Palm Sunday: An Introduction

Today we forego a sermon and let the readings speak for themselves. Yet, these canonical readings beg for an introduction.

Each biblical gospel, was written in the context of the particular experience and concerns of the community that produced it..  Therein "history" is unapologetically adjusted to the agendas of those communities. In comparing successive gospels over time, we see many trends. One, in particular, is anti-Semitism, expressing the early Christian communities' frustration over the failure of mainstream Judaism to convert or at least accomodate the Jesus Movement.   The anti=Jewish trend has led to the scapegoating and murder of millions of Jesus' fellow-Jews  over two millenia.

Last Wednesday evening in our "Saving Jesus" video, we learned that Jesus alienated just about everybody.  That's what happens when you are on God's agenda without compromise. He called out greed, the accumulation of personal wealth, and the injustices of the Roman economic system. He condemned violence and peace through military power.   He berated the sad hypocrisy of religious professionals.  But let us be clear: Jesus was executed by the Roman Empire for treason, namely for openl opposing the values and religion of the State.

Put theologically, the horrible death that Jesus experienced was the result of human sin.  We are all participants in human sin and we all continually need to be redeemed from it.  Hence the logic of the words of a beloved hymn, "'Twas I denied him, I crucified him."  All of us need to be transformed into the image of Christ, not into the image of the society that tortured and killed him.  Sadly, much of contemporary Christianity has been co-opted into service of those very values that Jesus died fighting.  We are being called to basics, back into conformance with the life and teachings of Rabbi Jesus. Lent is a means to that end. With the beginning of Holy Week,  we follow Jesus on his final journey to Cross and tomb.  That story is transmitted and mediated by the human communities that preserved it.  We engage it with great care and all faithfulness.