Sunday of the Passion
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
The transfer of the Sunday of the Passion from the Fifth Sunday in Lent to the Sixth Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday) represents a return to one of the earliest practices in the church. Palm Sunday was celebrated as part of the observation of the first day of Holy Week, or the Passion of Our Lord. First in Jerusalem, then in other parts of the church, the entire Passion story was read on this Sunday. The other three gospel narratives of the Passion were read during Holy Week, so that the "history of the Passion" was proclaimed at least four times during this pivotal week. The Gospel of St. Matthew announced the Passion on Sunday and the echo of that story was heard three more times during the week. Most lectionaries today have only one echo - on Good Friday - when the Passion may be read from St. John. This is not all bad since the liturgical/theological function of the Sunday of the Passion was to point to Good Friday and the events of the crucifixion.
Theologically, the Sunday of the Passion thrusts the great mystery of Jesus' betrayal, trial, condemnation, suffering, and death on the cross for the redemption of human beings by God before the faithful so that there can be no mistaking the importance of this most Holy Sunday and Holy Week. The Sunday ofthe Passion belongs to a comprehensive theology of the cross. The so-called "triumphal entry" of the Lord into the Holy City is only a part of that story and its theology: the Sunday of the Passion puts this in proper perspective. The problem posed for most preachers is how to reconcile the traditional Palm Sunday theme with the more inclusive theology of the Sunday of the Passion. This may be accomplished through the use of a processional liturgy, which includes a reading of the processional/Palm Sunday Gospel, placing the sermon on the Gospel for the Day in the Liturgy of the Word.
The Prayer of the Day
Most contemporary liturgies provide at least two collects - one for the Palm Sunday processional liturgy and another for the Eucharist. In the very brief LBW "Processional with Palms," for example, there are two prayers. The first is quite compact and, in its very brevity, elucidates the Passion Sunday/Week theme:
Mercifully assist us, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts whereby you have given us life everlasting; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The second prayer concentrates on the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The first part reads:
We praise and thank you, O God, for the great acts of love by which you have redeemed us through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. On this day he entered the holy city of Jerusalem in triumph, and was acclaimed the Son of David and King of Kings by those who scattered their garments and branches of palm in his path.
The second half of the prayer asks for God's blessings upon the palm branches and "those who bear them" in the procession.
Prayers to be used in the liturgy for the Sunday of the Passion are, in the liturgical churches, revisions of the classic collect for Passion/Palm Sunday. This collect precedes the Palm Sunday
emphasis and opens up the mystery of the Passion of the Lord. The Book ofCommon Prayer revision goes a bit farther than most:
Almighty God, in the tender love for the human race you sent your Son, our Jesus Christ, to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
It is clearly, as are the others, oriented toward the Sunday of the Passion as the beginning of Holy Week.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 22:1-12, or 22:1-11 (E); 22:7-8, 16-19, 22-23 (R) - The penitential aspects of this psalm make it fit almost perfectly the suffering and death - and the vindication - of Jesus. According to St. Matthew, Jesus cried out with the first verse, "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" He probably recited the rest of that verse, if not the entire psalm. When that fact is coupled to the traditional Gospel for the Day (Matthew), it is obvious why this psalm was used on the Passion Sunday early in Christian history. It responds to the first reading and harmonizes with the Gospel for the Day quite handily. It is the perfect psalm for the Sunday of the Passion and the beginning of Holy Week.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Father, when your Son was handed over to torture and felt abandoned by you, he cried out from the cross. Then death was destroyed, and life was restored. By his death and resurrection save the poor, lift up the downtrodden, break the chains of the oppressed, that your church may sing your praises; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 31:1-5, 9-15 (L) - (Note: The LBW appoint this psalm for all three years of the lectionary cycle.) Comments on this psalm may be located in Cycle/Series A.
The readings:
Isaiah 50:4-7 (R); 50:4-9a (C)
The Roman Catholic Ordo and the Common and Lutheran lectionaries all assigned this reading to Passion Sunday in Series/Cycle A, as well as in B. Commentary may be found in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
Isaiah 45:21-25, or 52:13--53:12 (E)
The Episcopal Church stands alone in the selection of these two optional readings for the Sunday of the Passion. There are several reasons why this lection was chosen for the Liturgy of the Word. One of them is the statement attesting to God's uniqueness in verse 21: "And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none besides me." Verse 23 offers another reason for this choice: "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear," or as Paul would put it, "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." This quotation, of course, is the last verse of the second reading for the day, Philippians 2:11. Verse 25 of Isaiah points to God's victory in Jesus Christ: "In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory."
Isaiah aptly describes what happened to Christ in his suffering and death, especially in the latter part of the pericope. Verse 3 begins: "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smited by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray ... and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all...." It is rather obvious why the Christians incorporated this reading along with Psalm 22 in the early liturgies. It expresses what happened to Jesus - for our sake - very graphically.
Zechariah 9:9-10 (L)
This reading pictures the "king who comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." It belongs to the traditional Palm Sunday Gospel of the triumphant entry of Jesus into the Holy City. The opening verses call for rejoicing in the One who has come, while the last part of the reading enunciates the results (the end of war and peace, as a starter) of this new "blood-covenant" which is the great act of restoration on the part of God. This section points to and beyond the suffering and death of Christ to the results that will accrue in the resurrection - the final triumph of God in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:5-11 (E, L, C); 2:6-11 (R)
This lection, too, was read last year and commentary made on it in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
Mark 14:1--15:47, or 14:1-39 (R, L); 14:32-72, 15:1-39 (40-47) (E)
Most congregations will virtually insist that the shorter form of this Gospel be read on the Sunday of the Passion. The longer version is simply too long for the contemporary worshiper to listen to, unless it is cast in the form of a dramatic reading with several voices, one for each character in the reading. Such a production, which could even be done in the form of a chancel drama replete with costumes, might even be attempted. Why, as many congregations do, limit such productions to the mid-week services during Lent? The point is this: most people will not hear the whole story of the Passion during Holy Week if they do not hear it on Passion Sunday. To participate to the fullest in Good Friday and Easter Worship, people need to rehearse and relearn the Passion story at the end of Lent.
The shorter reading (15:1-39) highlights the suffering and death of Jesus and puts this event in proper perspective. Although Mark combines two early crucifixion stories - one of which pictures Jesus in terms of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 and the other showing a more cosmic context and meaning to the crucifixion of the "King of the Jews" - he is still able to give the whole his own theological interpretation. Reginald Fuller writes:
This narrative (the second of the two stories in verses 25, 26, 29a, 32b, 33, 34a, 37, and 38) interprets Jesus' death not as that of an innocent, righteous suffering servant of God but as an agonizing conflict between the powers of light and the powers of darkness. This is an apocalyptic interpretation. The loud cry of Jesus is an announcement of triumph of the power of light (and implicitly Jesus' exaltation), and the rending of the temple veil, a symbolical expression of that victory. We have here an interpretation of the death of Jesus which recalls the hymn in Philippians 2:6-11. Jesus is the divine redeemer who has emptied himself of his divine glory and therefore it is concealed from the powers of darkness who are his enemies. They therefore crucify the lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). His death leads to his exaltation and triumph over the powers.
(Preaching the New Lectionary, p. 352)
Had Mark used only one or the other of these narratives, a defective theology of the cross would have resulted. On one hand, Jesus' death would be that of a good man who lived an exemplary life, and for that was condemned to death and crucified. Such a death would have limited significance for the faith. The second story, without the first, would tend toward abstraction (the "light" and "darkness" theme). Together, they show that the innocent one, who suffered and died at Calvary, came to that end through his perfect obedience to God's will and plan, and in that terrible and agonizing - and totally undeserved death on a cross - Jesus actually triumphed over his enemies and the forces of darkness, sin, and death.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 11:1-10 and 15:1-39 (E, C) - "A Temporary Triumph."
Some years ago, a colleague of mine gave me a copy of an old engraving, which depicted Kaiser Wilhelm's visit to Jerusalem early in this century. When the Kaiser entered the Holy City for the first time, he was mounted on a magnificent white stallion, instead of on a colt like Jesus. Instead of going through one of the gates of the city, he had a new entrance chopped out of the walls to make his entrance unique. He rode through that gap and staged his version of his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. He was, indeed, a conqueror - temporarily - in his own right, but his triumphal entry bore no resemblance to that of Jesus (not anything like the results of Jesus' glorious entrance). The world has forgotten about the Kaiser's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, partly because he and his army went down to an ignominious defeat in World War I, but the story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem will be told forever - along with the full story of what happened in the following week that led to complete victory for God over the forces of darkness and evil.
1. It was a temporary triumph that Jesus experienced on the day known as Palm Sunday. He soon ran into opposition, intrigue, betrayal and desertion, a mock trial, suffering and death on the cross. The triumph of Palm Sunday was temporary when it should have been permanent. After all, this entrance was prophesied by Zechariah and represented the redemption in the world.
2. The triumph of his enemies appeared to be an ultimate triumph. It seemed to mean an end to Jesus' mission, as well as to his life, here on earth. When the opposition couldn't intimidate Jesus and get him to recant, they sent him packing - to Herod and the cross. The Jews got rid of Jesus forever. That's what they thought. They hated Herod's placard that was nailed with Jesus to the cross - "The King of the Jews." They wanted to have the imposter killed - and he was.
3. But their triumph was also temporary. God took a hand in the proceedings and raised up Jesus, as scripture said he would, on the third day. They could kill Jesus, but they could not keep him in the tomb. (See the sermon, "You Can't Nail Jesus Down" in the volume of sermons edited by John Killinger, Experimental Preaching.) Jesus' victory at the tomb has eternal significance. Sin and death and evil and darkness were all defeated when Jesus died and came forth from the grave on the third day.
4. God made Jesus' temporary victory a lasting one - he has made him King of Kings and Lord of Lords, ruler of heaven and earth. And because he lives, we shall also live forever in his kingdom. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Sermons on the First and Second Lessons
Sermon suggestions for the Isaiah 50 and Philippians 2 readings are included in the commentary for the Sunday of the Passion in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A. Rather than preach an entire sermon on the Isaiah 45 or the Isaiah 52-53 text, I would incorporate the main content and, perhaps quotations, in number two of the above sermon.
Theologically, the Sunday of the Passion thrusts the great mystery of Jesus' betrayal, trial, condemnation, suffering, and death on the cross for the redemption of human beings by God before the faithful so that there can be no mistaking the importance of this most Holy Sunday and Holy Week. The Sunday ofthe Passion belongs to a comprehensive theology of the cross. The so-called "triumphal entry" of the Lord into the Holy City is only a part of that story and its theology: the Sunday of the Passion puts this in proper perspective. The problem posed for most preachers is how to reconcile the traditional Palm Sunday theme with the more inclusive theology of the Sunday of the Passion. This may be accomplished through the use of a processional liturgy, which includes a reading of the processional/Palm Sunday Gospel, placing the sermon on the Gospel for the Day in the Liturgy of the Word.
The Prayer of the Day
Most contemporary liturgies provide at least two collects - one for the Palm Sunday processional liturgy and another for the Eucharist. In the very brief LBW "Processional with Palms," for example, there are two prayers. The first is quite compact and, in its very brevity, elucidates the Passion Sunday/Week theme:
Mercifully assist us, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts whereby you have given us life everlasting; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The second prayer concentrates on the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The first part reads:
We praise and thank you, O God, for the great acts of love by which you have redeemed us through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. On this day he entered the holy city of Jerusalem in triumph, and was acclaimed the Son of David and King of Kings by those who scattered their garments and branches of palm in his path.
The second half of the prayer asks for God's blessings upon the palm branches and "those who bear them" in the procession.
Prayers to be used in the liturgy for the Sunday of the Passion are, in the liturgical churches, revisions of the classic collect for Passion/Palm Sunday. This collect precedes the Palm Sunday
emphasis and opens up the mystery of the Passion of the Lord. The Book ofCommon Prayer revision goes a bit farther than most:
Almighty God, in the tender love for the human race you sent your Son, our Jesus Christ, to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
It is clearly, as are the others, oriented toward the Sunday of the Passion as the beginning of Holy Week.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 22:1-12, or 22:1-11 (E); 22:7-8, 16-19, 22-23 (R) - The penitential aspects of this psalm make it fit almost perfectly the suffering and death - and the vindication - of Jesus. According to St. Matthew, Jesus cried out with the first verse, "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" He probably recited the rest of that verse, if not the entire psalm. When that fact is coupled to the traditional Gospel for the Day (Matthew), it is obvious why this psalm was used on the Passion Sunday early in Christian history. It responds to the first reading and harmonizes with the Gospel for the Day quite handily. It is the perfect psalm for the Sunday of the Passion and the beginning of Holy Week.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Father, when your Son was handed over to torture and felt abandoned by you, he cried out from the cross. Then death was destroyed, and life was restored. By his death and resurrection save the poor, lift up the downtrodden, break the chains of the oppressed, that your church may sing your praises; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 31:1-5, 9-15 (L) - (Note: The LBW appoint this psalm for all three years of the lectionary cycle.) Comments on this psalm may be located in Cycle/Series A.
The readings:
Isaiah 50:4-7 (R); 50:4-9a (C)
The Roman Catholic Ordo and the Common and Lutheran lectionaries all assigned this reading to Passion Sunday in Series/Cycle A, as well as in B. Commentary may be found in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
Isaiah 45:21-25, or 52:13--53:12 (E)
The Episcopal Church stands alone in the selection of these two optional readings for the Sunday of the Passion. There are several reasons why this lection was chosen for the Liturgy of the Word. One of them is the statement attesting to God's uniqueness in verse 21: "And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none besides me." Verse 23 offers another reason for this choice: "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear," or as Paul would put it, "every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." This quotation, of course, is the last verse of the second reading for the day, Philippians 2:11. Verse 25 of Isaiah points to God's victory in Jesus Christ: "In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall triumph and glory."
Isaiah aptly describes what happened to Christ in his suffering and death, especially in the latter part of the pericope. Verse 3 begins: "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smited by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray ... and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all...." It is rather obvious why the Christians incorporated this reading along with Psalm 22 in the early liturgies. It expresses what happened to Jesus - for our sake - very graphically.
Zechariah 9:9-10 (L)
This reading pictures the "king who comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass." It belongs to the traditional Palm Sunday Gospel of the triumphant entry of Jesus into the Holy City. The opening verses call for rejoicing in the One who has come, while the last part of the reading enunciates the results (the end of war and peace, as a starter) of this new "blood-covenant" which is the great act of restoration on the part of God. This section points to and beyond the suffering and death of Christ to the results that will accrue in the resurrection - the final triumph of God in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:5-11 (E, L, C); 2:6-11 (R)
This lection, too, was read last year and commentary made on it in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A.
Mark 14:1--15:47, or 14:1-39 (R, L); 14:32-72, 15:1-39 (40-47) (E)
Most congregations will virtually insist that the shorter form of this Gospel be read on the Sunday of the Passion. The longer version is simply too long for the contemporary worshiper to listen to, unless it is cast in the form of a dramatic reading with several voices, one for each character in the reading. Such a production, which could even be done in the form of a chancel drama replete with costumes, might even be attempted. Why, as many congregations do, limit such productions to the mid-week services during Lent? The point is this: most people will not hear the whole story of the Passion during Holy Week if they do not hear it on Passion Sunday. To participate to the fullest in Good Friday and Easter Worship, people need to rehearse and relearn the Passion story at the end of Lent.
The shorter reading (15:1-39) highlights the suffering and death of Jesus and puts this event in proper perspective. Although Mark combines two early crucifixion stories - one of which pictures Jesus in terms of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 and the other showing a more cosmic context and meaning to the crucifixion of the "King of the Jews" - he is still able to give the whole his own theological interpretation. Reginald Fuller writes:
This narrative (the second of the two stories in verses 25, 26, 29a, 32b, 33, 34a, 37, and 38) interprets Jesus' death not as that of an innocent, righteous suffering servant of God but as an agonizing conflict between the powers of light and the powers of darkness. This is an apocalyptic interpretation. The loud cry of Jesus is an announcement of triumph of the power of light (and implicitly Jesus' exaltation), and the rending of the temple veil, a symbolical expression of that victory. We have here an interpretation of the death of Jesus which recalls the hymn in Philippians 2:6-11. Jesus is the divine redeemer who has emptied himself of his divine glory and therefore it is concealed from the powers of darkness who are his enemies. They therefore crucify the lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). His death leads to his exaltation and triumph over the powers.
(Preaching the New Lectionary, p. 352)
Had Mark used only one or the other of these narratives, a defective theology of the cross would have resulted. On one hand, Jesus' death would be that of a good man who lived an exemplary life, and for that was condemned to death and crucified. Such a death would have limited significance for the faith. The second story, without the first, would tend toward abstraction (the "light" and "darkness" theme). Together, they show that the innocent one, who suffered and died at Calvary, came to that end through his perfect obedience to God's will and plan, and in that terrible and agonizing - and totally undeserved death on a cross - Jesus actually triumphed over his enemies and the forces of darkness, sin, and death.
A Sermon on the Gospel, Mark 11:1-10 and 15:1-39 (E, C) - "A Temporary Triumph."
Some years ago, a colleague of mine gave me a copy of an old engraving, which depicted Kaiser Wilhelm's visit to Jerusalem early in this century. When the Kaiser entered the Holy City for the first time, he was mounted on a magnificent white stallion, instead of on a colt like Jesus. Instead of going through one of the gates of the city, he had a new entrance chopped out of the walls to make his entrance unique. He rode through that gap and staged his version of his triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. He was, indeed, a conqueror - temporarily - in his own right, but his triumphal entry bore no resemblance to that of Jesus (not anything like the results of Jesus' glorious entrance). The world has forgotten about the Kaiser's triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, partly because he and his army went down to an ignominious defeat in World War I, but the story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem will be told forever - along with the full story of what happened in the following week that led to complete victory for God over the forces of darkness and evil.
1. It was a temporary triumph that Jesus experienced on the day known as Palm Sunday. He soon ran into opposition, intrigue, betrayal and desertion, a mock trial, suffering and death on the cross. The triumph of Palm Sunday was temporary when it should have been permanent. After all, this entrance was prophesied by Zechariah and represented the redemption in the world.
2. The triumph of his enemies appeared to be an ultimate triumph. It seemed to mean an end to Jesus' mission, as well as to his life, here on earth. When the opposition couldn't intimidate Jesus and get him to recant, they sent him packing - to Herod and the cross. The Jews got rid of Jesus forever. That's what they thought. They hated Herod's placard that was nailed with Jesus to the cross - "The King of the Jews." They wanted to have the imposter killed - and he was.
3. But their triumph was also temporary. God took a hand in the proceedings and raised up Jesus, as scripture said he would, on the third day. They could kill Jesus, but they could not keep him in the tomb. (See the sermon, "You Can't Nail Jesus Down" in the volume of sermons edited by John Killinger, Experimental Preaching.) Jesus' victory at the tomb has eternal significance. Sin and death and evil and darkness were all defeated when Jesus died and came forth from the grave on the third day.
4. God made Jesus' temporary victory a lasting one - he has made him King of Kings and Lord of Lords, ruler of heaven and earth. And because he lives, we shall also live forever in his kingdom. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Sermons on the First and Second Lessons
Sermon suggestions for the Isaiah 50 and Philippians 2 readings are included in the commentary for the Sunday of the Passion in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A. Rather than preach an entire sermon on the Isaiah 45 or the Isaiah 52-53 text, I would incorporate the main content and, perhaps quotations, in number two of the above sermon.
