We begin Holy Week today by waving palm branches and singing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” While Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we know that this path led to the cross of Good Friday. But, for a moment we get to join in the parade welcoming Jesus into the city and into our lives.
The reading from the 118th Psalm declares that God “is good; his steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 118:1). It’s this steadfast love that endures forever that provides the foundation for our journey of faith with Jesus as we join him on the festal path of obedience.
As we travel with Jesus through the gates of righteousness, we can join Jesus as he heads toward the Temple, so we can give thanks to God who is our salvation (Ps. 118:19-21). Therefore, let us give thanks to God, because “this is the day the LORD has made, [so] let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:22-24).
The reading from Philippians 2 offers us a hymn that gives us insight into Jesus’ mission. While this hymn doesn’t speak of the triumphal entry, it not only gives us a sense of what happens during Holy Week it takes us back even further in the story of Jesus. This hymn speaks of triumph but reminds us that tragedy comes first.
Before we get to Paul’s hymn, let’s go back to the first Palm Sunday. According to Matthew, Jesus sent two of his disciples to fetch a donkey and a colt so he could ride into the city in fulfillment of a word from the prophet Zechariah. As he entered the city, the people hailed him as the Son of David. That is, they proclaimed him to be the messiah, the savior of the people. Yes, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Mt. 21:1-11). What started in glory leads to the cross of Good Friday. That’s where Philippians 2 comes into play.
Like many of his letters, Paul’s Philippian letter addresses problems present in the congregation. It’s good to remember that Paul wrote this letter from prison. He asks the congregation he had planted to make his joy complete by setting aside their disputes and coming together in unity. He offers this hymn as a guide toward that end. He tells them to be of the same mind as Jesus, “who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited.” While Jesus enjoyed all the prerogatives of divinity, he didn’t exploit that status but instead chose to be a servant to others. If Jesus can do this, why can’t we let go of our concerns about social status?
Now this hymn is full of theological riches that beg to be unpacked. We could spend all day working through this hymn, but the point is that although Jesus was equal with God, he didn’t exploit that status but instead became human like us. The theological term we use to describe this act on Jesus' part is “incarnation” or taking on flesh.
If we turn to the opening verses of the Gospel of John, we read that the Word which is God became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:1-14). According to Paul, the incarnate one embarked on a path of obedience that led to the cross. He did this so he could show us the way of salvation.
While this hymn has powerful theological implications that theologians have been exploring for two millennia, Paul was less interested in these theological questions than in the practical implications of this hymn. He wants the Philippians to know that if they follow the way of Jesus, which involves humble service to others, then they—and we—can shine brightly God’s light in the world. This starts with having the same mind as Jesus (Phil. 2:5).
When we read Philippians 2, we quickly discover that Paul believes our ability to proclaim the good news that God’s steadfast love endures forever depends on our unity as the people of God. That means doing “nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,” but instead we should look out for the interests of others (Phil 2:3-4). After all, that’s what Jesus did in taking on human flesh.
We began worship by singing “All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosanna’s ring!” Then we sang “Hosanna in the highest! That ancient song we sing, for Christ our Redeemer; the Lord of heaven, our king. O may we ever praise him with heart and life and voice, and in his blissful presence eternally rejoice” [Jenette Threlfall, “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”]. These hymns exude joy. They invite us to join in the celebration. So, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s ahead. There’s another Palm Sunday hymn in the hymnal titled “Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd.” This hymn by Thomas Troeger offers us a warning: “Lest we be fooled because our hearts have surged with passing praise, remind us, God, as this week starts where Christ has fixed his gaze” [“A Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd,” vs. 4]. That gaze envisions the suffering and death on a cross that Paul speaks of here in Philippians 2.
If we’re going to be like Jesus and find peace and unity amongst ourselves and in the world, we’ll need to follow Jesus’ path of humble obedience and become servants of one another. It’s not easy. I know I struggle with being a servant to others, but I also know that it’s the path Jesus took.
Three years ago I based my Palm Sunday sermon on this passage. We were just a few weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. While the congregation watched the service from home, three of us gathered at the church to bring a word of hope to the congregation. At that point, we didn’t know what was ahead of us, but I had noticed people who at that moment embodied the way of Jesus. Back before we had vaccines and when masks were in short supply, those deemed essential workers put their lives on the line so the rest of us could stay home and stay safe. Consider all the employees at our hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes—doctors, nurses, orderlies, kitchen staff, and more—who put their lives on the line in service to others. Some of those hospitals turned to people, like my mother, who sewed cloth masks to protect their personnel. Nevertheless, some of these essential workers got sick and even died in service to others. The same was true for the first responders including EMTs, firefighters, and the police. Then there were the farm workers, grocery store workers, pharmacy staff, and others like them, who had to go to work so we could eat and get our medicines. They all gave of themselves, perhaps not always willingly, but they did so nonetheless so that we might continue to live. In doing this, they embodied Jesus’ embrace of humility, which ultimately led to his death on the cross on our behalf. This is the message of part one of Paul’s hymn that speaks of Jesus’ path of humility in service to others.
While the first half of the hymn ends with the cross, that’s not the last word. This hymn which connects the unity of the congregation to Jesus’ death on the cross, moves on to celebrate the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus. Death will not have the final word, because Jesus’ path of humility leads to his exaltation. The hymn reveals that when God exalts Jesus above every name, then every knee on earth and in heaven and under the earth will bend and every tongue will confess that “Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). This is the good news revealed during Holy Week.
Back in the fourth century, the theologian and bishop Gregory of Nazianzus offers us his take on Jesus’ path of obedience that parallels what Paul shares in his hymn:
Let us become like Christ, since Christ also became like us; let us become gods because of him, since he also because of us became human. He assumed what is worse that he might give what is better. He became poor that we through his poverty might become rich. He took the form of a slave, that we might regain freedom. He descended that we might be lifted up, he was tempted that we might be victorious, he was dishonored to glorify us, he died to save us, he ascended to draw to himself us who lay below in the Fall of sin. Let us give everything, offer everything, to the one who gave himself as a ransom and an exchange for us. But one can give nothing comparable to oneself, understanding the mystery and becoming because of him everything that he became because of us. [Gregory of Nazianzus, Festal Orations, p. 59].
There’s a lot to digest in Gregory’s oration, but it does invite us to follow the path set before us by Jesus, who became like us so that we might become like him. While this path leads through Good Friday, it leads on further to the resurrection so that we might share in Jesus’ exaltation.
Let us go forth this morning remembering that before we “Crown Him with Many Crowns” we still have to sing “were you there when they crucified my Lord?” But that isn’t the last word, because next Sunday morning we’ll bend our knee and confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Pulpit Supply
First Presbyterian Church (USA)
Troy, MI
April 2, 2023
Palm/Passion Sunday
Moyers, Mike. Hallelujah, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57147 [retrieved April 1, 2023]. Original source: Mike Moyers, https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/.
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