Sermon for Palm Sunday 2014

Preached at Canadochly Lutheran Church on April 13, 2014

Preaching text: Matthew 21:1-11

You know you’ve stumbled onto something powerful when it refuses to leave you alone. I preached last week on the differences between settler and pioneer Christianity and I’ve not been able to get that metaphor, that image, out of my head since. I’m preaching a sermon tonight for St. John's monthly contemporary worship that uses that illustration and it’s partly informed what I’m about to tell you today.

But that’s not all. I also read another article this week, written from a Greek Orthodox perspective, about the rapid decline of membership in that ancient church. Some 90% of ethnic Greeks in our nation are no longer members of that church. The author of the article says the reason for that is quite simple and it’s the reason we are seeing this decline across all denominational lines: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, you name it. The reason the church is dying in America is because it has stopped preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and has replaced it with what the author calls “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.”

Last week, I criticized the church, the people, the leadership, everyone from top to bottom, for settling down and transforming the grand evangelistic mission into a life of dull monotonous security. But the truth is, most of us probably don’t know any better.We were never told, we were never taught, that there was another option.

Today, on this Palm Sunday 2014, all across our nation people are going to be taught (as they have been for the past uncounted decades) that the only thing that matters is that you believe hard enough, that you’re just “good at heart,” and that you’re not like “those people” over there.

We, and by we I mean the leadership of the church (the clergy, the bishops, and everyone who should know better), have watered down the message to the point where it is meaningless. People do not hear about sin because it’s unpleasant and guilt-inducing. People will not hear about death because please don’t remind me of my mortality. People will not hear about the cross, because it is blood, ugly, and defeatist. People will not hear about the empty tomb because without the cross what’s the point? People will not hear about the unbelievable unflinching love of God for them because it will confront them two truths. One, that they are loved not because of who they are, but because of who God is and two, that God loves the people they hate just as much as he loves them. And lastly, people will not hear about grace because, like everything else in life it seems, salvation must be earned and cannot be given.

Turn on the TV preachers and you will hear the lies of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Walk into most any church and you will hear them. Just believe hard enough, be good, and don’t be like those people. We no longer speak the truth from our pulpits. We have traded in that truth for what people want to hear and we have silenced the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For uncounted years, in our quest to be popular, successful, and (in some cases) rich, we clergy have done a terrible disservice to you, the lay people of the Church. We have done what you wanted and not given you what you needed.

It is probably not coincidental that I am having this epiphany here and now at the dawn of Holy Week. At the end of his version of the temptation story, the evangelist Luke adds a little editorial flourish to the story. He says that the devil left Jesus until “an opportune time.” That opportune time arrives as Jesus approaches Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, and over the course of the next several days, our Lord is again offered three temptations.

The first is today, as he enters the city to the fanfare of the crowd. Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to the Son of David. That last title is the clue of what is being offered. Son of David, son of the king, heir to his worldly kingdom.

The other clue is buried in the geography of Jerusalem itself. Jesus enters the city from the eastern gate, a path which will take him past Antonia Fortress, the Roman garrison in the city. The one thing standing in the way of re-creating David’s kingdom is the Roman legions. If only Jesus marched on the fortress and used his powers to end their occupation...

That’s what the crowd wants. That’s what the people are demanding of Jesus. But it’s not what they need, so he rides on.

The other two temptations that Jesus faces this Holy Week are similar in character. The second is in the Garden. “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” Jesus prays. It’s what he wants, to avoid the nightmarish death of the cross. But it’s not what the people need, so he accepts the will of his Father and goes to his fate.

The third is on the cross itself. “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” taunt the priests, scribes, and other leaders. “Let him come down...and we will believe in him.” And Jesus could have. He could have done what they wanted, but he knew it wasn’t what they needed. So he gave up his spirit and died.

Three times Jesus is tempted to give in to what is wanted. Three times he chooses the harder path of what is needed for the sake of those he came for. Jesus chooses to die and he chooses this not because we’ve believed hard enough in him. He chooses this not because gosh-darn it we’re such good people. He chooses this not because we’re so much better than everyone else. He chooses this because that’s WHO HE IS. He chooses this because that’s WHAT HE CAME TO DO. He chooses to die because that is what is NEEDED to save the whole world, you, me, and everyone else.

The problem with Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is that it takes Jesus out of the equation entirely. It’s all about us, what we do, what we think, what we believe. That’s not the Gospel. That’s not Christianity. Christianity is believing that Jesus came to save us by living, dying, and rising again because that was the only way it was going to happen. It’s not about us. It’s about him and what he did for us. It’s about him and the love for all of creation that brought him to this earth and drove him to the horrific death of the cross. It’s about him and the gift, the unearned undeserved GIFT, he gives to us through the empty tomb of Easter. It’s about JESUS. It’s always about Jesus.

I have a good friend, a Missouri Synod pastor out in Montana named Charles. Charles and I are utter opposites on almost every issue. He’s conservative, I’m liberal, theologically, politically. But he’s in the midst of the same epiphany I am. He talks on Facebook about all the people he’s encountering who have been in the church all their lives and have yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How sad that there are so many. These encounters have renewed his commitment to preach, teach, and live Christ crucified. And I will do the same. After all, it’s what you need. More than anything else I can offer you, it’s what you need most. Jesus Christ, the cross, the empty tomb, and the gift of his grace. Amen.