A Lenten Joy

Sermon prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA
by Pastor Greg Kaurin
Palm/Passion Sunday, March 28, 2010

Text: Luke 22:14-30

A Lenten Joy

There is a novel about Martin Luther's wife, Katherine, titled, Kitty, My Rib. The author says that Luther was in one of his darker moments, moping about the house and staring at walls, until one day Katherine dressed in black and put a dark veil over face. Luther was surprised and asked if she on her way out to a funeral. "No," she answered, "but the way you've been acting, you've convinced me that God must be dead, and I thought I should join you in mourning."

She made her point. "Go change your clothes; and I'll get back to work," he said.

This is Palm Sunday or sometimes known as Passion Sunday. It is one of the strangest to plan because, first, just before we move into Holy Week, Jesus' walk to the cross, we start with this triumphant ride into Jerusalem, where people shouted “Hosanna!” and hailed him as the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

And I've always found it almost painfully ironic knowing how quickly this very same crowd would be shouting for his crucifixion, just a few blocks from where they stood. It's tempting to be cynical about it. Is this really the crowd we want to imitate?

But look at Jesus. Jesus knew all this. He knew what they would do, and still he rode that donkey, and received and blessed their songs. Because he loved them.

Then, just a bit later he would be in that upper room with his disciples, and even though he knew it was the last, look again at his words from Luke 22:15, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." Eagerly desired. Other translations say he longed to eat this meal with them. When? "Before I suffer," Jesus said. How can you eagerly desire what you know will be your last meal?

Two things come to mind. First, Jesus, knowing it would be the last, treasured it, every second. In spite of knowing that Judas was sitting there with betrayal in his heart, in spite of fickle crowds, Jesus treasured that moment, even at his Last Supper.

And second, he knew that he was adding new meaning to this sacred meal. “This is my body, the blood of a new covenant, do this--whenever you eat and drink of it--in remembrance of me.” I have to believe, Jesus Christ, in that moment was not only sitting at the table with the twelve, but was seeing and talking to all of us, today and this coming Maundy Thursday.

When Jesus looked around that table, he saw Peter and James, Thomas and Judas, Greg and Pauline, Jim and Sophie... Me and you. And his heart, his God-size heart was filled with joy and love.

Next, skip a few more verses to Luke 22:28-29. Jesus said, "You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom." Again, you have to keep in mind that Judas is about to betray Jesus, the disciples are going to scatter and hide. Peter is going to deny even knowing Jesus, and still Jesus said, "You are the ones who have stood by me... in my trials."

He knows how many times they will fall, how many times you and I fall short of such praise, and he is already forgiving, lifting, and strengthening, so that we can stand by him, and by others, in their trials. What gave him the strength? A deep compassionate joy, gratefulness for the time he had, a love.

I have titled this sermon, "A Lenten Joy" not to skip over the Via Dolorosa, the Path of Grief, that Jesus walked, but because this Lenten journey is not just pretending. Jesus was letting them know and setting the stage for his crucifixion, but also for his victory on the cross. The reason we walk the Via Dolorosa with Jesus is to enter more deeply into his passion, to discover how deeply and painfully God loves us. But the only reason we can walk that path is because the Via Dolorosa is also the path to victory.

As we get closer to the cross, I hope two things are happening for you this Lent, two things held in tension. First, I pray that the passion of Jesus, his suffering, cords and whips, each one, I pray that we remember: we did this to him, to our God. We do this to him, in every selfish turn we make. It should bring us to our knees.

Last Thursday morning in our Bible study, I said there should be fear and trembling in God's presence. We have no right to stand before him... We did this to him. We have no right to stand on this Rock of ages. ...Except that he was cleft, broken, for me. We have no right, and no righteousness of our own, ...except by his forgiveness, for his disciples, for the crowds, and us. We say that Jesus died for our sins, and that is true, and that is forgiveness. But more to the point, Jesus died for us, and that is love.

The second thing we can hold in tension is a deep abiding joy. "Amazing love, how can it be, that you my King would die for me?" The closer we get to his cross, the more this can build in us, Love so amazing, Jesus Messiah, my Savior.

The old traditional hymn sings about it in "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." In your mind, look at your Savior, blood and spit running down, let your heart sing these words, "O sacred head, what glory, what bliss till now was thine / Yet, tho' despised and gory, I joy to call thee mine!" I joy! Right there, even in the heart of the crucifixion, Christian joy. A pride and joy, brave victory: "That's my King; that's my God up there! He did that for us!"

We aren't here to pretend. We live on this side of the resurrection. He will rise again, and give his disciples ...the eternal kingdom. Will any other god do this? Will fame or power? Will popularity or self pity? Will alcohol or self-indulgence? We would have no right to approach God's throne except that he cleaned us up, gave us Christ's victory, and called us to approach as his disciples and children, with boldness, the boldness of his Spirit, living in us.

This whole season of Lent, Sundays at our 8:15 worship, I've been especially struck by the Lenten Preface. It's a prayer before Communion that sings, "You bid your people cleanse their hearts and prepare with joy for the paschal feast." Maybe you didn’t know this, but in the mainline worship during Lent, we are supposed to refrain from saying or singing the a-l-l-e-l-u-i-a-word. I always have to grin a little whenever it slips in.

In the extreme, some have often wanted to cast a funeral pall over the whole season, no celebration. Kind of like Katy Luther wearing black, as if God died, or that Jesus never rose. Or as if his sacrifice wasn't quite enough so we need to keep sacrificing and groveling in shame.

I do feel we take seriously the need to use Lent to reflect and confess more honestly, to cleanse our hearts and enter the disciplines more deeply. Kind of like having soup for dinner, I think there should be a yearly paring down and getting back to basics. You know that, especially if you've been worshiping on Wednesdays with us.

But does this prayer say, "Prepare with shame and guilt?" No, here's a Lenten discipline that needs to be heard, "prepare with joy for the paschal feast." The Paschal is the Christian feast that completes the Passover, the Seder! It's the feast of victory every Sunday, and the feast to come. Christ ransomed us for heaven; he rescued us from sin, so Lent is a time to let go of the things hold us down, to clean house and to prepare our hearts with joy, with a building-Lenten joy that knows that because of the cross, we are bound for glory. Jesus did not stay down. Neither will we.

And so, that old Lenten Preface finishes, "Renew our zeal in faith and life, and bring us to the fullness of grace that belongs to the children of God." "That belongs to the children" not because we earned it, but because Christ did, and gave it to us. What did he say in our gospel? "I confer on you...a kingdom."

And I love that word, zeal. You have to do what it says. Say it once like this, ZEAL! What did it make your mouth do? Grin a big toothy grin. And zeal is a fighting grin that doesn't give up. In this context, it's a Lenten joy. [Up on screen: "Lenten Joy" - is a building trust and anticipation for the Victory of Jesus' Cross.]

Last Wednesday, before evening worship, I went for a run on the Inter-urban trail here in town. I had my earphones on, and my music was set for some of my favorite praise songs. Even though it was sunny when I started, not many others were out, so I was singing along, (a little out of breath) and of course, one of the songs started singing the a-l-l-e-l-u-i-a word, and I was singing along, ...not thinking about it, feeling good, till suddenly it got a little dark, a chill breeze, and rain started down. “Oops, sorry God. Didn’t mean to praise you… with that word…”

I joke a little; we don't need to take offense or gasp during Lent at these faux pas, but a little restraint, a little fasting is a good thing to build the awareness, the growing suspense and joy for Easter when after Jesus achieves his victory on the cross, then we can bust that word out in full congregational volume: "Jesus Christ is risen today! ..." ah-uh-uh; wait for it! First, let's eat a little, then walk with Jesus. This is the via dolorosa; and it is the path to victory.