Palm Sunday

Leif Kehrwald
March 28, 2021

As we contemplate the passion and death of Jesus, how are we supposed to feel? How are we to respond to all this? How do we get through it? How does this go?
 
In an odd way it brings to mind, for me, a current favorite book of my granddaughter’s – at least when her Papa reads it to her. She is just shy of two years old, and for some reason has latched onto We’re Goin’ on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.

As children’s books go, this one doesn’t make a lot of sense, and yet at the same time it contains a profound message. It’s a funky story of a family (mama, daddy, child, baby, and doggy) setting out on a day of fun . . . to hunt bear. Along the way, they encounter various obstacles: long wavy grass, a deep cold river, thick oozy mud, a big dark forest, a swirling, whirling snowstorm, and a narrow gloomy cave. At each obstacle, the rhythm and cadence of the text goes like this:
Can’t go over it.
Can’t go under it.
Can’t go around it.
Got to go through it.
And then the family jumps into the stream, or plunges into the forest, or ventures into the tall grass, on their way to find the bear.
 
Today marks the beginning of Holy Week, the beginning of the journey toward the end, and beyond. And we do it all in just one week. What a week it’s going to be!
 
A lot happens between now and next Sunday. From the crowds cheering as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, to the crowds jeering at Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, Holy Week is a case study in how quickly public opinion can change and influence events. We celebrate Jesus’ somewhat tongue-in-cheek triumphal entry into Jerusalem, then the Seder Meal remembering the Great Passover from OT times, then the Last Supper, the Agony in the Garden, Jesus’ crucifixion and death on a cross, . . . and then the vigil, the wait, and finally we discover the tomb is empty! What a week it’s going to be!
 
Like the children’s book says:
Can’t go under it.
Can’t go over it.
Can’t go around it.
Got to go through it.
 
Ask any semi-serious Christian why Jesus died on the cross, and you’ll likely hear some version of “to save us from our sins.” Yet, interpreting his death as a one-time sacrifice of atonement is a bit too simplistic and, frankly, misses the mark. It’s the right answer to the wrong question, really. Instead, the question ought to be: Why did Jesus live in such a way that led to his tragic death?
 
And in response, we can say that we are saved by living a life of forgiving love, and by teaching his way of forgiveness to others. This is the life that Jesus lived! This is the life that saves.
 
Our passion story today gives us two contrasting examples. Essentially, we can either be like Judas or be like Peter.
 
Sooner or later each of us falls short, and we betray those whom we love and those who love us, usually in small ways, but sometimes in very big ways. And, sooner or later, a loved one falls short and betrays us. At those moments, amidst the pain, confusion, and heartache we must choose either for or against forgiving, either for or against being forgiven.
 
Peter had the strength to choose for . . . Judas did not. Let us pray that we live lives of forgiving love so that when the moment of betrayal occurs, whether we are perpetrator or victim, we can be like Peter.
 
The story of Jesus’ passion and death has social implications that are also linked to forgiveness. Jesus lived and taught forgiveness as a means of breaking cycles of violence, breaking the patterns of widespread betrayal of whole peoples. His death, while violent, was a definitive statement that all are entitled to a life of love and being loved, a life of wholeness.
 
But I must confess that I feel I’m a fraud peaching these words to you. As a white, well-educated male, my life is charmed with privilege. I have never really been a victim—either personally or socially. What do I know about forgiveness when I have never had to really forgive? And I’ve never been in a position where I had to put my life on the line and take a stand. I’d like to think I would choose Peter over Judas, but, in all reality, I don’t know because I’ve never been tested.
 
Yet, we all know there are some in our community who have been truly tested, who have endured real pain and darkness of betrayal, who have been victims of injustice that I can only vaguely imagine. Your presence is a witness of the life of forgiveness that Jesus lived and to which we are all called. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being among us.
 
Yes, it’s the beginning of a big week for all of us. It’s a long journey from here to the empty tomb, and there’s much to learn along the way.
 
Like the children’s book says:
Can’t go under it.
Can’t go over it.
Can’t go around it.
Got to go through it