The Way Of The Cross
Sermon
Today's theme is "The way of the cross". The first Palm Sunday, that triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, marked the real beginning of the way of the cross for him. Although his life had been edging that way for some time, Palm Sunday was the beginning of the final count-down to the events of Easter. To the cross. And it seems to me the way of the cross is full of ups and downs. It was full of ups and downs, highs and lows, for Jesus, and I fear it's much the same for us.
The first Palm Sunday was such a high point. It seems Jesus had made quite elaborate arrangements to make sure a donkey was available, simply in order to ride into Jerusalem in some sort of symbolic entry. The disciples were part of the symbolism. They laid their cloaks on the donkey, and Jesus mounted. And the people, the ordinary people, the everyday crowds who had gathered to see whatever festivities there were to see, entered into the spirit of it all by making a kind of red carpet by covering the road with their cloaks, and cutting branches of palm to lay on the road and to wave about. And the people shouted and yelled and cheered and danced with mounting excitment.
It's difficult to see quite why they were so excited. For a king, that is, a prince, or a high official, or a member of the royal court, would never have ridden on a donkey. A white stallion perhaps, a shining charger, or in a gleaming chariot, but not on a donkey. A donkey is something of a figure of fun in the animal world. People have long been called "donkey" or "silly ass" as a term of abuse.
So maybe Jesus was making some sort of statement. Perhaps a statement about not being afraid to do apparently foolish things for God. Perhaps a statement about being one of the people, ordinary, yet very different. Different enough to make a calculated entry into the city, an entry designed to announce his arrival to the world. His manner of entry was carefully chosen. He could have simply walked into Jerusalem, in the usual way, with all the other travellers.
And the people sensed it was more than just fun. There was some importance to this entry, although the importance was demonstrated in such an unusual way. Just as the importance of his entry into the world was demonstrated in an unusual way, by being born in a dirty stable.
Perhaps on this occasion of the first Palm Sunday, to some extent Jesus's fame had spread before him. And perhaps some of those city people already knew him. According to John's gospel, Jesus had visited Jerusalem several times before. But not everyone knew who he was. We're told people asked: "Who is this?" So, many of them were perhaps simply caught up in the general excitement. But they recognised in the symbolism of the silly donkey but the solemn entry, an unusual statement was being made, even though they were probably unaware quite what it meant.
This mode of entry chosen by Jesus perhaps foreshadowed his act at the Last Supper, of washing the disciples' feet. That act which showed the servant in this particular leader. Which demonstrated the totally opposite form of leadership to anything we might know in the world.
Which led, not by having the best of everything - the expense account, the big house, the chauffeur, the power - but by giving himself wholly to his people, even to the extent of performing menial tasks for them. Already he was beginning to demonstrate those gospel paradoxes, that God's strength is made perfect in weakness, and that the really wise people are those who are willing to be fools for God.
And the ride into Jerusalem was perhaps another form of those statements, for Jesus put aside power as we know it - the shining charger, the white stallion, the pomp, the ceremony - in order to hobble in on a donkey.
But even so, it was a high spot. Exciting, fun, a good time being had by all. Yet Jesus made no attempt to capitalise on all that good feeling. He didn't preach, or teach or heal, or even attempt to respond to the people's hype and excitement in any way. It was almost as if all that part of his ministry, the doing part, the part which did so much for other people, was pretty nearly over.
In fact, far from capitalising on the general good-will, he actually destroyed the mood very abruptly by going into the temple and driving out the money-changers and the dealers. And suddenly, that pleasant, happy, fun time became scary and threatening and ominous.
For it was obvious that after an act like that, the authorities would catch up with Jesus sooner or later. Imagine going into Norwich Cathedral and turning over the bookstalls or trashing the souvenir shop, in public! If Jesus did that today, he'd undoubtedly be denounced as a vandal, and could expect to be arrested on the spot, for such an act is a deliberate flouting of authority. And such an act sends a very humiliating and irritating message to religious authorities.
So the initial high of the excitement and fun of the entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, was followed very quickly by a low of fear and anxiety. And this was a pattern which continued.
The high of the Last Supper, that party organised by Jesus to celebrate the Passover festival, was followed by the low of his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. And the fear and the terror and the anxiety and the dread which must have been felt by all his friends, overwhelmed them when later he was crucified. That particular low went right down into the pits, and must have felt like the very end. Not just a low, but an abyss from which they might never recover.
And I guess this is a familiar pattern in life. Life's high spots are so often followed by low spots. So much so, that some people are never able to quite trust the heights. When life's good, they find themselves wondering what's just around the corner. They have a kind of dread in the back of their mind, as to what's in store, what's going to spoil the good time they're presently enjoying. For some people there are always clouds on the horizon, no matter how bright the day.
And for others there seem to be a string of lows, without much height inbetween. In many families it seems to happen, in one particular year, one thing after another goes wrong, until you begin to wonder whether it can possibly get any worse. And whether it's ever going to end.
But the exciting thing about Easter is, that although it appeared to finish in the utter depths, in this abyss of the crucifixion, in fact it actually finished on a tremendous high. On a stupendous note of hope. It ended in a beginning, a new beginning beyond anyone's wildest hopes. Because God was there, in all the mess and the pain and the suffering. And because Jesus saw it through to the end, because he faced the low, the abyss, without ducking out of it, God was able to redeem the whole situation. And to pull resurrection out of crucifixion.
The way of the cross isn't smooth, isn't all on one level. Neither is it all downhill, into the depths. It's up and down. Sometimes it's terrific. Sometimes it's terrible. But as long as it's followed right to the end, as long as you grit your teeth and stick with it, no matter how painful or how awful, as long as you continue to trust God, no matter how foolish you feel or how difficult it seems, then it'll finish on an amazing high. And in that high, for you there'll be the sort of new beginning you never dreamed was possible. For you too will experience your own form of resurrection in this life. Because that's what Jesus made possible.
The first Palm Sunday was such a high point. It seems Jesus had made quite elaborate arrangements to make sure a donkey was available, simply in order to ride into Jerusalem in some sort of symbolic entry. The disciples were part of the symbolism. They laid their cloaks on the donkey, and Jesus mounted. And the people, the ordinary people, the everyday crowds who had gathered to see whatever festivities there were to see, entered into the spirit of it all by making a kind of red carpet by covering the road with their cloaks, and cutting branches of palm to lay on the road and to wave about. And the people shouted and yelled and cheered and danced with mounting excitment.
It's difficult to see quite why they were so excited. For a king, that is, a prince, or a high official, or a member of the royal court, would never have ridden on a donkey. A white stallion perhaps, a shining charger, or in a gleaming chariot, but not on a donkey. A donkey is something of a figure of fun in the animal world. People have long been called "donkey" or "silly ass" as a term of abuse.
So maybe Jesus was making some sort of statement. Perhaps a statement about not being afraid to do apparently foolish things for God. Perhaps a statement about being one of the people, ordinary, yet very different. Different enough to make a calculated entry into the city, an entry designed to announce his arrival to the world. His manner of entry was carefully chosen. He could have simply walked into Jerusalem, in the usual way, with all the other travellers.
And the people sensed it was more than just fun. There was some importance to this entry, although the importance was demonstrated in such an unusual way. Just as the importance of his entry into the world was demonstrated in an unusual way, by being born in a dirty stable.
Perhaps on this occasion of the first Palm Sunday, to some extent Jesus's fame had spread before him. And perhaps some of those city people already knew him. According to John's gospel, Jesus had visited Jerusalem several times before. But not everyone knew who he was. We're told people asked: "Who is this?" So, many of them were perhaps simply caught up in the general excitement. But they recognised in the symbolism of the silly donkey but the solemn entry, an unusual statement was being made, even though they were probably unaware quite what it meant.
This mode of entry chosen by Jesus perhaps foreshadowed his act at the Last Supper, of washing the disciples' feet. That act which showed the servant in this particular leader. Which demonstrated the totally opposite form of leadership to anything we might know in the world.
Which led, not by having the best of everything - the expense account, the big house, the chauffeur, the power - but by giving himself wholly to his people, even to the extent of performing menial tasks for them. Already he was beginning to demonstrate those gospel paradoxes, that God's strength is made perfect in weakness, and that the really wise people are those who are willing to be fools for God.
And the ride into Jerusalem was perhaps another form of those statements, for Jesus put aside power as we know it - the shining charger, the white stallion, the pomp, the ceremony - in order to hobble in on a donkey.
But even so, it was a high spot. Exciting, fun, a good time being had by all. Yet Jesus made no attempt to capitalise on all that good feeling. He didn't preach, or teach or heal, or even attempt to respond to the people's hype and excitement in any way. It was almost as if all that part of his ministry, the doing part, the part which did so much for other people, was pretty nearly over.
In fact, far from capitalising on the general good-will, he actually destroyed the mood very abruptly by going into the temple and driving out the money-changers and the dealers. And suddenly, that pleasant, happy, fun time became scary and threatening and ominous.
For it was obvious that after an act like that, the authorities would catch up with Jesus sooner or later. Imagine going into Norwich Cathedral and turning over the bookstalls or trashing the souvenir shop, in public! If Jesus did that today, he'd undoubtedly be denounced as a vandal, and could expect to be arrested on the spot, for such an act is a deliberate flouting of authority. And such an act sends a very humiliating and irritating message to religious authorities.
So the initial high of the excitement and fun of the entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, was followed very quickly by a low of fear and anxiety. And this was a pattern which continued.
The high of the Last Supper, that party organised by Jesus to celebrate the Passover festival, was followed by the low of his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. And the fear and the terror and the anxiety and the dread which must have been felt by all his friends, overwhelmed them when later he was crucified. That particular low went right down into the pits, and must have felt like the very end. Not just a low, but an abyss from which they might never recover.
And I guess this is a familiar pattern in life. Life's high spots are so often followed by low spots. So much so, that some people are never able to quite trust the heights. When life's good, they find themselves wondering what's just around the corner. They have a kind of dread in the back of their mind, as to what's in store, what's going to spoil the good time they're presently enjoying. For some people there are always clouds on the horizon, no matter how bright the day.
And for others there seem to be a string of lows, without much height inbetween. In many families it seems to happen, in one particular year, one thing after another goes wrong, until you begin to wonder whether it can possibly get any worse. And whether it's ever going to end.
But the exciting thing about Easter is, that although it appeared to finish in the utter depths, in this abyss of the crucifixion, in fact it actually finished on a tremendous high. On a stupendous note of hope. It ended in a beginning, a new beginning beyond anyone's wildest hopes. Because God was there, in all the mess and the pain and the suffering. And because Jesus saw it through to the end, because he faced the low, the abyss, without ducking out of it, God was able to redeem the whole situation. And to pull resurrection out of crucifixion.
The way of the cross isn't smooth, isn't all on one level. Neither is it all downhill, into the depths. It's up and down. Sometimes it's terrific. Sometimes it's terrible. But as long as it's followed right to the end, as long as you grit your teeth and stick with it, no matter how painful or how awful, as long as you continue to trust God, no matter how foolish you feel or how difficult it seems, then it'll finish on an amazing high. And in that high, for you there'll be the sort of new beginning you never dreamed was possible. For you too will experience your own form of resurrection in this life. Because that's what Jesus made possible.
