4/5/20
(Isaiah 50:4-9a; Ps. 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66)
Palm Sunday is a strange, unique day in the life of the church. In our worship we go from the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem – from his exaltation as the living, breathing witness of God’s saving power among us – to his crucified, dead body being shut up in a tomb: to utter despair; that exaltation turned into ashes, declared meaningless, a sham. Today – Palm Sunday – we lift that up as the end of the story.
In a way, the circumstances in which we find ourselves today – in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic – are uniquely appropriate for the observance of Palm Sunday. We know we’re going to get through this, but we don’t know how long it’s going to take, and we don’t know how bad it’s going to get, though we certainly know it’s going to get worse. So there’s fear, and anxiety; and our lives have been turned upside down.
So how are we called to live as Christians, in this world that we’re in right now? What does our Christian faith have to say to us in our present context?
There’s a very powerful word to us in today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. This letter was written in circumstances with strong parallels to ours today. Paul wrote it from jail – sheltering-in-place – awaiting a trial which could sentence him to death. He was writing to the Christians in Philippi, who as a community of faith were facing strong opposition. In this letter Paul shows the Philippian church that he and they are in essentially the same situation, and he talks about how, in their Christian faith, they are all to address it.
That’s why he wrote the letter – what as Christians are we to do in the face of this threat to our lives? – and he returns to that theme throughout; but I think the reading we heard today holds the essence of his answer. It’s a well-known passage, most of which is actually an early Christian hymn which Paul quotes. This hymn is kind of a capsule version of the story of Jesus Christ. It tells us that “he was in the form of God” – was part of God’s very being, from before the creation of the universe -“but emptied himself” and was “born in human likeness”, and “humbled himself” – in his humanity – “and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. Therefore” – because of that obedience, because of his self-sacrificial love for humanity –“[t]herefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every other name….” With this hymn Paul is reminding the church in Philippi of who Jesus Christ really is: that he came from God, in eternity; was born into this world, and lived as a human obedient to God – which is to say, he stayed true to who he knew he really was – even though that caused him to die on a cross; and he returned to God in eternity, as the one whom we proclaim to be our Lord and our God.
This the basic foundation of Christian faith, which Paul reminds us of: this is the big picture, which this hymn states, in brief terms. But the very first verse of today’s reading, before the hymn, are Paul’s own words. And they are his instruction to us regarding what we are to do with what we’re about to hear. He tells us, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” He’s saying, God has made you an essential part of the big picture which I’m now going to remind you of. Live in this knowledge: you come from God in eternity. You live in this world as a child of God. You will return to God. God’s spirit is what gives you life, throughout all of that. Live in the same love that Jesus Christ has for you, and for every one of us. Be true, therefore, to who you really are, wherever your life here takes you. And be assured that, this world being what it is, at some point that’s going to mean some kind of sacrifice. But be assured also that that’s not the end of the story. Because somehow, in the mystery of creation, in that sacrifice is love’s infinite power; and its final victory.
That’s the mind that was in Christ Jesus. That’s the mind Paul tells us we are to let be in us. That’s what we are to do, as Christians, in these hard times. What is the love of God in Christ calling me to do, today? And so, of course, we see that these hard days are no different than any other. They’re just talking louder. Amen.