Palm Sunday Journey

three readings and 3 short reflections

Reading 1: John 11:55-12:3, 9-11 

Reflection 1

Will he turn up?

The gossip in Jerusalem was about Jesus, he had raised Lazarus from death, and now the political and religious leaders are after them both. Will he come to the Temple in Jerusalem for Passover, or give it a miss this year?

But how did we get here. In John’s gospel, Jesus travels widely, but keeps returning to Jerusalem. He is there for major festivals. Jesus has travelled from Galilee, to Cana, to Jerusalem, to Samaria and Cana again and Jerusalem again and back to the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem and Bethany and Jerusalem… lots of travelling, but always returns to Jerusalem and the Temple.

He travels and meets with people from various parts of Israel. The edges, the centre, various parts in between, and even outside of Israel, when he met the woman at the well in Samaria.

The political and religious leaders are concerned about this traveling teacher, because he is drawing large crowds, and there is talk of him being the son of God, but to top it all off, Lazarus came back from the dead and Jesus had something to do with it, and now everyone wants to see Lazarus, and Jesus.

Jesus goes to a place of welcome and respite, and visits Lazarus and Mary and Martha. In difficult times we need familiar faces and trusted friends.

Which parts of the journey of Jesus do you most connect with: fishing, healing, food, being in the temple?

In what ways has your faith deepened?

[reflection]

Reading 2: John 12:12-17

Reflection 2

The Gospel of John is the only one which mentions palm branches. The other gospels have cloaks or tree branches, but John is the only one to mention Palms.

Palms were a symbol of victory, not just for Jewish people, but for Greeks and Romans as well. Waving the palm branches was a sign of victory.

Waving palm branches was like waving your country’s flag in a parade.[i]

The people of Israel were looking for a Saviour.

They shout Hosanna! Hosanna!  

an Aramaic word in a sea of Greek. The gospels were originally written in Greek, but here an Aramaic word is used.
A word with two meanings – ‘praise God’ and ‘save us’

The crowd made up of followers, and disciples, and the curious are shouting
Hosanna!
Praise God!
Hosanna!
Save Us!
Hosanna!

Jesus enters Jerusalem to a welcome fit for a conquering hero. 
Except he isn’t.

Not the kind they were hoping for anyway.

The people wanted a saviour that would free them from oppression and injustice. They were waiting for a saviour who would make Israel independent, free to worship God.

Jesus does bring freedom.
Jesus does allow us to worship God freely.
But not by overthrowing the worldly powers.
Jesus is not going to fight the Romans, or anyone else, by the rules of this world.
Jesus came to change the game.  

To change the game from oppression and power and fear,
to freedom and grace and love.

And the way he will change the game is by not submitting to the politics of fear, but by love, love that doesn’t give up.

Reading 3: John 12: 17-26 

Reflection 3

 Are we on a journey with Jesus, where love is supreme?
Are we on a journey with Jesus, dominated by hope?

 Remember Lent week one, we renewed the covenant:

I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you or laid aside for you;
exalted for you or brought low for you;
let me be full, let me be empty;
let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.[ii]

We have walked through the final week of the life of Jesus, then today backtracking to Palm Sunday.

People came to listen to Jesus, to see Jesus, some were disciples, giving up everything to be with Jesus, others were curious to see what all the fuss was about, and some followed while things were interesting, and then disappeared at the first sign of trouble.  

Poem:  This is Love

 ~ written by John Birch, and posted on Faith and Worship. http://www.faithandworship.com/

Are we on a journey with Jesus, where love is supreme?

Are we on a journey with Jesus, dominated by hope?

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[i] Working Preacher Podcast

[ii] Uniting in Worship

Extravagant Love

Some background to the story you have just heard.

We have met this family before – Lazarus, Martha and Mary.

In John chapter 11 we read the story of the death of Lazarus, and Jesus calling for the tomb to be opened, and for Lazarus to walk out of the tomb. John 11: 44

 “  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ ”

After the raising of Lazarus form the dead, John notes that the religious officials planned to put Jesus to death.

Luke has another story about Mary and Martha, in Luke 10 we read of the visit of Jesus to the house of Martha. Martha who was working, while Mary was listening to Jesus. Martha asks Jesus to intervene and tell her sister Mary to help: Luke 10: 41-42

“But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Is these the same sisters?

John is the only gospel with this anointing story, but each gospel has a story of a women anointing Jesus.

In Matthew’s gospel, we are in the house of Simon the Leper, which is in Bethany, 2 days before Passover, and a woman enters and pours ointment over his head. The disciples ask about the waste and the poor. 

In Mark’s gospel, we also are in the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany, 2 days before Passover, and a woman enters and pours ointment over his head. This time it is some of the people present who ask about the waste.

Luke has a similar story taking place in the house of a Pharisee, the woman is a sinner who, “Begins to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.” No one asks about waste, the Pharisee questions Jesus allowing a sinner to touch him.  

John’s gospel also sets this story in Bethany, but this time 6 days before Passover and in the home of Lazarus. John names the woman as Mary, and as in Luke it is the feet which are anointed and dried with the woman’s hair. The question about waste and the poor is asked by Judas.

In three of the gospels, the ones where the question of waste is raised, Jesus defends the women for their actions in preparation for his burial.

So what might all this mean?

I invite you to imagine this scene.

You have been invited to a dinner party at a friend’s house. You know the meal will be beautiful as your friend is a wonderful cook. You arrive, the table is set with the best silver, a vase of fresh flowers is on the table and food smells waft through from the kitchen. Mmm, it smells wonderful and your mouth begins to water.

Your friend greets you, introduces you to the other guests, and gets you a drink.

The meal is served and you are enjoying the delicacies that have been prepared and the company of like-minded and interesting people.

Then another guest opens a bottle of expensive perfume, you have seen it in photos of celebrity weddings, it costs more than what you make in a year!

You watch, stunned, as she pours it over the feet of the guest of honour. The room fills with the amazing scent – cardamom and lavender, rose and cinnamon, citrus and spices.

You notice that everyone is now silent, shocked at what is happening in front of them.

And then it gets really bizarre!

She unwraps her hair, kneels down and starts to wipe his feet with her hair!

People around the table look at what is happening and then to each other.

You can see the surprise and discomfort in their faces.

Then someone says: what a waste!  She could have given the money to the poor, there are plenty of worthy causes that could do with that kind of money. [Based on an article by The Rev. Chana Tetzlaff http://modernmetanoia.org/2016/02/29/lent-5c-a-scandalous-gift-of-love/ ]

The response of Jesus to the accusation that the perfume could have been sold and money given to the poor, is unexpected. Jesus is usually speaking up for the poor.

Here, Jesus isn’t saying do what you want, but that you can always do something for the poor. The opportunity to serve the poor is not limited by time. The opportunity to be with Jesus was limited.

The more I have thought about this reading, and then discussing it with the Lent event study group on Thursday, this reading seems more and more bizarre.

A woman at this time was not meant to touch, or to be touched by, a male who was not a close relative.

Think of the way some Muslim women dress with their hair covered – that was quite likely the case for Mary. A woman’s hair was not to be down in mixed company.

I wonder did Mary know she was anointing Jesus for his burial the following week.

This story that John records is shocking. A woman unties her hair in front of a man who is not her husband or a relative. And she touches a man who is not her husband or a close relative.

What Mary does is sensual and sexy

It is extravagant

Is it wasteful?

Jesus had raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. It seems that this is a family that Jesus knows well. I wonder what else Mary has seen and heard.

What is it that Jesus has done for you – if you had to name one thing – a life transformed; healing; a new name; total acceptance; …..???

There are plenty of biblical passages and hymns about God’s love for all of creation, and the way that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus has opened up the way for us to be reconciled to God, and to be agents of reconciliation in the world.

If we believe that God loves us, loves us enough to go through Gethsemane and Calvary, what do we do in return?

Reflection:

What are the ways that you usually respond to the love of Jesus?

How else might you respond?