Reflections on "Waving the Palms" Matthew 21: 1-11

I didn't think this sermon flowed very well, but it must have struck a chord with some in the congregation as I received more feedback than usual as people left the sanctuary.  I'm not sure if they identified with the way I processed the chapter in Unbinding the Heart or if the sermon gave them permission to avoid sharing the faith!

“Waving the Palms” Palm Sunday, 2011; FPC, Troy, 2011; Matthew 21: 1-11

Introduction: Unbinding Your Heart finishes up this week. Small groups. Daily prayer.

Move 1: Palm Sunday

a. The palms reminds us that it is also Palm Sunday.

b. We remember the story.

1. The crowds gathered in the streets of Jerusalem and shouted, "hosanna" and “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
2. Who gathered in those streets?
3. I suspect it was the same people who had been listening to Jesus teach, watching him heal;

c. The same people who did not get it.

c. The same people who did not quite get it.

1. They could not conceive of what Jesus spoke.

2. Not ready for what Jesus asked them to do.

3. Basically, people like us.

4. God, you want me to do what?

5. God really loves me?

6. I suspect the streets were lined with people like us.

500. And by the way, these are undoubtedly the people who shortly will deny Christ.

1. When trouble hits, they are going to scatter to the winds.

2. Peter, of course, is the poster child for this. Peter, Jesus lead disciple quickly forgets he had ever met Jesus.

d. their actions prior to this day in Jerusalem and their actions later give no indication that they can get it right, that they can figure it out.

1. But as Jesus rode by that day in Jerusalem and they shouted “Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” they had it right.

2. Despite the misunderstandings in the past and the betrayals that await, in that moment they recognized Christ as the one whom God sent to save them.

3. Sometimes, we get it right.

4. Sometimes we see Christ in our midst.

e. That moment of clarity when we get it right, that becomes the moment we share with other.

1. The story we tell to others about how God is at work.

2. the reason we feel compelled to invite others to experience God's love and saving grace like we have.

Move 2: Risks involved with getting it right and sharing.

a. Imagine those people who line the streets and shout “hosanna”

1. soon Jesus will be crucified and then resurrected.

2. If they believe what they shouted as he passed by, if they want to follow him, think what it will require?

3. it's one thing to join with a crowd and shout “hosanna,” but to actually follow Jesus?

b. The author this week reminds us that change often takes place when we invite others into our community of faith.

1. In a practical way, imagine how your experience of worship might change if you invite someone to come to worship with you.
2. You might end up sitting someplace differently because there is not room for an extra person in the pew where you usually sit.

3. you could end up having different conversations with different people. Your experience will be different.

4. and if they actually become a part of this community of faith, who knows what ideas they might bring.

Move 3: The moments we get it right give us the content for our faith sharing. How we share grows out of who we are.

a. I have spent most of Lent mis-stating the book title. I have written and said Unbinding the Heart instead of Unbinding Your Heart.

1. A simple mistake? Perhaps. Or, could it be a sub-conscious attempt to keep from claiming the task of sharing the faith for me personally?
2. These things we have talked and prayed about over the last six weeks should be claimed personally, not just in a corporate sense that waits for someone else to share the faith on behalf of the body of Christ.

b. Examples of sharing.

1. Interview with Justice Robert Bork. At age 76 he became Catholic. In describing his religious upbringing, he noted that his parents were split Presbyterians – UPNA and PCUSA; they dropped him off at church, but never went. At 12 yrs. Old, he wanted to join, but the church leaders told him he wasn't old enough to understand. Two years later, they came and told him he was now old enough, but by then he didn't care. Wife had been a nun. The first time he ever prayed before a meal was with her. She converted him to Catholicism through her witness.

2. Marilyn Walker shared with me the story of finding a new church home in NC.

3. Milton Brasher-Cunningham, spent four years in Boston trying to do a new church start-up. Was not their thing. Now his wife serves a downtown church and he is teacher. He adds this story to his failed attempt to do evangelism in a structured way. He saw a new neighbor's request to borrow a lawnmower on a neighborhood lsitserv on the computer. A neighbor whom he did not know. So he offered to loan the new neighbor his lawnmower and invited the neighbor over for dinner. Hospitality is his niche. http://donteatalone.blogspot.com/2008/07/small-thanks.html

100. Each of us has to find our own style of sharing our faith.

1. some of you are very open about inviting people, about naming God and what God has done in your life.
2. Others of you are more subtle.
3. This Lenten study has challenged us to be intentional.

Conclusion:  We have a story to tell to a world where people want to hear it.