(From the Rector provides a forum through which St. John’s Rector will occasionally publish his rambling thoughts for all to read… hmmmm.)
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Email PALM SUNDAY |
We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
On this last Sunday before Easter, the last of Lent, we hail with palms and praises the blessed King who comes in the name of the Lord, to accomplish the work of our salvation. Today, and all this Holy Week, we follow Christ in the way of his obedience, obedience unto God’s loving purposes for us men and for our salvation. The Lessons for this Sunday are a perfect introduction to this most Holy Week of his Passion and Death for our Salvation.
First, the lesson from the prophet Jeremiah (11:1-10, anciently read on this day at Mattins) bears witness against Israel’s breaking of its Covenant with God, and the judgment that follows. In this act of proud rebellion the disobedience and judgment of the entire human race is represented. It is this judgment – the curse and condemnation of those who break the covenant – which Christ bears for us.
In the epistle lesson (Philippians 2:11ff), in contrast to man’s proud disobedience, the Apostle Paul sets forth Christ’s humble obedience unto death, even the death of the cross. If our rebellion brings wrath and judgment, Christ’s obedience is vindicated by God, who exalts him to glory and worship. The Apostle exhorts us to imitate the one whom we worship on bended knee, to have the same mind that was in Christ. We pray for grace to follow the example of Christ in humility and patience, in self-denying obedience.
Third, the Passion of the Lord according to Saint Matthew, the first of the four passions to be read this week. These repay the most careful study and meditation, since every detail, great and small, is laden with deep significance.
What does the Passion chiefly show us? Three things, at least. First it shows us the complete freedom and power of Christ, the Son of God. In the opening events – the anointing in Bethany, the institution of the Eucharist at the Last supper, the announcement of imminent betrayal, the prayer in the garden of Gethsemane – we learn that Christ went to cross freely, with his eyes wide open, in full knowledge of God’s saving purpose, and free obedience to God’s saving will: “not as I will, but as thou wilt”. All that follows has been foreknown, forewilled, freely accepted by Christ: and though the way of obedience leads him into darkness, dereliction, and death, yet even in his death Christ acts with royal freedom. His life is not taken from him: he freely gives up the ghost, an act of power underscored by the signs and wonders that move the pagan centurion to the confession of faith: “truly this was the son of God”.
Second, it shows us that Jesus took upon himself the full consequences of our sin. In his betrayal and arrest, his abandonment by the disciples, his unjust conviction by the Council as a false prophet, his being disowned by Peter, his unjust condemnation by Pilate for sedition, his cruel scourging, his cruel mockery, the torture of his journey to the cross, the darkness the covers the land, the cry of dereliction, “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me” – Jesus travels to the heart of darkness – our darkness – the darkness of our hearts, and takes it all completely upon himself. If the darkness of our hearts appalls us, and it should – we rarely see it so nakedly exposed in all its consequences - we discover the heart of God, the heart of the gospel, the consummation of God’s loving purpose in Christ’s obedience: that he, the righteous Son of God, should bear the sin of Men. In a wonderful exchange, he bore our curse, to give us his blessing; our condemnation, to give us his righteousness; our death, that he may impart to us his life. This is his perfect work, done in the teeth of our resistance, our rejection, our rebellion, our failure: his perfect work, and therefore ours to receive by faith alone. Human pride does not claim any part in this perfect work of atonement: the humility of faith, however, may receive it, and in that faith, bear fruits of good works in gratitude for his grace.
In his loving obedience unto love, Christ walked this way alone. We the faithless, the disobedient, the betrayers of trust, the hardhearted breakers of the covenant, we could not walk with him. But because he walked this way for us, for our sakes, as our representative, we may, by his grace, and in gratitude, share in this path that leads through death to life. We may suffer with him, because he suffered with us; we may rise to new life with him, because he rose for us. In the way which his sufferings have opened, we may dare to follow.
Let us then this week walk in the way of the cross, in repentance, in thankful faith, in resolute charity. Let this week be a time for us to examine our consciences, to confess our sins, to amend our lives: that out of the sorrows of his passion, we may share with him in the joys of his resurrection.
I remind all those members of this congregation who have been admitted to Holy Communion that it is their duty to make their communion on the Feast of Easter, or, if prevented by urgent cause, to do so in the week following. For which purpose Holy Communion is celebrated at 8:15 and 5:30pm Easter Monday to Easter Friday, and on Low Sunday at 8am and 12 Noon.
We adore thee, O Christ, and we bless thee,
because by thy holy Cross thou hast redeemed the world.
The Rev’d Gavin G. Dunbar