Palm/Passion Sunday 2009                        Mark 14:1 – 15:47                            April 5, 2009

A long time ago, one of those ancient Greek philosophers made the observation that "An unexamined life is not worth living." And you know, as far as Greek philosophers are concerned, I believe there is some truth to that. It is good to question and inquire and reflect, but I also believe that life is more than asking questions, and I would expand the sentiment by saying, "An uncommitted life is not worth living."

Another philosopher of another era made the observation: "I think, therefore I am." Once again, not bad, hard to argue with anything that encourages us to think and use the brains that God gave us.

The world of philosophy has graced us with a great many words of wisdom, and yet, my favorite comes not from a philosopher, but one of the first Christian theologians, the Apostle Paul who said rather eloquently: "And now faith, hope, love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." Examining one's life is good. Thinking is good. But the love trumps them all, for it is better not to live than not to love.

I mention this because at the heart of today's rather lengthy gospel reading is the message of God's love for humanity—and more to the point—God's love for each and every one of us here this morning.

And this Holy Week, the holiest week of the year, provides a divine drama that helps us grasp the magnitude of God's love for us—especially in times when we are not so loveable.

Long before Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" came out, the New England Journal of Medicine published a doctor's article on the crucifixion of Christ.

After commenting on the medical dimensions of crucifixion, the doctor observed that many tend to romanticize the death of Jesus. In reality he said, it was one of the most brutal forms of torture and death anyone could imagine.

Ancient writers have written that scourging, which often preceded crucifixion, was itself a terrifying ordeal.
In fact, it was not unheard of for a victim to die during the scourging well before they even got to the cross. Some victims were even known to go insane in the midst of their torture.

All of this raises the question—a tremendous question. Why did Jesus allow himself to suffer death by crucifixion? Why submit to such a horrendous ordeal? And, what does this tell us about God's love for us?

To answer these questions I believe we need to draw our attention to three things.

First, Jesus wanted his death to be a sign.
He wanted it to say, in a very dramatic way, what he told his disciples so often during his time with them.
"No one had greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friend." (John 15:13)

A number of years ago now, Pastor Rick Warren wrote a best seller entitled, The Purpose Driven Life in which he addressed the question, "What on earth am I here for?" and at the risk of overlooking a lot of good reasons, I want to suggest that our very purpose on this earth is to extend God's love to others by reaching out to others, by reaching out to those who live on the fringes and margins of society, to welcoming those prodigal sons and daughters, sometimes irritating and irresponsible brothers and sisters and by practicing patience with those difficult people who so unnerve us and upset us; by graciously recognizing and complimenting the good work that another does. And, as God sent Jesus into our world to bring God's love to us, Jesus now calls us to go out to the world and to bring his love to others by speaking a simple and a sincere word of sympathy when sorrow strikes; by telephoning someone who is lonely; by offering our assistance in times of crisis and disaster; by supporting another with our physical presence when they are in deep physical or emotional pain.

Laying down one's life can take many shaped and forms, but the point is, it has to be done, if we want to live and claim the abundant life that God promises us.

Second, and this may sound rather strange to some; Jesus wants his death to be an invitation.
Jesus wanted to invite us to do what he told his disciples to do so often during his life: "Love one another as I love you." (John 15:12)

I'll be honest with you, this can be risky, and it is risky because it means we might put ourselves in a vulnerable position and risk losing everything.

Let me explain. There is a story that takes place in Dublin back in 1492—about the time that Columbus was sailing the ocean blue. According to the story there were two very prominent Anglo-Norman families, the Ormonds and the Kildares who were engaged in a long bitter feud. On this particular occasion a battle was raging that eventually ended up in the Cathedral of St. Patrick. At one point the Earl of Ormond was forced to retreat into a secure room. It was at this point that the Earl of Kildare began to realize the absurdity of the feud, especially between two families who claimed to worship the same God, in the very same house of worship and living in the same country. With that he called out to the Earl of Ormond and offered a truce and his word of honor that no harm would come to him. As you might imagine, Ormond refused, and under normal circumstances, perhaps with good reason. But because Kildare was in fact sincere, he cut a hole in the door with a spear that separated the two men and he thrust his arm through to offer his hand in peace, knowing full well that Ormond could easily lop his hand off while it protruded through the door. Well, the good news of the story is that Ormond, apparently also recognizing the absurdity of their feud—took the Earl of Kildares hand and the feud came to a long over due end.

Taking the first step—offering the invitation towards reconciliation can be very risky, it can place us in a vulnerable position, but it is the very step we all need to make towards loving one another as Jesus has loved us.

Finally, Jesus wanted his death to be a revelation.
In other words, he wanted to tell us what he told his disciples so often, that love often times entails suffering and hurt and here we are reminded of Jesus challenging words: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." (Mark 8:34)

For those of us who live in a world of painkillers and instant gratification, we tend to forget that living life fully may very well expose us to suffering. We tend to forget that loving fully opens us to the possibility of getting hurt.

In the life of Jesus we encounter an ugly and brutal death marked by suffering brought on by humankind's worst dark side. And what do I mean by our worst dark side? I'm talking about the evil within that would even consider whipping a person with lashed tipped with lead. Could anybody in their right mind come up with the idea of shoving a crown of thorns onto a person brow? And who ever came up with the demented idea of having a person carry their own instrument of their death, all the while being jeered and taunted every step of the way? And then there were the nails that were driven into a man's hands and feet.
And, finally there is the primary instrument of punishment and torture, the cross, an agonizing and humiliating form of death.

In this scene of unbearable suffering—we can't help but wonder—why?
Why did this have to happen?

Let me tell you what I have come to believe---Jesus suffered because God refused to treat us in the same manner that we treat one another. What do I mean by that?

Well, consider this…what do we do when someone insults us?
We come back with a greater insult and call it sticking up for ourselves.

What do we do when someone strikes us?
We strike back harder.

What do we do when someone is murdered?
We murder someone else in return and call it justice.

In the suffering and passion of Christ we encounter the love of God that refuses to take revenge, that refuse to behave the way we do, that come what may, will not under any circumstance treat us the way we treat one another.

During this Holy Week we are called to enter into the divine drama that offers us a sign, an invitation and a revelation of God's abundant love for us.

But I have to tell you, and make no mistake about it, this is not one of those one week out of the year or once in a lifetime events, this divine drama is a daily experience, day in day out, week in and week out.
Every week therefore is holy when we, like Jesus, are willing to lay down our lives for those near and dear to us as well as the complete stranger.
Every week is holy when we are willing to extend a hand of invitation towards reconciliation and loving one another as Jesus has loved us.
Every week is holy when we respond more like Jesus and less like ourselves when it comes to how we treat one another.
The Apostle Paul had it right, "And now faith, hope, love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."

During this holiest of weeks prayerful consider the sign, the invitation and the revelation that is being provided by our loving Savior in the hopes that we might truly be the people God created us to be and as we have been blessed—we in turn might be a blessing to others.
In Jesus name. Amen.

Pastor Stephen Blenkush
Zion Lutheran Church
Milaca, MN

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