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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
The Book of Acts Bible Studies
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
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Palm Sunday (B) Text: John 12:1-19 April 5, 2009 So, I have a question… was this story about a coronation for a king… “Look, your king is coming sitting on a donkey’s colt!” …or was it a funeral procession? “She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.” ~Jesus—referring to the perfume by which Mary had just anointed his feet. In this story we face the stark contrast between human glory (It’s good to be king), and our human mortality (the truth about life’s term limits). Ironically, Jesus Christ, the anointed one, who is called several things in the Gospel of John, including “the Word of God” and the “light of the world,” at his coronation he was simultaneously on his funeral procession, or so it would seem. Culturally, both of these events would have involved an anointing with oil, and so Jesus, the anointed—which is the meaning of the words “Christ,” and “messiah”—in the moment that he was embraced by the people as their savior and their greatest hope, at precisely this moment when he had the whole world’s attention trained on him—he chose this moment to send a message to this world… that ultimately our inheritance (our wealth our sustenance our future our hope) is not ever going to be found with any political ideology on earth. If we as Christians have found our king (which is the meaning of the palms in your possession today), then our Lord, and his kingdom, is with God—which is within this world as well as beyond the veil of life’s glories and death’s mystery. According to the Gospel of John, a chief purpose of Christ’s coming into the world is to be a Revelation from God to us: This is the thing about Jesus, that he gives a glimmer… a glimpse of what he himself calls “The glory of God.” Through healings, miracles, and finally through the most miraculous and unlikely thing of all… resurrection. With the glory of God revealed to us, through these acts of Jesus’, we are beckoned by God to ponder and to imagine and even to believe during our lifetime—that death—that what we often regard as the ultimate and final ending… IS NOT TRULY THE ULTIMATE AND FINAL WORD FOR US!!! No, the final word belongs to God… and it has always been beyond human control and grasp. And Jesus, as described in John, is God’s final, most definitive Word for us. He broke into the world, he shined his light into our world of hopelessness—this place where, face it, death is otherwise tragic (at its worst) or anti-climactic (at its best). And suddenly, in a world where we regard death as certainty, God created something new… a doubt about death really being the end. And that doubt about death’s finality is called “hope.” We’ve heard a lot about hope lately haven’t we? I think this part of the Gospel story—this Palm Sunday reading--is particularly pertinent and especially meaningful in light of current national events that many of you have been watching on the news. My, how things can be the same today as they were so long ago. The people came out to him waving their branches (these, perhaps, were the banners of the day) and they were laying down there garments for him (rolling out the ‘red carpet’), crying with a hopeful yet poignant / meaningful cry, “Hosanna!” Hosanna!” Translated into English this means “Save, please!” “Save, please!” In our own era, I don’t know about you, but I’ve noted on the news, there is something similar happening with the people who have run dry on hope. Today, they have turned to the government with a similar refrain (well maybe it’s slightly different, but not much). “Bail out, please” “Bail out, please.” People, our story is not a story about an economic stimulus package. And Jesus, the one riding in humbly on a donkey—like a king from Zechariah’s prophecy, he was not taking part in any power struggle over politics. In fact, Judas here in the story—he was probably the only one being savvy in a political sense. Apparently, he made it public that he wanted to give more money to the poor, but is identified in the story as being insincere, one who grabbed for power and prestige by his false display of benevolence, and wound up being nothing but a thief. This also could be taken right out of our current events, if you think about it. Jesus, however, we know from his teachings cared for the poor and was very much concerned with the world’s injustice. Yet he advocated giving alms to the poor privately –and never for a self-motivated prestige or with the aim of getting something in return. No, this bail out was of an eternal nature—this bail out was for the sake of our souls. Jesus, his bail out was to show us that we don’t need to ‘sell out’ in life. We don’t need to give up our integrity and values to be a part of something great. So, how does this message change us? 2000 yrs removed from Jesus’ acts of healing and raising people from the dead, how does this flickering glimmer of the possibility of life beyond the veil of death change you? Jesus Christ is a peek into the undiscovered country for which all of us are bound. How does this light of revelation change you? People, from what do you really need a bailout today? I’m not talking about money, although obviously money can be a big obsession which keeps us from honoring God. But what do you need to ask God to “please, save” you from? What paths have you headed down with your life, which need redirection? Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in God’s name—he who breaks our hearts by being humble to the point of death—This one is our king, this one is our Lord. This one is who we celebrate and strive to hold on to and follow. And he comes to each of us humbly, not to condemn us, but he comes with the promise of peace in our lives, and to strengthen, embolden and nourish our souls. May God Bless you this day and may Jesus Christ—the one who may be beyond our understanding, yet promises to reside right in our hearts, me he be the Lord of your life!!! -------------------- Pastor Joshua W. Magyar 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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