The Week Begins

It was the Saturday evening before Passover. Jesus is at the home of his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus in the town of Bethany; about a mile from Jerusalem. Lazarus has become a bit of a local hero, seeing as how he had been raised from the dead. People were gathering at his house, not only to hear Jesus teach, but to see this man who had been dead and was now alive. So there is quite the crowd at that house in Bethany. Jesus is just wanting to spend this evening with those he cares about, with his friends, because he knows what the week ahead holds for him - but as so often in his ministry, he is surrounded by a great crowd of people who wanted to hear him and perhaps see a miracle or two. The next morning Jesus gets up and he and the disciples, and many of the people who had been visiting the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, all began to walk into Jerusalem for the Passover. Jesus sent a couple of his disciples to find him a donkey to ride, because the prophecy declared that the messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. Custom also said that kings of peace rode into town on the back of the donkey, kings of war would ride in on stallions. Jesus was announcing that he was entering Jerusalem as a King of peace. This also was the day of gathering for Passover and Jews from all over the Mediterranean basin were traveling into Jerusalem to get ready for the Passover. Hebrew law required that everyone who was able was to come to Jerusalem for the Passover – this was the reason all these crowds were on the road that morning. Everyone traveling is in a festive mood – they looked forward to coming together during this celebration. You would come to see people you only saw once a year, you would gather for feasts and parties as the week would build up to the Seder meal and the Passover rituals near the end of the week. Think of a festival or gathering you go to every year that you look forward to and see people you only see at that time and everyone comes and joins everyone else and just has a fun relaxing time. That was Passover in Jerusalem. Jesus comes riding a donkey and the people are thinking the Messiah is going to come in and overthrow the Roman government in Jerusalem; they are singing Hosannas because they thought that Jesus was coming to give them back their land – to kick out the Romans and once again there would be a Hebrew king governing the people of Israel. So the celebration heightened as they did what you did for a King, - wave palm branches, lay your cloaks on the road, sang Hosanna. What a great time – the great celebration of Passover and just like the first Passover when they were released from slavery, they would now be released from the oppression of a foreign government! Into the city they go, rejoicing and having a great day! Jesus, the disciples and the crowds continue into Jerusalem under the watchful eye of the religious leaders who are leery of what is going on. All this allegiance to this wandering teacher was disturbing. The leaders were worried their power would be questioned. This teacher had the crowds all worked up looking for change. Change is never good when you are in power and the religious leaders were understandably worried. Even today we are cautious of new ways and new ideas and change;. Jesus was turning everything the Jews thought were absolutes and telling them there were new ways to look at what they thought was truth. New ways to understand their role as God’s people. The leaders thought everything was fine the way it was. They thought they were being obedient to God the way they were. By the afternoon, however, after everyone has entered the city, we see Jesus not joining in on the party, but sitting on top of the hill overlooking Jerusalem and weeping. He knows that this great celebration and this happy mood and these hopes of a new government will be crushed by the end of the week – things will not turn out as these people who are now so full of joy think it will. As the week goes along, the mood will quickly become dark. Jesus knows that everyone is going to turn against him and even his closest disciples would abandon him. On Monday, Jesus gathers his disciples in Jerusalem and begins to talk to them. Not just the 12, but many who had been following him. He begins to tell them parables to try and help them understand what is going to happen during this week. The disciples are still hopeful that Jesus is
going to do something miraculous and take over the city, throw out the Romans and Jesus and the disciples will ascend to the throne in the city. But Jesus’ parables aren’t heading that direction at all. He tells them the story of the owner of the vineyard. The story goes like this: A man owns a vineyard. He decides to go on a journey and turns the vineyard over to the workers. Sometime later he sends a servant to collect the receipts and the workers beat the servant and send him back empty handed. Again, the owner sends another servant and the same thing happens. The owner sends one more servant and this one they kill. But the owner is still hopeful and continues to send servants with the same results, some are beaten, some are killed. Finally the landowner sends his son saying, “Surely they will respect my son.” But the workers in the vineyard figure if they kill the son, the owner will abandon the vineyard and it will then belong to the workers. And that is what they did. They killed the son and threw his body out of the vineyard. And Jesus says, and now the landowner will come and throw out all the workers who are there and give the vineyard to others. Jesus told this story not only to his disciples, but there was a crowd standing around listening to this story. The Pharisees heard it as well and became very angry because they knew that Jesus was talking about them. But the religious leaders looked around and saw the crowds and were afraid of what the people might do if they arrested Jesus, so they left to look for another time to get rid of him. The next day Jesus comes again to the temple. Now, remember the temple is huge. About the size of 3 football fields. Around the outside perimeter of the temple were areas where teachers would gather students and teach. On Tuesday of what we call Holy Week, Jesus is at the temple teaching. But his teaching is much more serious than the people have heard before, much more about sacrificing your life, your time, your money for God. His teaching was about how one needed to put God first over everything else. About how choices were going to be difficult and about how no longer was being a descendent of Abraham enough to be part of God’s people. The Religious leaders came and questioned Jesus and they didn’t like his answers about how they had missed the point of what a life as God’s people was all about. The people who had crowded around Jesus and hung on every word he said began to drift away as well. He wasn’t saying what they wanted to hear anymore. He actually told them to pay their taxes to Caesar. He told them, give all they had left to God……. As the week progressed, Jesus continued his difficult teaching, telling the people who were left that if they followed him people were going to hate them. He talked about death. As the crowds left, so did one of his disciples. Like the crowds, Judas is disillusioned because Jesus is not doing what Judas thought he should do. Like the crowds, Judas wanted Jesus to do something radical. Like the crowds, Judas wanted Jesus to do something political and that wasn’t the direction things were going. So Judas thinks he can force Jesus’ hand by turning him in. Surely when they come to arrest Jesus, he will be forced to act in a different way; Jesus would be forced to start the coup against the government. And by Thursday, all the crowds had left. There was no one left willing to listen to Jesus. it was only his disciples who were with him. And not only did one of them betray him, but one would deny him, and all but one of the remaining 10 would desert him. Only John would remain with him to the cross. What a difference a week makes. Holy Week begins today. We began the service with the waving of palm branches and we end with the somber music and a somber mood to remember this is the way this week will go. It begins with celebration and ends with death. It began with large crowds and ends with Jesus all by himself as he goes to his death. A death of an innocent man, who dies for us; who spends the week trying to help us understand what being the people of God is all about; a man who still goes to the cross even though everyone has deserted him…. A man who goes to the cross and looks out over those who have beat him and made fun of him and have put a nail through his hands and feet and in his agony cries out for God to forgive them – and to forgive us.

A GATEWAY TO THE PSALTER
Seeing Clearly in the Sanctuary

I think we can all admit that there are times when we look at our lives and look at the lives of others and we think - “OK God. What’s going on? I have tried to live like you want me to. I have tried to do all the things you wanted me to do. I have even given up things for you. So you want to tell me why all this is happening to me - and why that person who cheats people and spends all their money on stuff for themselves and doesn’t even care about you has this nice cushy life? Why God? I deserve all that good stuff, God - they don’t! God, I just don’t understand.” If you have ever cried out to God like that - don’t feel bad. You are among just about every Christian who has at one time or another felt that way - and you are among most of the people we know from the Bible! You would be surprised at how many of the people we hold up as these great Icons of God’s people who have felt exactly like you. These people that we tend to put up on a pedestal of God’s chosen, are just weak and frail and sinful people just like we are. Their faith and understanding would often waiver; they would often question God about what was going on.
So just a few examples - We start with Sarah, the wife of Abraham. God had promised Abraham that if Abraham obeyed God then Abraham would be the father of children as numbers as the stars. Abraham was almost 100 and his wife Sarah was almost 90 and Sarah begin to question what was going on. What’s going on God? I’m too old to have children now so did you lie to us? Where are all these children you promised? We did what you told us to but you have reneged on your end of the bargain…..Certainly we can understand that. In our understanding, this having a baby ship has sailed. Sarah is out of luck. God must have meant something different… So Sarah cries out to God questioning what he is doing.
Then we have Moses. Moses questioned God from the beginning of his call. Moses meets God in a burning bush and God tells Moses to go to Egypt and Moses questions God’s thought process cause surely he didn’t mean for Moses to be the one to go free God’s people. Then after Moses finally realized God was serious and he is leading God’s people through the wilderness, we read over and over “What are you doing God?” as events keep happening that make no sense. Moses often gets down right contentious with God on several occasions when he doesn’t understand what God is doing!
Even in the New Testament how often do we read about the disciples questioning Jesus and just not believing that Jesus is the Messiah. In the passage we read today, the disciple Thomas just comes out with ‘we really don’t understand what you are talking about. We really don’t understand who you are? Why can’t you just come out with it?” and the disciple Phillip then continues this train of questioning with “we just really don’t know who you are. Who are you, really? What is this all about?” Haven’t you ever felt that way? I know I have. Aren’t there moments where you have this feeling of “What is all this about, really? Is Jesus really here? Is God really watching over me? I’m just not sure…..”
It is a normal question. It is a human question. Sometimes we just get overwhelmed with life and we wonder if God is really there like he promises - and if he is, why is all this happening to me. And why are all those who aren’t God’s doing so well? I just don’t get it. Didn’t God promise good to those who did what he said?
We are spending this Lent looking at the Psalms and we can’t overlook how often the Psalm question God. How often we read the writer of the Psalm just throwing their hands to heaven and saying, “What is going on God?” And so often it is because the writer of the Psalm is looking at the unrighteous - which is just a term for anyone who is not part of God’s family - and why they prosper when God’s people don’t. That question pops up over and over.
Many of you probably know who C.S.Lewis is? He is the author of the Chronicles of Narnia series? He was raised in an home that treasured church and the things of the church. He attended an Anglican church regularly growing up but as a teenager he decided to drop out and become an atheist. He said “I am angry with God for not existing” which truly made no sense but he remained separated form the church for many years until he became a professor at Oxford and became best friends with J.R.R. Tolkein - the author of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series. Through conversations with Tolkein, Lewis regained his belief in God and reunited with the church. Lewis became very committed to Christ. Throughout the books he wrote, Lewis used his ability to write to minister to those who were questioning who God was or who were even questioning the very existence of God. Even the Chronicles of Narnia series is just an allegory of the work of Christ - the Lion Aslan represents Jesus throughout these books and the children are the disciples, the Ice Queen is representative of the evil that influences us.
Yet Lewis admits, he came back to God “Kicking, struggling, resentful and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape!” He describes his struggle to resist God in his book Surprised By Joy.
However Lewis continued to question God. When he was older he fell in love and was married and soon after his wife was diagnosed with cancer and died. In his book, A Grief Observed, Lewis cries out questioning God in this circumstance. Lewis says, “When you’re happy, so happy that you don’t have any sense of needing God, if you turn to him with praise you’ll be welcomed with open arms. But go to him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, a sound of bolting and double-bolting on the inside and after that, silence. You may as well turn away.” Haven’t you felt like that sometime? All the prayer and pleading with God and things don’t turn out the way you want? But then Lewis has this conversation with God: Lewis: God, why don’t you do something.? God: I am doing something. Lewis:That’s not fair, I don’t like what you are doing?” God: “Too bad. I’m God and you’re not.”
This is what the Psalmist is trying to address. After we are done questioning God, what is next? The writer of the Psalm points out the centrality of worship in our questioning. There is just something about gathering together with God’s people knowing that we are all in the same boat - we are all in that place of wondering why; of trying to figure out what God is doing and why God is doing it and then together realizing it just comes down to trust. Being together in worship helps us transform that doubt into trust. It is that very communal nature of coming before a God we don’t understand and realizing that God has given us these people around us so that we can help one another and hold one another and be strength for one another. All of us here live in this tension between our experiences in life and with the promises we find in passages like Romans 8:28. It is hard for us to understand those words - “All things work for good for those who love the Lord.” when all things don’t seem so good sometimes. And the Psalmist says “Look - here you all are together, bowing down and praising God and knowing that God has your best interest at heart - even if you don’t understand it.”
Think of this picture - You are standing on a tile floor in a large building. Under your feet you notice that all the tiles are different colors but they just look like tiles that are different colors. It is not until you walk up the steps and look over the balcony that you see those tiles make up a beautiful picture. That is why we gather together to worship God, because we trust that he can see the big picture - and we can’t.
No sermon on not understanding God would be complete without a mention of Job. The purpose of the story of Job is to help us see that God is God and we’re not. Remember Job had everything anyone could imagine and he lost it all. And so he cries out to God, “Why? What is going on? I did everything right. Why, God? Why am I suffering so?” The important thing to remember about this story is that Job didn’t stay in that place where all he did was question - he didn’t just keep on complaining. Instead, he honestly sought God and, in time, God reached down and brought comfort to him. No, all of Job’s questions were not answered - nor will yours be. But Job saw God’s greatness and love in a new way - and that made all the difference.
What the Psalmist wants us to learn is that we we can question God but we should never question God as if we think he is wrong. He isn’t. Instead ask him to help you to trust him, even when you don’t understand.
God loves you - if He didn’t, he wouldn’t have sent His Son into the world to die for you. But He did, and that makes all the difference. Amen!