Words of Welcome

  Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 Philippians 2:5-11 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 h...

  Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29   The time has come to join Jesus in the festal procession to Jerusalem. Let us wave our palm branches and sing “All glory, laud, and honor, to you, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!” Yes, “You are a child of Israel, Great David’s greater son; you ride in lowly triumph, Messiah, blessed one!”  [ Glory to God, 196] If we take the 118th Psalm as our guide, our parade of palms serves to welcome Jesus not only into Zion but also into our lives. As we do this, we can give thanks to God who is good and whose steadfast love endures forever. The reading from the Gospel of John tells us that a crowd greeted Jesus as he approached Jerusalem. They waved palm branches and shouted out “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord the King of Israel!” ( Jn 12:12-16 ) When Jesus rode into the city that day mounted on a donkey, many in the crowd believed that Jesus was the one who would throw out the Romans and l...

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” That’s what the crowd shouted when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Perhaps they sensed that Jesus was enacting the 118th Psalm as he entered the gates of the city in triumph. Yes, this was the day the Lord had made, and so they rejoiced and were glad in it! ( Mk. 11:1-11 ) The Psalmist declares: “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.” We’ve been invited to join Jesus in entering those gates so we can give thanks to God whose steadfast love endures forever. Palm Sunday serves as a transition point between the season of Lent and Holy Week. The opening lines of the 118th Psalm serve as a perfect closure to our Lenten emphasis on the covenants God made with the people of Israel. That is because God’s steadfast love is the foundation for these covenants.  The Hebrew word that is translated here as “steadfast love” is chesed. This is a powerful word ...

Zechariah 9:9-12 Yesterday the nation celebrated Independence Day, though this year the celebration was somewhat muted. Most parades, public fireworks displays, carnivals, and other “normal” events were canceled. But, maybe we can use this moment to envision a freedom that extends beyond the nation. Maybe we can use this time to envision what God’s realm looks like. The reading for today from Zechariah 9 invites us to reflect on a different kind of parade from the ones we normally experience on the 4th of July. Jesus embodied this vision in his “Triumphal Entry” on Palm Sunday when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of joy. While we can’t avoid the connection to Palm Sunday, perhaps we can take a broader look at Zechariah’s message. With Zechariah, perhaps we can ponder what the restoration of peace might look like as God’s dominion extends from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. We rarely turn to Zechariah, which is the second t...

Hallelujah - Mike Moyers Philippians 2:5-11 Holy Week begins today. Normally the choir and the children would process into the sanctuary waving palms as we sang “King of Kings, Lord of Lords” This year Holy Week looks very different. We didn’t have a palm procession, though we did sing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” As Holy Week begins, we won’t be gathering in person to observe Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or Easter. There will be a variety of online opportunities, but Holy Week will be different this year as we gather as the virtual body of Christ. The reading from Philippians 2 doesn’t speak of the Triumphal Entry that marks Palm Sunday, but it does take us on the way of obedience that moves from glory to glory. However, this path of obedience involves Jesus emptying himself of his divine stature so that he might become a human being and experience death on a cross. Thankfully the hymn doesn’t end with Jesus hanging on the cross. It goes on to celebrate God’s vindi...

Entry into the City - John August Swanson Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29  Last Sunday we joined Jesus on the pilgrim trail, marching to Zion and singing  “Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall go rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.” As we took this journey toward Zion, we heard the call to sow seeds of kindness in a world filled with anything but kindness. Sowing seeds of kindness might seem like a small and insignificant effort, but when we bring in the harvest and gather up those sheaves of grain and take them to the Temple something powerful could happen. That pilgrim train we joined last Sunday has reached the gates of Zion. It’s Palm Sunday, and Jesus is in the lead. We wave palm branches as we sing “All glory, laud, and honor, to you, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring!” Yes, “You are a child of Israel, Great David’s greater son; you ride in lowly triumph, Messiah, blessed one!”  Some of us lay our palm b...

Philippians 2:5-11 Do you remember starting each school day standing beside your desk, placing your hand upon our heart, and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance? Did you raise any questions with the teacher about this practice? Although, we probably didn’t understand the implications of our pledge, we recited the words and then sat down and began the day. It’s quite possible that the wording that some of you used was different from what I recited, but the implications are the same. We pledged to be good citizens of our country.   I do need to add that there was one child who stayed seated during the pledge. He was a Jehovah’s Witness. They refuse to say the pledge, because they believe that it is a form of idol worship. Since the rest of us didn’t have any religious qualms about the pledge or the flag, we did our duty and got on with our day without much thought. 

Matthew 21:1-11 This is probably the most confusing day in the church year. Some churches celebrate Palm Sunday by waving palm branches and shouting hosanna to the king of kings. Other churches observe Passion Sunday, with its emphasis on Jesus’ death on the cross. But maybe these two emphases belong together, because they reflect the tension that exists between how humans view power and how Jesus viewed it.  The reading from Matthew describes Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which suggests that we’ll be focusing on the triumphal part of the story. But, there is a catch, because Jesus’ vision of triumph is different from the way most humans understand it.  The story begins with Jesus and his disciples drawing near to Jerusalem, which will soon be celebrating Passover. When the group arrived at Bethphage, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out his advance team to locate a donkey and her colt, and then bring the animals to him. When the animals arrived, Jesus ...

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”  Indeed, as Paul declared, this “is the day of salvation” ( 2 Cor. 6:2 ).  Therefore, “open the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.”  We love parades, especially parades that celebrate a hero’s return or a championship team. Today is Palm Sunday, which we mark with a parade of palms.  The children and choir enter the sanctuary waving palm branches, even as we sing to Jesus, declaring him to be “King of Kings, Lord of Lords.”

John 12:12-16 Everyone loves a parade. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Rose Parade or a Fourth of July parade. We love the floats and the bands and the candy thrown to the kids by the paraders! Maybe you’ve been in the parade. You marched in the band, walking what seemed like miles, trying to play your instrument while keeping your feet in proper motion and your lines straight. Maybe you rode on a float, which in a small local parade might be the back of a pickup, or simply walked down the street waving a flag. When a team wins a championship, the city will host a parade so that the people can celebrate their team. The players ride by waving to the screaming fans, while confetti falls from tall buildings. Of course, the joy doesn’t last long, because teams rarely repeat their big wins.  Most parades send messages. A Fourth of July Parade celebrates patriotism, while a championship parade celebrates the superiority of one’s team over its rivals. As that old song from th...

John 16:16-33 March Madness should be a fading memory by now, but those of you who pay attention to such things, you know that when the buzzer sounds, the game is over.  If a ball enters the basket before time runs out, it counts.  That last second shot might even win the game.  But, if the ball goes through the basket just a half a second after the buzzer sounds – then it’s of no consequence.  The game is over, and the team with the highest score gets the win.   In matters spiritual, our Lenten journey has reached the final minutes.  The buzzer is about to sound.  We’ve had our procession.  We’ve sung Hosanna and King of Kings, while waving palm branches.  We’ve even heard the children remind us to be happy in Jesus.  But that is all in the past.  Now we must face a future that is defined by the road to the cross.  You might say -- the clock is ticking.    By the time we come to the moment recorded i...

Luke 19:41-44 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.  There is: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance . ( Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4  NRSV) For Jesus, as he stood on the hillside overlooking Jerusalem, it was a time to weep.    There is another occasion in the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus weeps over the city of Jerusalem.  When a group of Pharisees comes to warn him of a plot to kill him, he laments Jerusalem’s habit of killing the prophets and stoning those sent to it.  Jesus declares that he wanted to “gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing”  ( Luke 14:31-35 ). Five chapters later, as the procession into Jerusalem we call Palm Sunday is underway, Jesus stops to take in the view.  There lying in front of him is the city of David.  Standing in the center of the city is the Temple that Herod rebuilt a...