WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
April 1st 2007
Palm/Passion Sunday Communion Sunday
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Luke 22:14-27
“Table Ethics”
I hope we realize that because this is communion Sunday, and Palm Sunday, we can abandon any hope of an early end to today’s service. But beyond extending the worship service on the first Sunday of each month, what is this ritual meal all about? In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus institutes the ‘Lord’s Supper’ at the Passover feast. So in order to understand communion better, we need to look at the Passover in Exodus and what the celebration meant in first century Judea.
Passover is the Jewish commemoration of the release from the slavery of the Egyptian Empire by God. Deuteronomy 6:20-22 sums it up quite nicely:
When your children ask you in time to come, “What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?” then you shall say to your children, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. The LORD displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household.
It is a celebration of the event and a claiming of that event in ones current setting. It is about aligning ones life to the story of faith which begins with freedom from slavery and ends with a life meant for serving God alone.
In first century Judea, the Passover celebration was always a cause for concern among the religious and political leadership. It was not good for the security of the Empire for the people to gather and celebrate freedom from oppression. As a result, each year during the Passover celebration an entire Roman Legion was ordered to “keep the peace” in Jerusalem. Their job was to prevent any riots or uprisings from occurring and to brutally end them if they did. That is how the ‘Peace of Empires’ is always maintained. So, it was into this religious and political powder keg that Jesus enters Jerusalem.
Celebrating Palm Sunday can seen rather strange. Jesus entering in on a donkey being proclaimed King on one day and less than a week later he is being executed on a cross. Because this event is misunderstood it is simply ignored by some churches. I believe this is a tragic loss because our reenacting this event can put us in touch with the imaginative ways Jesus so often chooses to interact with the deadly powers of his day. When Jesus enters the city it is not a case of mistaken identity but very elaborate street theater meant to shame the religious and political leadership and proclaim a new way of living faithfully in the world.
With the words: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Jesus is proclaimed the new king in town and for the world. This so frightens the religious leaders they ask Jesus to bring an end to the spectacle. The enormity of the event is often lost on us because the worlds Peace, Lord and even King are only understood to convey religious or spiritual meaning. However, in that setting these words and titles were meant for Caesar alone. It was Caesar who bore the title son of God; it was Caesar who brought peace to the world, it was Caesar who brought the good news of the kingdom. So when Jesus is connected and claims these titles for himself they are overtly political. Palm Sunday is a day of celebration which cannot ignore the consequences of our Savior who proclaimed that peace does not come from the military might of any Empire.
From the moment Jesus enters Jerusalem the tension builds. Each encounter brings us closer to the execution of Jesus on the cross. But what is rather amazing is that in the midst of this tension, Jesus takes time to gather with his disciples for the Passover meal. It is at this celebration where he initiates the practice of communion. It is at that meal where Jesus appears to find encouragement for the coming trial. So too, this same meal of simple bread and cup shared in community becomes a means of encouragement for disciples in all ages.
However, the powerful moment quickly passes. No sooner had the meal finished then the disciples begin to argue over who is the greatest. Egos, attitudes, and personal agendas, instead of faithfulness reign supreme. Once again Jesus must remind his followers that being a disciple is not a power game. Following Jesus means following one who is equal with God but who serves people instead of demanding service himself. This is what sets the followers of Jesus apart. However, it is a lesson too often forgotten.
If we take our lead from the way Luke tells the story, living faithfully in the world or ethical living begins at the table. In order to live faithfully we need glimpses of God’s grace and reminders of the way Jesus lived in the world which had gone mad. I believe we too live in a time where the world seems to have gone mad. As a result we are in great need of the same encouragement Jesus gave those first disciples.
We need to be reminded, in the bread and the cup, that we have been called to follow the one who proclaimed peace in the midst of a world gone mad. Jesus knew what it took and what it takes, to live faithfully in a mad world. It is my prayer that what we are about to do at this table will be a time where we are each – individually and collectively – can be strengthened and renewed to live as faithful followers of the one who proclaimed peace, even in the shadow of the cross. Amen.
April 1st 2007
Palm/Passion Sunday Communion Sunday
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Luke 22:14-27
“Table Ethics”
I hope we realize that because this is communion Sunday, and Palm Sunday, we can abandon any hope of an early end to today’s service. But beyond extending the worship service on the first Sunday of each month, what is this ritual meal all about? In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus institutes the ‘Lord’s Supper’ at the Passover feast. So in order to understand communion better, we need to look at the Passover in Exodus and what the celebration meant in first century Judea.
Passover is the Jewish commemoration of the release from the slavery of the Egyptian Empire by God. Deuteronomy 6:20-22 sums it up quite nicely:
When your children ask you in time to come, “What is the meaning of the decrees and the statutes and the ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?” then you shall say to your children, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. The LORD displayed before our eyes great and awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household.
It is a celebration of the event and a claiming of that event in ones current setting. It is about aligning ones life to the story of faith which begins with freedom from slavery and ends with a life meant for serving God alone.
In first century Judea, the Passover celebration was always a cause for concern among the religious and political leadership. It was not good for the security of the Empire for the people to gather and celebrate freedom from oppression. As a result, each year during the Passover celebration an entire Roman Legion was ordered to “keep the peace” in Jerusalem. Their job was to prevent any riots or uprisings from occurring and to brutally end them if they did. That is how the ‘Peace of Empires’ is always maintained. So, it was into this religious and political powder keg that Jesus enters Jerusalem.
Celebrating Palm Sunday can seen rather strange. Jesus entering in on a donkey being proclaimed King on one day and less than a week later he is being executed on a cross. Because this event is misunderstood it is simply ignored by some churches. I believe this is a tragic loss because our reenacting this event can put us in touch with the imaginative ways Jesus so often chooses to interact with the deadly powers of his day. When Jesus enters the city it is not a case of mistaken identity but very elaborate street theater meant to shame the religious and political leadership and proclaim a new way of living faithfully in the world.
With the words: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Jesus is proclaimed the new king in town and for the world. This so frightens the religious leaders they ask Jesus to bring an end to the spectacle. The enormity of the event is often lost on us because the worlds Peace, Lord and even King are only understood to convey religious or spiritual meaning. However, in that setting these words and titles were meant for Caesar alone. It was Caesar who bore the title son of God; it was Caesar who brought peace to the world, it was Caesar who brought the good news of the kingdom. So when Jesus is connected and claims these titles for himself they are overtly political. Palm Sunday is a day of celebration which cannot ignore the consequences of our Savior who proclaimed that peace does not come from the military might of any Empire.
From the moment Jesus enters Jerusalem the tension builds. Each encounter brings us closer to the execution of Jesus on the cross. But what is rather amazing is that in the midst of this tension, Jesus takes time to gather with his disciples for the Passover meal. It is at this celebration where he initiates the practice of communion. It is at that meal where Jesus appears to find encouragement for the coming trial. So too, this same meal of simple bread and cup shared in community becomes a means of encouragement for disciples in all ages.
However, the powerful moment quickly passes. No sooner had the meal finished then the disciples begin to argue over who is the greatest. Egos, attitudes, and personal agendas, instead of faithfulness reign supreme. Once again Jesus must remind his followers that being a disciple is not a power game. Following Jesus means following one who is equal with God but who serves people instead of demanding service himself. This is what sets the followers of Jesus apart. However, it is a lesson too often forgotten.
If we take our lead from the way Luke tells the story, living faithfully in the world or ethical living begins at the table. In order to live faithfully we need glimpses of God’s grace and reminders of the way Jesus lived in the world which had gone mad. I believe we too live in a time where the world seems to have gone mad. As a result we are in great need of the same encouragement Jesus gave those first disciples.
We need to be reminded, in the bread and the cup, that we have been called to follow the one who proclaimed peace in the midst of a world gone mad. Jesus knew what it took and what it takes, to live faithfully in a mad world. It is my prayer that what we are about to do at this table will be a time where we are each – individually and collectively – can be strengthened and renewed to live as faithful followers of the one who proclaimed peace, even in the shadow of the cross. Amen.
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