Jesus lived.
It was a time of great unrest in which the most radical ideas and religious and political movements were coming to the surface as if in a seething cauldron.
The Greeks had ruled Israel until the Maccabean revolt which occurred about 140 to 160 years before Jesus. This won independence for the Jews for a short time until the Romans conquered them again sixty years before Jesus birth. But the Maccabees were not popular.
The problem was not political so much as religious. The new leaders Jonathon and Simon Maccabee had dared to make themselves high priests - yet they were not descended from David and therefore they did not have Divine Right, so to speak. Which is why in Mathew’s Gospel so much is made to link Jesus in direct descent from David – so that people would believe in him.
The opposition to the Maccabees was particularly strong on the part of the Pharisees (who were most devout of the Jews). The Pharisees believed by this time that God would raise up a new leader – a Messiah – who would be descended from David and who would become not only the leader of the Jews but also of the whole world. And, they also believed that this ruler would come at the imminent end of the world! Can you imagine this?
They also believed that this messiah would be called the “Son of God.” Which did not exactly mean that he was actually God but rather that he would be God’s special agent on earth. He would come in fulfillment of the words of Isaiah in Chapter 9:
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, [a] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
2. Well, I could go on … but as I mentioned last week if there was ever a time for God to act and for a divinely appointed person to come on the scene it was when Jesus was born. He couldn’t have picked a better time – it seems.
And now, after a short ministry of some three years, Jesus decides to make his big move. He decides to challenge the powers of the world – the religious and political authorities - in a most dramatic and climactic way. And he will do it by entering Jerusalem at the most opportune and momentous time of the year.
For Jesus would come down from the Galilean hills during the celebration of the Passover – the time when the Jews celebrated the Exodus from Egypt – so far so good.
But, to everyone’s surprise – Jesus did everything in a most unusual and unexpected way – beginning with his choice of a donkey on which to ride.
3. Think about it? Why would he choose a donkey? Why not a horse?
Now also consider this fact --- which was well known to every Jew in the land -- which was the fact that no less than Simon Maccabee himself had entered Jerusalem on a horse as a conqueror (as I have mentioned). And this is exactly how he did it according the 1st Book of Maccabees (which is in the Apocrypha – the additional books of the Bible which come right before the New Testament).
"And Simon Maccabee entered into the city with thanksgiving and branches of palm trees, and with harps, and cymbals, and stringed instruments, and hymns and songs because a great enemy had been crushed and driven out of Israel."
Do you get the picture?
Jesus, in other words, was replicating the way Simon Maccabees' victorious entry to the city. With one thing different, of course. Jesus was not entering on a horse (which would be the sign of the general or a conqueror) but rather on a donkey – which was the sign of a beast of burden and a sign of peace. In other words, if Jesus is a conqueror, it is a totally different kind of kingdom which he planned to establish on earth. Not at all the kind that thousands of Jews expected to take place.
4. Now, in this story, there is also confusion over the word Hosanna which is in Mark’s Gospel and in the songs we sing on Palm Sunday.
The word Hosanna is usually defined in English dictionaries as "an exclamation of praise, acclamation or adoration.” Yet, underlying the English form is the Hebrew "hosha' na," which expresses a request for salvation. This precise form of expression does not fit the dictionary’s associations with praise or acclamation. And even the well known Biblical scholar, William Barclay, states that it is not a statement of praise and honor for Jesus – which is what we usually think – but rather a cry for help from God. “Save us now!” Is the way Barclay puts it.
In other words, when Jesus entered Jerusalem the people were crying out to God to send them a savior and conqueror who would shatter the enemies of Israel. The people were literally praying that God would break in a save his people now that the Messiah has come.
Now we must realize that this is not a case of what is sometimes called “political realism” at work here. This is desperation. This is the cry of a people who have literally given up hope for any normal process or practical solution. Can you begin to see now how troubled this situation was? This was a case of total desperation! “Save us!” the people said. “Save Us!” – that is what Hosanna really means.
5. Imagine now, how courageous it was for Jesus to act in such a way as he did – flying in the face of the deep fears and expectations of his people. A politically and religiously dangerous thing it was. He was, without doubt, choosing to risk his life by demonstrating to his people that they were wrong to expect a nationalistic leader and that instead – they should seek to find God in love and forgiveness and that God’s Kingdom (which they all hoped for) was indeed at hand – if they could only see it in their midst.
For we must realize that Jesus was not just talking the talk – he was walking the walk as he had continuously done throughout his ministry – eating with sinners and tax collectors – healing on the Sabbath – and in so many other ways contradicting the religious practices of his people in the name of a higher good. Jesus was actually engaging in what is now called guerilla theater or street theater which is the dramatization of social and political issues, usually enacted outdoors, as on the street or in a park.
Now Jesus was not alone in this kind of unusual prophetic behavior. For instance the prophet Ezekiel once invited all the leaders of Jerusalem to a meal which he cooked in a corroded pot. He filled the pot with water and bloody pieces of meat. And when the water boiled the rust from the pot and the blood from the meat turned the water to a deadly red color. It was very shocking!
And this was Ezekiel’s way of trying to show that Jerusalem was like the pot which is corroded. Which was in direct contradiction to what the Jews thought – because they believed that their walled city was impervious to attack and therefore they thought they were safe from the Babylonians. However, Ezekiel was saying to them that Jerusalem was really more like the corroded pot because it was corrupted on the inside and this will be the downfall of the people – not the Babylonians on the outside. Not a popular idea – as you might expect. But it was a very vivid demonstration – it was street theater.
6. So, Jesus too, then is dramatizing his entry into Jerusalem by doing a little street theater.
But, of course, the people didn’t get it – exactly. Because they were so caught up in their expectation of a worldly savior that they missed the point.
Of course, this happens a lot. Because so often people are mislead by thinking that the answer to their problems is always something outside themselves and that if only what they want to happen will happen -- they will be saved … rather than by looking for the answer within themselves.
So, unexpectedly and mysteriously the long awaited Kingdom of God arrived in Jerusalem on the back of donkey – while the people ironically shouted Hossana! Hossana! – God Help Us!!
Got the picture?
Well, it is not hard to see that once the people – at least some people – figure out that Jesus is not going to be what they expect – they will turn on him … and, there is little doubt that Jesus knew what that would mean for him before he even planned this event.
So, Why Did He do it? This is the question we struggle with every year at this time – why did he do it?
7. Well, we are not alone, for centuries have passed … and every great mind in the world … has sought to answer that question. And there are many answers to why Jesus went into Jerusalem at the time he did … knowing full well it could be for him the end of his life.
First of all -- we may assume that Jesus believed so strongly in what he was all about that his life no longer mattered and he was willing to die for what he believed in. That’s pretty clear isn’t it?
Further -- we may say that the situation at the time was so grave – so troubled – so desperate – that Jesus realized that something had to be done. Someone had to act to change things in a different direction. And the only way to achieve this needed change was to act dramatically to get people’s attention. Which he did at the cost of his life.
Also -- it may be argued that God too had decided that now the time was right. Namely, that people were finally ready for a new way of spiritual understanding and that by working through Jesus God was able to act to bring about this change. For we must realize of course that God was very much involved in Jesus’ life from the very beginning.
So, why did he do it?
8. Well, traditionally, of course, there are all the standard beliefs which have come down to us through the church – which we have all been taught such as the most common answer, of course, which is that Jesus died for the sins of the world.
As someone has written: it comes down to this.
(1.) God created the world.
(2.) Because of sin the world gets lost.
(3.) And God seeks to restore the world to His original intention.
But, still we ask - What specifically is sin? Theologian and Biblical scholar Marcus Borg says that sin usually implies disobeying God’s laws or “being bad.” At least that is what it means to most of us …isn’t that correct?
And then there is the much deeper idea of “original sin”
which implies an overall human condition – not just a mere action or actions. In this version, sin is a condition which represents the tendency in all humans to act selfishly and to love themselves more than God and other people.
One writer called it pride…or self centeredness. Another called it separation. But whatever it is … it leads to our alienation from God and because of this thing called sin we are cut off. We are lost. And as a result the world becomes is the mess that it is much of the time.
9. The answer, then, for sin -- is of course forgiveness.
In this we understand that God forgives us because of Jesus death on the cross. And this idea is preached over and over again. We have all heard it.
Perhaps we all need to hear it again. Or at least some people do.
But, is this the only way to understand salvation? Is this the only way to understand what Jesus was all about?
Well, let me suggest a different thought for you today. Maybe, I suggest, that among other things, Jesus was trying to save us from BAD RELGION!
What does this me, you ask?
Well, for instance … what if our hearts and minds are closed to God … not because we have done something wrong – but because we have had a bad experience with religion. If this is the case then forgiveness may not be what we need at all.
For instance, on my trip to Germany I got into a discussion with one of the people we were traveling with who does not attend church. He told me that he had just given up on religion because, as he said, all it does is cause people to be judgmental and self righteous and critical of others and to be prejudiced and actually hate people who are different from them --- which causes wars and all the rest. That’s what he said to me …
Well, obviously, it was clear to me that this person was not looking for forgiveness. For in his own eyes, he has done no wrong. The problem, for him, is quite plainly religion itself.
So, for whatever reason, it is religion itself which has somehow come between him and God. Is that so unusual? – Well, actually not. For instance, how many of you know of someone like that – who is turned off to God and the church because of some personal experience or other – or, perhaps, by the way they were taught about religion when they were young? Or maybe it is because they no longer can believe in many of the claims of religion in the modern world. I actually can name a good number of acquaintances who have no time for religion. We get along fine but they have no idea why I am a religious person.
10. Well, unfortunately, I didn’t have time to really respond to this person on my trip because of the short time we were together.
Yet, I have to say that while my religious faith and the reality of God are things that are extremely important to me –I also would have to admit that in many ways he is right about some of things he said. For the truth is that religion in the hands of the wrong people has really not always been a force for good in the world. And, yet, what I wanted to say is that while unfortunately sometimes religion can be bad -- not all religion is bad and much of it is good.
Secondly, I suspect that whatever happened in his childhood religious upbringing it must have had a negative impact on him. Sadly, this happens more frequently than we realize. Which should remind us all of the great importance of good religious education for our young people. Unfortunately, we sometimes tend to trivialize Sunday school and Confirmation and youth group activities and going to summer camp. But, let me remind you that these activities actually shape our young people’s minds much more than we realize (and often for the rest of their lives).
In fact, studies have shown that most people make personal lifelong religious commitments during their teens and twenties – I did! After that, by the time we become adults, it is often too late or too difficult for people to change.
And, too often, the very religious education that many Christian people got in the past -- because it was so over loaded with an emphasis on sin and how bad we were -- has actually turned people off to God. Somehow, it always seems to be a case of too much negativity and not enough love and compassion which drives many out of the church – that is for sure.
In fact I was reading the other day of a review of four different books that have come out recently by individuals who grew up in overly strict religious homes and how they struggled to overcome the shame and guilt that was forced upon them by well-meaning but deeply troubled and over controlling people. It happens a lot!
11. Now, Jesus actually faced this same problem in his day. For the religion of the Jews had, by his time, become very rigid and judgmental. People, in fact, were so busy being “religious” that they had forgotten how to love one another.
Consider, for instance, the famous parable which Jesus told about the Good Samaritan – a most telling account of the condition of religion in Jesus time. Let us listen to it again. It starts out with a religious Teacher asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. And it continues, of course, with the idea that one must love God and ones neighbor as oneself. To which the overly scrupulous teacher (and this is so telling …) asks “Who is my neighbor?” For, as you can see, the teacher is plainly looking to turn this great idea into another set of rules.
So, in reply Jesus says: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Now this is just the kind of stuff that got Jesus into trouble. For what is going on here is that Jesus is contrasting one group of Jews with another. For the Samaritans were very similar to the Jews but also quite different in some of their religious beliefs. And there was great animosity between these two groups.
And, yet, Jesus uses these despised people to hold up to his own people the reality that their own religion had become corrupted by self-interest and while they professed to love God they had, in fact, become hard hearted toward others who were poor or just not like them. They were, in fact, no better -- Jesus points out -- than the Samaritans in the eyes of God. In the language of the popular TV advertisement, Jesus was “sticking it to the man!”
And this was because, in short, their religion had become an impediment to their faith in God and love for one another – in spite of how they tried to appear.
The same situation can happen today – we must not forget – for Christians are not all immune to the same kind of self-righteous judgmentalism that affected the Jews in Jesus’ day.
So, while we all subscribe (in one way or another) to the basic idea of Jesus’ death on the cross as the atonement for our sins … we must be careful not to overplay this idea to the detriment of ourselves and others. This is particularly true, I think, in dealing with people who have become turned off to the church. For I was particularly careful in dealing with this person who I had just met so as not to further prejudice him against God by trying “convert him” in some confrontative way – which would actually only disclose my own insecurity in my own faith. After all, I realized, if God is going to come into this man’s life -- it may take quite a long time since his ideas were pretty firmly entrenched. So, in a case like this quite often I find that what is called for is to allow our actions to speak louder than our words. That is if we are serious about trying to minister to those who have been turned off to religion.
And we must realize that although Jesus could be very confrontive at times, he also often dealt with people indirectly – especially when he told parables or riddles which were designed to get past people’s defenses and get them to think in new and different ways about God.
So, although we may have good intentions and a great deal of faith … we must be careful in dealing with those who, for one reason or another, are outside the church … for we don’t want to end up doing the very thing which Jesus did not want us to
do – namely to make our own religion a fool proof plan for guaranteeing our own salvation to exclusion of others whom we should love as our neighbors regardless of their religious views or the lack of them.
12. Now, unfortunately, religious delusion is not new. The Israelites were also deluded and therefore failed to understand Jesus actions when he entered Jerusalem.
So, we must realize that the message of Palm Sunday is a mixed one. For, on the one hand, Jesus was tragically mistaken by the very people he came to save because they wanted him to be something he was not – an earthly savior.
And yet, on the other hand, it is also a real testimony to Jesus ultimate allegiance to God that he risked his very life to bring to us the saving message of God’s forgiving love for us all.
And in doing so Jesus willingly allowed his death to be transformed by God through the Holy Spirit to become not only forgiveness for our sins … but also:
To bring light in our emotional darkness
Sight to our spiritual blindness
Enlightenment to our confused minds
Liberation and hope for those who are politically and social Oppressed by prejudice and injustice
Healing to those who are sick
Salvation from fear and death - and much, much more.
And so, this morning on this Palm Sunday, may we rejoice as we begin this Holy Week. For it is time once again to remember Jesus’ great passion in which he gave up His life for all men and women everywhere in order to reveal to us God’s incredible redeeming love. And, in so doing, we all may be made whole in this life and in the next.
“Why are you doing this?”
Mark 11:1-11
1. Charles Dickens began his famous novel “A Tale of Two Cities” with the words “It was the best of times – it was the worst of times.”
One could say the same thing about the time in which Jesus lived.
It was a time of great unrest in which the most radical ideas and religious and political movements were coming to the surface as if in a seething cauldron.
The Greeks had ruled Israel until the Maccabean revolt which occurred about 140 to 160 years before Jesus. This won independence for the Jews for a short time until the Romans conquered them again sixty years before Jesus birth. But the Maccabees were not popular.
The problem was not political so much as religious. The new leaders Jonathon and Simon Maccabee had dared to make themselves high priests - yet they were not descended from David and therefore they did not have Divine Right, so to speak. Which is why in Mathew’s Gospel so much is made to link Jesus in direct descent from David – so that people would believe in him.
The opposition to the Maccabees was particularly strong on the part of the Pharisees (who were most devout of the Jews). The Pharisees believed by this time that God would raise up a new leader – a Messiah – who would be descended from David and who would become not only the leader of the Jews but also of the whole world. And, they also believed that this ruler would come at the imminent end of the world! Can you imagine this?
They also believed that this messiah would be called the “Son of God.” Which did not exactly mean that he was actually God but rather that he would be God’s special agent on earth. He would come in fulfillment of the words of Isaiah in Chapter 9:
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, [a] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
2. Well, I could go on … but as I mentioned last week if there was ever a time for God to act and for a divinely appointed person to come on the scene it was when Jesus was born. He couldn’t have picked a better time – it seems.
And now, after a short ministry of some three years, Jesus decides to make his big move. He decides to challenge the powers of the world – the religious and political authorities - in a most dramatic and climactic way. And he will do it by entering Jerusalem at the most opportune and momentous time of the year.
For Jesus would come down from the Galilean hills during the celebration of the Passover – the time when the Jews celebrated the Exodus from Egypt – so far so good.
But, to everyone’s surprise – Jesus did everything in a most unusual and unexpected way – beginning with his choice of a donkey on which to ride.
3. Think about it? Why would he choose a donkey? Why not a horse?
Now also consider this fact --- which was well known to every Jew in the land -- which was the fact that no less than Simon Maccabee himself had entered Jerusalem on a horse as a conqueror (as I have mentioned). And this is exactly how he did it according the 1st Book of Maccabees (which is in the Apocrypha – the additional books of the Bible which come right before the New Testament).
"And Simon Maccabee entered into the city with thanksgiving and branches of palm trees, and with harps, and cymbals, and stringed instruments, and hymns and songs because a great enemy had been crushed and driven out of Israel."
Do you get the picture?
Jesus, in other words, was replicating the way Simon Maccabees' victorious entry to the city. With one thing different, of course. Jesus was not entering on a horse (which would be the sign of the general or a conqueror) but rather on a donkey – which was the sign of a beast of burden and a sign of peace. In other words, if Jesus is a conqueror, it is a totally different kind of kingdom which he planned to establish on earth. Not at all the kind that thousands of Jews expected to take place.
4. Now, in this story, there is also confusion over the word Hosanna which is in Mark’s Gospel and in the songs we sing on Palm Sunday.
The word Hosanna is usually defined in English dictionaries as "an exclamation of praise, acclamation or adoration.” Yet, underlying the English form is the Hebrew "hosha' na," which expresses a request for salvation. This precise form of expression does not fit the dictionary’s associations with praise or acclamation. And even the well known Biblical scholar, William Barclay, states that it is not a statement of praise and honor for Jesus – which is what we usually think – but rather a cry for help from God. “Save us now!” Is the way Barclay puts it.
In other words, when Jesus entered Jerusalem the people were crying out to God to send them a savior and conqueror who would shatter the enemies of Israel. The people were literally praying that God would break in a save his people now that the Messiah has come.
Now we must realize that this is not a case of what is sometimes called “political realism” at work here. This is desperation. This is the cry of a people who have literally given up hope for any normal process or practical solution. Can you begin to see now how troubled this situation was? This was a case of total desperation! “Save us!” the people said. “Save Us!” – that is what Hosanna really means.
5. Imagine now, how courageous it was for Jesus to act in such a way as he did – flying in the face of the deep fears and expectations of his people. A politically and religiously dangerous thing it was. He was, without doubt, choosing to risk his life by demonstrating to his people that they were wrong to expect a nationalistic leader and that instead – they should seek to find God in love and forgiveness and that God’s Kingdom (which they all hoped for) was indeed at hand – if they could only see it in their midst.
For we must realize that Jesus was not just talking the talk – he was walking the walk as he had continuously done throughout his ministry – eating with sinners and tax collectors – healing on the Sabbath – and in so many other ways contradicting the religious practices of his people in the name of a higher good. Jesus was actually engaging in what is now called guerilla theater or street theater which is the dramatization of social and political issues, usually enacted outdoors, as on the street or in a park.
Now Jesus was not alone in this kind of unusual prophetic behavior. For instance the prophet Ezekiel once invited all the leaders of Jerusalem to a meal which he cooked in a corroded pot. He filled the pot with water and bloody pieces of meat. And when the water boiled the rust from the pot and the blood from the meat turned the water to a deadly red color. It was very shocking!
And this was Ezekiel’s way of trying to show that Jerusalem was like the pot which is corroded. Which was in direct contradiction to what the Jews thought – because they believed that their walled city was impervious to attack and therefore they thought they were safe from the Babylonians. However, Ezekiel was saying to them that Jerusalem was really more like the corroded pot because it was corrupted on the inside and this will be the downfall of the people – not the Babylonians on the outside. Not a popular idea – as you might expect. But it was a very vivid demonstration – it was street theater.
6. So, Jesus too, then is dramatizing his entry into Jerusalem by doing a little street theater.
But, of course, the people didn’t get it – exactly. Because they were so caught up in their expectation of a worldly savior that they missed the point.
Of course, this happens a lot. Because so often people are mislead by thinking that the answer to their problems is always something outside themselves and that if only what they want to happen will happen -- they will be saved … rather than by looking for the answer within themselves.
So, unexpectedly and mysteriously the long awaited Kingdom of God arrived in Jerusalem on the back of donkey – while the people ironically shouted Hossana! Hossana! – God Help Us!!
Got the picture?
Well, it is not hard to see that once the people – at least some people – figure out that Jesus is not going to be what they expect – they will turn on him … and, there is little doubt that Jesus knew what that would mean for him before he even planned this event.
So, Why Did He do it? This is the question we struggle with every year at this time – why did he do it?
7. Well, we are not alone, for centuries have passed … and every great mind in the world … has sought to answer that question. And there are many answers to why Jesus went into Jerusalem at the time he did … knowing full well it could be for him the end of his life.
First of all -- we may assume that Jesus believed so strongly in what he was all about that his life no longer mattered and he was willing to die for what he believed in. That’s pretty clear isn’t it?
Further -- we may say that the situation at the time was so grave – so troubled – so desperate – that Jesus realized that something had to be done. Someone had to act to change things in a different direction. And the only way to achieve this needed change was to act dramatically to get people’s attention. Which he did at the cost of his life.
Also -- it may be argued that God too had decided that now the time was right. Namely, that people were finally ready for a new way of spiritual understanding and that by working through Jesus God was able to act to bring about this change. For we must realize of course that God was very much involved in Jesus’ life from the very beginning.
So, why did he do it?
8. Well, traditionally, of course, there are all the standard beliefs which have come down to us through the church – which we have all been taught such as the most common answer, of course, which is that Jesus died for the sins of the world.
As someone has written: it comes down to this.
(1.) God created the world.
(2.) Because of sin the world gets lost.
(3.) And God seeks to restore the world to His original intention.
But, still we ask - What specifically is sin? Theologian and Biblical scholar Marcus Borg says that sin usually implies disobeying God’s laws or “being bad.” At least that is what it means to most of us …isn’t that correct?
And then there is the much deeper idea of “original sin”
which implies an overall human condition – not just a mere action or actions. In this version, sin is a condition which represents the tendency in all humans to act selfishly and to love themselves more than God and other people.
One writer called it pride…or self centeredness. Another called it separation. But whatever it is … it leads to our alienation from God and because of this thing called sin we are cut off. We are lost. And as a result the world becomes is the mess that it is much of the time.
9. The answer, then, for sin -- is of course forgiveness.
In this we understand that God forgives us because of Jesus death on the cross. And this idea is preached over and over again. We have all heard it.
Perhaps we all need to hear it again. Or at least some people do.
But, is this the only way to understand salvation? Is this the only way to understand what Jesus was all about?
Well, let me suggest a different thought for you today. Maybe, I suggest, that among other things, Jesus was trying to save us from BAD RELGION!
What does this me, you ask?
Well, for instance … what if our hearts and minds are closed to God … not because we have done something wrong – but because we have had a bad experience with religion. If this is the case then forgiveness may not be what we need at all.
For instance, on my trip to Germany I got into a discussion with one of the people we were traveling with who does not attend church. He told me that he had just given up on religion because, as he said, all it does is cause people to be judgmental and self righteous and critical of others and to be prejudiced and actually hate people who are different from them --- which causes wars and all the rest. That’s what he said to me …
Well, obviously, it was clear to me that this person was not looking for forgiveness. For in his own eyes, he has done no wrong. The problem, for him, is quite plainly religion itself.
So, for whatever reason, it is religion itself which has somehow come between him and God. Is that so unusual? – Well, actually not. For instance, how many of you know of someone like that – who is turned off to God and the church because of some personal experience or other – or, perhaps, by the way they were taught about religion when they were young? Or maybe it is because they no longer can believe in many of the claims of religion in the modern world. I actually can name a good number of acquaintances who have no time for religion. We get along fine but they have no idea why I am a religious person.
10. Well, unfortunately, I didn’t have time to really respond to this person on my trip because of the short time we were together.
Yet, I have to say that while my religious faith and the reality of God are things that are extremely important to me –I also would have to admit that in many ways he is right about some of things he said. For the truth is that religion in the hands of the wrong people has really not always been a force for good in the world. And, yet, what I wanted to say is that while unfortunately sometimes religion can be bad -- not all religion is bad and much of it is good.
Secondly, I suspect that whatever happened in his childhood religious upbringing it must have had a negative impact on him. Sadly, this happens more frequently than we realize. Which should remind us all of the great importance of good religious education for our young people. Unfortunately, we sometimes tend to trivialize Sunday school and Confirmation and youth group activities and going to summer camp. But, let me remind you that these activities actually shape our young people’s minds much more than we realize (and often for the rest of their lives).
In fact, studies have shown that most people make personal lifelong religious commitments during their teens and twenties – I did! After that, by the time we become adults, it is often too late or too difficult for people to change.
And, too often, the very religious education that many Christian people got in the past -- because it was so over loaded with an emphasis on sin and how bad we were -- has actually turned people off to God. Somehow, it always seems to be a case of too much negativity and not enough love and compassion which drives many out of the church – that is for sure.
In fact I was reading the other day of a review of four different books that have come out recently by individuals who grew up in overly strict religious homes and how they struggled to overcome the shame and guilt that was forced upon them by well-meaning but deeply troubled and over controlling people. It happens a lot!
11. Now, Jesus actually faced this same problem in his day. For the religion of the Jews had, by his time, become very rigid and judgmental. People, in fact, were so busy being “religious” that they had forgotten how to love one another.
Consider, for instance, the famous parable which Jesus told about the Good Samaritan – a most telling account of the condition of religion in Jesus time. Let us listen to it again. It starts out with a religious Teacher asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. And it continues, of course, with the idea that one must love God and ones neighbor as oneself. To which the overly scrupulous teacher (and this is so telling …) asks “Who is my neighbor?” For, as you can see, the teacher is plainly looking to turn this great idea into another set of rules.
So, in reply Jesus says: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
35The next day he took out two silver coins[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Now this is just the kind of stuff that got Jesus into trouble. For what is going on here is that Jesus is contrasting one group of Jews with another. For the Samaritans were very similar to the Jews but also quite different in some of their religious beliefs. And there was great animosity between these two groups.
And, yet, Jesus uses these despised people to hold up to his own people the reality that their own religion had become corrupted by self-interest and while they professed to love God they had, in fact, become hard hearted toward others who were poor or just not like them. They were, in fact, no better -- Jesus points out -- than the Samaritans in the eyes of God. In the language of the popular TV advertisement, Jesus was “sticking it to the man!”
And this was because, in short, their religion had become an impediment to their faith in God and love for one another – in spite of how they tried to appear.
The same situation can happen today – we must not forget – for Christians are not all immune to the same kind of self-righteous judgmentalism that affected the Jews in Jesus’ day.
So, while we all subscribe (in one way or another) to the basic idea of Jesus’ death on the cross as the atonement for our sins … we must be careful not to overplay this idea to the detriment of ourselves and others. This is particularly true, I think, in dealing with people who have become turned off to the church. For I was particularly careful in dealing with this person who I had just met so as not to further prejudice him against God by trying “convert him” in some confrontative way – which would actually only disclose my own insecurity in my own faith. After all, I realized, if God is going to come into this man’s life -- it may take quite a long time since his ideas were pretty firmly entrenched. So, in a case like this quite often I find that what is called for is to allow our actions to speak louder than our words. That is if we are serious about trying to minister to those who have been turned off to religion.
And we must realize that although Jesus could be very confrontive at times, he also often dealt with people indirectly – especially when he told parables or riddles which were designed to get past people’s defenses and get them to think in new and different ways about God.
So, although we may have good intentions and a great deal of faith … we must be careful in dealing with those who, for one reason or another, are outside the church … for we don’t want to end up doing the very thing which Jesus did not want us to
do – namely to make our own religion a fool proof plan for guaranteeing our own salvation to exclusion of others whom we should love as our neighbors regardless of their religious views or the lack of them.
12. Now, unfortunately, religious delusion is not new. The Israelites were also deluded and therefore failed to understand Jesus actions when he entered Jerusalem.
So, we must realize that the message of Palm Sunday is a mixed one. For, on the one hand, Jesus was tragically mistaken by the very people he came to save because they wanted him to be something he was not – an earthly savior.
And yet, on the other hand, it is also a real testimony to Jesus ultimate allegiance to God that he risked his very life to bring to us the saving message of God’s forgiving love for us all.
And in doing so Jesus willingly allowed his death to be transformed by God through the Holy Spirit to become not only forgiveness for our sins … but also:
To bring light in our emotional darkness
Sight to our spiritual blindness
Enlightenment to our confused minds
Liberation and hope for those who are politically and social Oppressed by prejudice and injustice
Healing to those who are sick
Salvation from fear and death - and much, much more.
And so, this morning on this Palm Sunday, may we rejoice as we begin this Holy Week. For it is time once again to remember Jesus’ great passion in which he gave up His life for all men and women everywhere in order to reveal to us God’s incredible redeeming love. And, in so doing, we all may be made whole in this life and in the next.
posted by Anonymous at 11:20 AM
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