An Episcopal Priest's Sermons, Prayers, and Reflections on Life, Becoming Human, and Discovering Our Divinity
Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem (detail) by Enrique Simonet - Museo del Prado, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Did anything strike you as strange about today’s first gospel reading (Luke 19:28-40)? Did it sound like something was missing? It’s the familiar Palm…
Read More The Things That Make For Peace – A Sermon Luke 19:28-40 For Palm Sunday
What if Jesus is more like us than we know or want to admit? What if Jesus was always working it out just like we are? What if he struggled with life and death in the same way we do? What if Holy Week for Jesus and for us is a week of figuring it out - figuring out who we are, what we’re about, what matters most; facing our fears and naming our hopes; uncovering, discovering, or recovering something new about ourselves and our lives? What if Jesus is as ambivalent and hesitant about this week as are we? What if today’s triumphal entry is more accurately described as the triumphal drive by or, since Jesus was on a colt, the triumphal ride by?
Mark's is the only gospel that says Jesus entered the temple, looked around, and left. So why did Jesus leave the temple and go to Bethany? The gospel tells us why. Jesus left the temple "as it was already late" (Mark 11:11). So that got me to wondering. What if this is about something more than just the time of day? What if Jesus is late getting somewhere or doing something?
Have you ever thought of Jesus’ Palm Sunday procession as a protest march? What if that’s what it really is? What if it is a resistance movement? What if it is highlighting the struggle that takes place in every human heart - the will to power or the will to life? I’ve come to believe that that’s exactly what is happening today. Palm Sunday, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, sets up a confrontation and it has the whole city in turmoil.
The Palm/Entry Narrative - Luke 18:28-40 (41-46) The Passion Narrative - Luke 22:14-23:56 As we do every year we began this day by taking our place in the triumphal entry, singing our hosannas, and carrying our palms. The triumphal entry,…
Read More The Tearful Entry into Holy Week – A Palm Sunday Sermon on Luke 19:28-46
Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ (From the…
Read More Looking Around and Leaving Nothing Behind – A Palm Sunday Sermon on Mark 11:1-11
Today is known as the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. (There are two gospel readings: Matthew 21:1-11 (the triumphal entry) and Matthew 27:11-54 (the passion)). I’ve been wondering and thinking though about a different name for this day. What…
Read More Life-giving Turmoil – A Sermon for the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, Matthew 21:1-11
The collect and readings for today, Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, may be found here. Today’s liturgy brings together the palms and the passion with two readings from the Gospel according to St. Matthew. The following sermon is based…
Read More Jesus, The Man of Turmoil – A Sermon on Matthew 21:1-11, Palm Sunday
The collect and readings for The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, may be found here. The following sermon is based on the gospel for the Liturgy of the Palms, Luke 19:28-40. 28After he had said this, he went on…
Read More Which Will It Be, Palms or Cloaks?
Yesterday we celebrated the Proper Liturgy for the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. One of the primary themes of this day is the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This year the story of the triumphal entry came from Mark 11:1-11.…
Read More The Triumph of Palm Sunday
Interrupting the Silence 