Relying Beyond Yourself
Palm Sunday Message
Palm Sunday commemorates the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–9), when palm branches were placed in his path, before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.
Philippians 2:5–11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.
Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It is Palm Sunday and Christian churches across the world today read the story of Jesus triumphant arrival in Jerusalem. It’s quite the scene: crowds, action, intrigue. People are rushing Jesus and pushing in to see him entering Jerusalem. They believe he’s the King they’ve expected for generations. Enthusiastic throngs greet Jesus, singing and waving arms because they anticipate his miracle working powers would finally bring the peace and justice they had awaited. They were living under Roman rule. There were oppressive taxes they had to pay. The people yearned for a King who would bring a new, better way for them. But what they didn’t expect is that Jesus would not be a King in the traditional ways, chiefly because he will humble himself. On Palm Sunday with the scene of Jesus moving through the crowds, there is a stark dichotomy. The story tells us people praise Jesus as King as he comes into Jerusalem. He’s seen as royalty. But he chooses to ride on a borrowed donkey. He refuses to embrace the royal treatment. His own self-assessment is complete humility. Royalty vs. humility, those two things don’t fit together in our thinking.
As followers of Jesus — as people who worship God on this Palm Sunday, we are called to be humble like Jesus. The bible reading from Philippians says, “he did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but humbled himself.”
Humility doesn’t have many takers today. We live in a culture that says, “We’re number one.” We are captivated by American Idol. We want to come in first. We always aspire to win. There’s a human tendency to elevate ourselves and we use our God given gifts to do so. Within American culture and within our own minds and attitudes, humility doesn’t have much of a place.
Thus, I am really glad it’s Palm Sunday and we’re reminded that even as Jesus was hailed as King — he showed us what true humility is about. As people hailed him because they saw him as a miracle worker with powers that could benefit them, he didn’t get sucked into that honor and start feeling all self-important. Rather, he was 100% faithful to God and what God wanted of him. He humbled himself.
Humility is a virtue that we don’t often exercise in our lives. Being humble to the point of relying completely in God is often aspirational, but rarely tried. Maybe during a pandemic we should try?
From time to time, I’ve attempted the exercise of humility, to put myself completely in someone else’s hands. One of the most memorable was the day I went ice climbing in Alaska.
My friend and I knew enough humility that we hired a reputable guide before we set out on this adventure. His name was Matt and we relied on knowledge, equipment and instruction. We let him demonstrate techniques for picking at the ice and planting the crampons on our feet firmly into the ice sheet. We learned from him how to tie the rope to our harness and we watched carefully as he showed us how he would act as our Belay. As Belay, he is the person who controls the rope that is anchored at the top of the ice wall and attached to your harness. Thus, when you’re climbing, if you start to fall, you won’t fall far because the Belay will be holding you up with the rope. As you might imagine, it’s very important to have confidence in the person holding the rope!
The most humbling part of ice climbing for me wasn’t going up the ice wall. It was coming down. On the way up, I controlled the pace. The crampons on my boots helped anchor me on the ice wall and were key in the ascent up the ice. The ice picks in each hand provided balance. So, going up felt okay — safe. Surprisingly, my self-confidence was high.
But coming down was completely different. I shook. My palms sweated right through my gloves. I made the mistake of turning my head to look down and my inner voice screamed “don’t do that again!” Coming down was awful — because I didn’t get to control anything. It was necessary to let my arms hang and feet descend downward as the Belay released segments of rope in a methodical and steady fashion. I’m not sure I heard much of what Matt — my Belay was saying to me as he tried to teach me to let go and allow his control of the rope to guide me down. On subsequent descents that day, I was still humbled by releasing my grasp for control.
The experience of the descent down that ice wall was one of the bigger physical forays into humility. It was one of the harder things I’ve ever done — letting go of the control of my own security and putting my life in someone else’s hands. Living in a pandemic, with no clear understanding of when it will be safe to be out among people again leaves us feeling without control, too.
These days remind us on a global scale how much we don’t control this life. Letting go of all the anxieties that are connected to the sense of losing control is the path toward humility. That’s what God wants from me and you. God wants us to put our security and control of our lives in God’s hand. God wants us to trust fully that our futures are secure in God’s merciful hands. On Palm Sunday — Jesus made the way for us and our future. But to have this kind of faith requires something of us right now. To do so requires our humility and complete faithfulness. Will attempt to do that this week?
Jesus chose humility. He never took control of his own life — but always relied on his Father. Jesus didn’t let the crowds who hailed him as King on that first Palm Sunday seduce him into using his power as he chose. Rather, he always shared himself for the sake of others. That’s what God wants of your life and mine. In living this way, Jesus showed us that he always had a mission — to give honor and glory to God through serving others and being completely faithful to his Father. I hope that is the mission of your life, too.
Prayer:
Loving God, You came to us, a teacher and healer, prophetic and yet humble. You called us all into a new way of life, taught us the ways of God’s love and forgiveness, healing and peace. You call to us anew this day to live into Your ways. Help us, Lord, when the world weighs down, when our lives become difficult, to not forget our calling to love You. And we cannot fully love You if we do not love our neighbors. Even during times of trial, when it feels like we are walking in the darkest valley, Lord, remind us that You are with us, that You call us to love with our whole being, and when we love our neighbors, we love You, and we find new strength to carry on. As we remember this Holy Week Your life, death, and resurrection, help us also to experience Your love in new ways, and to share that love with the world. In Your name we pray. Amen.
