Today in the Spirit: Palm Sunday C
In Lent Year C, we come now to Holy Week and the crisis ending in our Lord’s death in Jerusalem. As always on Palm Sunday, the combination of the triumphal entry and the passion narratives will send us as worshipers reeling in the Spirit between the joy of crying “Hosanna” at one moment and the ignominy of yelling “Crucify him!” at the next. The assigned Gospel reading during the Liturgy of the Palms this year is Luke 19:29-40, to be accompanied with the royal song Psalm 118:19-29 appointed every year in this ceremony.
The reading of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ comes out of Luke (22:39-71), 23:1-49(50-56). Even if only the required portion of this passage is selected (23:1-49), we benefit devotionally from hearing parts of the story unique to Luke, such as the interview with Herod (6-16), the prophetic word addressed to the “daughters” of Jerusalem” (27-31), and the dialogue with the two criminals on the cross beside him (39-43).
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In all three years of the lectionary cycle for Holy Week, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is the appointed OT reading for Palm Sunday and an option for Good Friday. (The portion Isaiah 53:4-12 also comes up at Pentecost, Proper 24B).
The church purposely reserves Psalm 22:1-21 for use during Holy Week (every Palm Sunday and Good Friday). Beyond just considerations of length, there is a pastoral choice to be made between including the most graphic material in vv.12-21 or not. The first section (1-11) focuses on the devotional thinking of the speaker in the midst of his suffering, and the second (12-21) on the brutality of the suffering itself.
The appointed NT reading for Palm Sunday every year is Philippians 2:5-11. These renowned words of Paul (probably a hymn) are likewise set aside by the church for exclusive use on Palm Sunday (except for Pentecost, Proper 21 A, where they come up as part of the sequential reading of Philippians in ordinary time).
The great Collect assigned for Palm Sunday has us as worshipers praying that the revelation of the cross of Christ might be for us both an inspiration to endure our own suffering in Christian service and the means to “to share in [Christ’s] resurrection” now and always.
The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, in your tender love for us you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon himself our nature, and to suffer death upon the Cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and come to share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Liturgy of the Palms
Open to Me (Psalm 118:19-29)
19 Open unto me the gates of righteousness, *
Psalm 118:19-26, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
that I may go into them, and give thanks unto the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord; *
the righteous shall enter into it.
21 I will thank you, for you have heard me, *
and have become my salvation.
22 The same stone which the builders refused *
has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing, *
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made; *
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Help me now, O Lord; *
O Lord, send us now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord; *
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
In this royal psalm, we find defiant insistence in the Israeli king’s voice as he approaches the temple gates in Jerusalem, saying Open to me, maybe after having trusted in Yahweh to win a great battle in Israel. C.H. Spurgeon comments on this passage: He “speaks like a champion, throwing down the gauntlet to all comers, defying the universe in arms.” It is as if there is stationed at the doors to the Holy City one more challenger (or two like Bunyan’s “Shining Ones”) to question the petitioner, “Are you worthy?”
Reciting this psalm, we picture in our mind’s eyes, first, the psalm’s king, then Jesus of Nazareth, and then we ourselves as members of God’s royal household, making the faith cry, Yes! “Blessed is he (or she) who comes in the name of the Lord.” Palm Sunday strikes a victorious chord which hints at the joy of Easter to come, but between the two there is, like that guarded gate in Jerusalem, darkness and death yet to be endured.
Today, with the help of the Spirit, we begin Holy Week by finding within ourselves the stubborn confidence of the faithful king in this song.
Rejoice and Praise God (Luke 19:29-40)
29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Psalm 126, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
Unique to this version of the triumphal entry is the explicit statement by Luke that “the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen” (37). The reader of Matthew and Mark can only infer the joy of the people in the activity. This is not altogether surprising: joy and rejoicing are a bigger theme in Luke compared with Matthew and Mark (and equally so with John). In most of the material unique to Luke, joy is prominent, especially in the infancy narratives: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit exalts in God my Savior” (1:46-47, also 1:44,2:10). But you can see it plainly stated in other parts of the Gospel as well (see, for instance, Lk.,10:17-21, 24:41).
In our worship, we are perhaps freer to rejoice in the palms’ procession because Luke’s words have, as it were, given us permission. By emphasizing the joy of carrying the palms, the traumatizing effect of hearing the Passion narrative later in the service becomes even greater.
Today, Holy Spirit, as we prepare to take up palms by hearing Luke’s version of the triumphal entry, make our joy in the procession even fuller to begin worship this day at the outset of Holy Week.
The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
As Many Were Astonished at You (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
Isaiah 42:13-15
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Or, “Just as many were appalled at you, My people, So His appearance was marred beyond that of a man” (52:14 NASB). In this so-called “Servant song” of Isaiah, there is only one reference to the people being addressed–the “you” in this verse, referring most likely to the people of Israel, as the NASB makes clear. (See also the verses prior to our passage where “you” is clearly the Israelites in exile, 51:11-12).
The parallel made between the Servant and the people should capture our attention. It suggests the people of Israel themselves have also been judged by other nations as a blot on humanity, and the Servant will be more so. Devotionally, we might ask, What about the people of God who have come after the death of the Servant (Jesus)? Have we, by the ministry of Jesus dying and rising, suddenly been transformed into something more appealing in society? The teaching of our Lord really should remove any such notions from our mind: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (Mt. 10:24-25).
Today, in the Spirit, contemplating the way in which the work of God “shall prosper” [Jesus’] hand” (53:12), we calculate in the residual damage falling on us even after the cross.
Scorned by Mankind (Psalm 22:1-11 or 22:1-21)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me, *
Psalm 22:1-11
and are so far from my cry, and from the words of my complaint?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear; *
in the night season also, but I find no rest.
3 But you remain holy, *
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers hoped in you; *
they trusted in you, and you delivered them.
5 They called upon you, and were delivered; *
they put their trust in you, and were not confounded.
6 But as for me, I am a worm, and no man, *
scorned by all, and the outcast of the people.
7 All those who see me laugh me to scorn; *
they curl their lips, and shake their heads, saying,
8 “He trusted in God, that he would deliver him; *
let him deliver him, if he will have him.”
9 But you are he that took me out of my mother’s womb; *
you were my hope, when I was yet upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been cast upon you ever since I was born; *
you are my God, even from my mother’s womb.
11 O go not far from me, for trouble is near at hand, *
and there is none to help me.
A prominent feature in the first part of this psalm is the psalmist’s description of the derision of others. “David” will expend considerable energy at the outset of his lament both on how others treat him and what others say about him. He is: “scorned by all” (6); “the outcast of the people” (6); they “laugh me to scorn” (7); they mock, “‘He trusted in God, that he would deliver him; let him deliver him if he will have him” (8). It should strike us as significant that before he arrives at the description of harm (physical and otherwise, 12-21) David will sing so expansively on the damage to his reputation. It is the first thing that comes to mind.
In applying this observation of the text devotionally, we would do well to consider how our own reputation—how others actually see us and/or how we guess they see us–matters so much to us. More than we care to admit, when a crisis comes, depending, of course, on the nature of the crisis, it can often be the first thing we think about—”Oh no! What will everybody think?” We ask this question in a crisis because we are so accustomed to asking it routinely. Is that natural? Yes. Is that bad? Well, yes, it can be very bad. Without at all passing judgment on David’s thinking in the psalm, I will seek to evaluate this in myself. Is the derision directed against me real or not? Is God calling me to suffer the ridicule of others? Or, is my preoccupation over what others think running away with me?
It should strike us that Jesus on the cross is not heard going on beyond the first verse of this psalm. Others deride him mercilessly, but his focus is on his relationship with “my God.” Today, in the Spirit, I will seek to measure my own concern with how others feel about me over David’s and, especially, Jesus’.
Which Is Yours in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5-11)
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
Here is another passage from Philippians for our worship, and again it contains important teaching from the apostle on the discipline of imitation. Last week, out of Philippians 3, we heard Paul urging us to follow his own example (see 3:13-15); this week, it is Christ, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (5). But, in and around both passages, we find the subtle implication that we cannot do this on our own; that to imitate we need power afforded to us by the life of God poured into us by grace. So Paul says, “have this mind…which is yours in Christ Jesus;” meaning we have in our spiritual union with Christ not only the revelation of his teaching to model ourselves after, but also the installation of his life in us so that we might work imitation out of us. A little past this passage, he encourages the church by saying, “…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (2:13).
Devotionally, this tells us the well out of which we draw water from the “mind” (or “attitude” NIV) of Christ is not in giving but receiving. It is to pray for inward renewal through the Holy Spirit, prayer shaped by devotion to study of Scripture, receiving the sacrament, and participating in the fellowship of the church.
Here is ancient wisdom on this subject from two of the most prominent Christian leaders of the fifth century AD. Jerome (d. 420): “For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” And Augustine of Hippo (d. 430): “Hear the voice of the shepherd, lest you wander about in the mist. Gather at the mountains of holy Scripture. There, are the things that will delight your hearts; there, you will find nothing poisonous, nothing hostile; there the pastures are most plentiful. There, you will be healthy sheep; you will feed safely on the mountain of Israel.”
Today, in the Spirit, seeking to imitate Christ as a servant, I turn to you, Lord, living in me and poised to transform me into your likeness through the means of grace made available to me in your holy Church.
Weep for Yourselves and for Your Children (Luke [22:39-71]23:1-49[50-56])
26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:26-34a
The commentator Laurence Porter paraphrases Jesus’ proverb in v.31 this way: “Green does not normally burn, nor are innocent men executed. But if these things do happen now, how much worse will it be for dry wood and evil men?” Whatever period of time is alluded to by “dry wood and evil men” (the fall of Jerusalem coming soon or the end times coming later), we have to be deeply moved by the concern our Lord shows for others even up to the last moments before his death. From the material that is unique in Luke’s crucifixion narrative, we see, especially, how our Lord is oriented that way: Here in the dialogue with the women; in his promise to the criminal crucified beside him, “today you will be with me in paradise” (23:43); and, of course, in the words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (23:34). For people directly in front of him, and even for generations of people to come, on the cross he shows compassion.
Devotionally, rather run in our minds to consider the levels of our own compassion by comparison (a silly exercise really), we must stop and see the Son of God staring into our eyes and hear his final words for ourselves: “My Lord, I am among those who crucify you whether the wood is green or dry; have mercy on me. Lord, as I too face the threat of being executed justly for crimes I did commit, I receive your promise, like a healing balm, that I will be with you in paradise; have mercy on me. And, Lord, as one among those who need forgiveness because I do not know what I do, I stand with Paul, who likewise does not know, and cry out, ‘Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!’” (Rom. 7:24).
Today, Holy Spirit, let me hear the Passion narrative and, again, place myself well within earshot to hear words of compassion on the cross.
Today in the Spirit
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