Reverend Ref +

PALM SUNDAY - YEAR A

More than any other previous sermon, the live version felt totally different than what's written below. It must have been the emotion of the day. And, it may not actually qualify as a sermon, but more of a "directive from the Vicar" to show up for services. Anyway, here it is:

And so it begins. Palm Sunday is the first day of Holy Week. Today we get to experience almost the entirety of Holy Week in one service. From the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, when we proclaimed him King of kings and brandished palms in his honor, to our rejection of that same man and participation in his death on a cross, and to his burial in a borrowed tomb.

And if you don't think you participated, think again. We were all part of that crowd that cried, "Hosanna!" and sang, "All glory laud and honor." And we were all part of that crowd that yelled, "Crucify him!! WE WANT BARABBAS!!"

Today we get almost all of it. Unsupportive friends, betrayal, desertion, lynch mobs, an attempted rescue, humiliation, death and compassion. What we don't get, though, is life. We don't get resurrection. We are left hanging. And that is as it should be. We have to wait. We have to go through all of it; because to get to resurrection and life, you have to die.

I put up flyers around town last week inviting people to "Celebrate Holy Week" with us. In retrospect, they should've read, "Experience Holy Week." Because in reality, Holy Week is just that, an experience. It's more than several individual services. It's the experience of life to death to life that makes it what it is.

I'll be honest with you -- I never really experienced Holy Week until I went to seminary. Sure, I attended Palm Sunday, occasionally got to Maundy Thursday, usually missed Good Friday, and had never heard of Holy Saturday. In other words, I made it when I could. The problem was that, for me, they were individual services that I tried to fit in to an already busy schedule. Today is Palm Sunday. Today is Maundy Thursday. Today is Good Friday. The problem with that, though, is that it minimized the impact of Easter. Easter Day became just another day to play dress-up.

When I got to seminary, however, there wasn't anything else to do during Holy Week; the campus shuts down on Thursday and you have no choice but to experience the whole of Holy Week. Tennebrae slides into Maundy Thursday and the last hours of Jesus lead to the despair of abandonment, which gives way to the grief of Jesus' death on Good Friday, leaving you numb on Holy Saturday, and finally awakening to new life on Easter. It can be an emotionally draining time. It is for me. But I felt the impact of Easter, the joy of resurrection, much more fully after going through the experience of Holy Week.

We have the same opportunity here. Just as you have participated in the Passion Narrative, I urge you to participate more fully in the days to come. Thursday evening in VC, beginning at 5:30, we will have an agape meal followed by a foot washing, Eucharist, and the stripping of the altar. That evening, Christ Church will be open (heated and lit) for anyone who wants to spend an hour in prayer, in remembrance of the disciples who were with Jesus in Gethsemane. Christ Church will hold services at noon on both Good Friday and Holy Saturday. And finally, we will celebrate the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening at 7:30 in VC with the congregations of Trinity, St. Paul's and Christ Churches. I get to start a bonfire and everything!

Like I said, Holy Week can be an emotionally draining time. But as with anything else, your appreciation for it will grow the more deeply you experience it. The significance of the liturgy will be heightened, and your Easter "Hallelujah!"s will be more joyful as the experience of the week allows for a deeper appreciation of the Paschal Mystery.

Today is Palm Sunday. The day when we get the short version of the whole week. But short versions don't always tell the whole story. So I urge you to participate as fully as you possibly can as we move from life to death to resurrection. Allow yourself the time to experience Holy Week. You will never see Easter the same way again.