Sermon for Palm Sunday

Preached on April 14, 2019 at Grace and Canadochly
Preaching text:

I think everyone here knows that I am a colossal nerd and I’m into games, anime, movies, music, and all sorts of interests. Now it may surprise you that one hobby I’m not super big into is comic books. Most of what I know about superheroes comes from watching TV and movie adaptations of their stories, rather than the comics themselves. But that’s certainly helped me gain a decent chunk of knowledge about Superman and Spiderman and the X-men and all sorts of these costumed heroes as they battle villains and save the day.

One of Superman’s more popular villains is a guy by the name of Bizarro. Now, his origins vary from source to source, but one thing remains the same. While he has all of Superman’s powers, in every other way, he is Superman’s opposite. Where Superman is good, Bizarro is evil. Where Superman is good-looking, Bizarro is ugly. Where Superman is intelligent, Bizarro is stupid. Because of this character, there is a phrase that I sometimes hear both in geek circles and political discussions. They talk about “Bizarro World” where everything is opposite what it should be. Up is down. Black is white. Good is evil. Etc.

And that’s why I bring this up on this Palm Sunday. Today is our entry into God’s Bizarro World, where everything is opposite what we think it should be. Up is down. Black is white. Good is evil. Death is life.

Now, on one level we shouldn’t be too surprised this is happening in the life of Jesus. Aside from his warnings and predictions about his Passion, we’ve also had his talk about the great reversals that come with his kingdom. The rich become poor. The poor become rich. The hungry are filled and those who are filled become hungry. The sighted become blind and the blind receive their sight. You know...Bizarro World. Everything becomes its opposite.

This is a consistent theme throughout Jesus’ teachings and now is the moment when we see that begin to happen. It happens to Jesus and the first moment is in the Triumphal Entry. There’s always a certain irony in this moment and we who read this story often don’t pause long enough to notice it. Again, as I said a few weeks ago, familiarity breeds contempt. We know this story so well that miss some of its nuances. We never ask why the crowd is cheering Jesus.

Now, we might think the answer to that question is obvious. He’s the son of God. He’s the Messiah. He’s the one come to save the world. Even Luke I feel falls prey to a bit of this hype when he records that Jesus says “Even the very stones would cry out” if the crowds were silent. I’m not so sure. The crowd doesn’t really know all those things that we know about Jesus’ identity. They know he’s a miracle worker. They know they’re under Roman occupation. They know Jesus might just be the one to overthrow the hated Romans. And that I believe is why they celebrate.

But this is Bizarro World and Jesus does no such thing. His glory will not come by having him crowned a king by a jubilant mob. That would make for quite the story. Jesus becoming like Superman, charging at the Romans, and kicking butt and taking names and then making himself king as the hero of the day. But that’s normal world thinking. That’s a normal world story. This is Bizarro World and that’s not this story.

If not now and under these circumstances, then where and when will Jesus’ glory come? Again, Bizarro World thinking, glory comes when he is lowest. When he is broken. When he is nailed to a cross to die the horrible gut-wrenching death of slaves and traitors. That is Jesus’ finest moment. That is when his glory comes. That is when he wins. That is when he is truly king.

Up is down. Black is white. And defeat is victory. Death means life.

This is, of course, what Paul is talking about in Philippians. The famous Christ hymn, which stands as our second lesson each and every Palm Sunday, is all this Bizarro World dynamic in Jesus’ life and what it means for us. The Christ, the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, empties himself of all that glory and power and honor and might and becomes a human being. He goes from highest to lowest as he’s born in a stable. And then, as if that were not enough, he goes to the cross to die the most shameful of deaths, dying in worst way we humans can imagine.

But this is not the end. This is not defeat. This is victory. This is triumph. This is salvation. As Paul says, rightly, this is the moment when Jesus’ name is elevated above all names, for it is by this act of abject humiliation and defeat that he wins for all humanity salvation from sin and death. By death, he wins life, life eternal for all he loves.

This is how salvation works. It makes no sense to us if we think of it in normal world terms. Death isn’t life. Defeat isn’t victory. But it is here.

We heard some weeks ago when we heard Isaiah 55 that God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. Normal world thinking is not God’s way. Bizarro World thinking is. How else can that which is mortal become immortal? How else can that which is sinful become holy? How else can we be saved than by the death and resurrection of God himself in the form of Jesus? There is no other way. This is how salvation works.

This is how God saves us. Not with parades and jubilation. Not with conquest and strength. But with pain, death, and humiliation. Only by becoming the lowest of the low can God lift up all of humanity to the heights he wishes to bring us. And that’s what Jesus does. And that’s how his name is the name that above all others. The name by which we are saved. Amen.