Palm Sunday 2023

Palm Sunday 2023 

https://youtu.be/F5JdtWaC9SY

So, I’m reading scripture set aside to celebrate Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday, if you are not familiar with the story, is the day that Jesus rides into Jerusalem about five days before he is crucified. On this particular day, the crowds love him. He is their hero. They throw down their coats for him to ride on and wave palm branches declaring that he is their king. He is riding in humbly on the back of a colt of a donkey, a colt that has never been ridden. He is not riding in triumphantly on the back of a horse as would a Roman soldier or general done. He is riding a simple donkey, true to his nature.

The following excerpt is from an Old Testament Scripture that depicts this event. I’ve shortened it to what is significant for this moment. It is from Zech. 9:9-12

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. … As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit (otherwise known as death).

Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

Our Scripture begins with “Rejoice Greatly!” Rejoice means to feel or show great joy or delight.

So I ask you, when was the last time you experienced such joy that you felt like dancing? Or jumping up and down? Shouting with tremendous spirit, loud sounds of exuberance or running around leaping like a crazy person? This is what it means to rejoice – to be overjoyed. To be in that place of joy – rejoicing – indicates a shift out of the ordinary. Our ordinary has just been shifted by an even so extra – ordinary that we can’t sit still or even sit at all.

When I was an undergraduate at Clemson University too many years ago, I worked for a veterinarian, Dr. Roger Ross, at his clinic The Fox Nest. He is still there in practice in Seneca. You know, that childhood dream many of us have of becoming a veterinarian, saving the animals, working with the furry or feathered pets we grew up with – that was me. I was an animal science major at the time and needed some experience. I was lucky enough to be given that opportunity by Dr. Ross.

Dr. Ross had been an Army medic. He was gifted with wisdom even at his young age. One of my first life lessons was to learn how to do the little stuff like minor surgeries so well that I could focus on more important things like love. He loved his wife, and he would say he would rather think about his wife than the surgery in front of him.

The second lesson I learned was in the transformation of a mother and pup duo. They had been brought in by rescue parents. Their hair was so thick and matted that it was hard to determine where the hair stopped and the dog began. The hair was so matted it restricted their movements. They could barely walk. They were miserable. It was my assignment to free them from this mess, shave them, or cut off the hair so that they could walk.

To fully appreciate their condition, I want you to imagine that one thing in your life that is weighing you down right now. That one thing that you did that has been plaguing your life for years or maybe even decades. That secret so deep, you don’t even dare think about it, much less share it. Nobody knows about this thing but you.

It may be the most horrible thing you have ever done, or it may be the most horrible thing someone else has done to you – and you are so filled with shame and hurt and guilt … that you have lost your joy.

Maybe you are dealing with cancer or some other disease, life threatening. Maybe you have lost a spouse, a partner or parent or child, or been betrayed by someone you have loved deeply.

Imagine how this thing has become like the matted fur on those two little dogs. You can barely walk, you definitely don’t run, or dance, or travel, or go out, or associate with friends. It’s too painful to even move. Every inch of your body is restricted. You’re miserable.

Eating is a chore because you can barely reach the food bowl or water bowl – maybe you’ve lost your appetite. Nothing tastes good anymore.

Rejoicing is not in your wheel house. You don’t even know what this means. You can’t even imagine what it looks like – so the words fall flat.

Is this where you are? So emotionally restricted, depressed, sad and physically encumbered that – Rejoice – is just a word on a page or stale air coming from the readers lips?

In your current state, like these dogs, it is impossible.

What you need is a transformation.

Sometimes we have lived with a thing for so long, are in such fear of being found out, kept this thing under wraps relatively successfully but at a tremendous personal cost to our person – that we forget – even in church or being a person of faith – that God gave us a solution over 2000 years ago.

Jesus Christ came to give us the good news. Our Father in Heaven loves us so much, that what He wants most for us is simply to receive His love and forgiveness, and for us to forgive ourselves and everyone else involved in whatever matter it is that you are holding on to.

That thing that happened, even if it happened at church, is over. It is in the past. We have a path for working out these things – forgiveness.

We are not perfect. The church is not perfect. Our parents are not perfect. Our spouses and partners and children and co-workers and friends are none of us perfect. We are not in a perfect world, but we do have a perfect solution. If you were sick, you would most likely take the medicine prescribed by your doctor. Jesus is called the Great Physician for a reason. He gave us a prescription for forgiveness that allows us to be free of all the fear and shame and guilt associated with our imperfection and the imperfection of others.

That thing that happened is over. It is in the past. If it is in the present, you can make it a thing of the past by making changes in your response to it. Trying to cover up whatever it is out of fear of what others will think or say or do is robbing you of your life. It is the hair so matted around you that you cannot move and can barely breathe.

It is sad to think and even say … sometimes the fear of facing that really terrible thing causes people to harm themselves or others even to the point of death. Not facing that thing is a quiet death anyway. You cease living when you shut down.

If you continue to hide from this thing, you will cease to exist at some point whether in life or in death. You must find the courage to face the thing – and God, our Creator, who knows about the thing anyway – nothing is hidden from God ever – God, our Creator, is saying – “I know, I love you anyway, just ask my forgiveness, and receive my love and forgiveness.”

It is not the admission that triggers the forgiveness on the part of the Father Creator. The love and forgiveness already exist. It is our admission that allows us to recognize that God has always been there. It was the thing that became like a veil that kept us from seeing clearly our relationship with God our Creator. We get so caught up in our heads about the thing that we lose sight of our relationship with God, just like we lose sight of our relationship with others, our family, and friends. We cease to even look at them, acknowledge their presence. Look up! You are not and have never been alone. It is all in your head! But you have to look up and realize what has happened and take this first step. Start with God.

The transformation of these dogs was remarkable. I started with the mom. The hair was so matted to the skin I had to use small scissors to snip away gently a few hairs at a time around the legs, then up to the belly, across the shoulders, and around the head. I couldn’t even use the electric trimmers because every inch of her body was matted. It took nearly two hours. As each part of her body began to be free, she began to move a little. Her excitement grew. By the time I was done, she was uncontrollable! She ran around the room jumping and leaping for joy! She embodied REJOICE! Because she had been set free.

Palm Sunday is about the recognition that the one who came to set you free is here. He is the king, the ruler, the one in control of your destiny. He is the one that has the power to forgive you and transform your life. That little dog could not free herself. She did not have the tools, and neither do you have the tools to free yourself. Whether you like it or not, you are not a creature who made itself. You have a Creator, one that desires to set you free, but you have to surrender to the idea that you are not your own. That little dog had rescue parents that took her out of a bad situation and got her help. God is a rescue parent that can take you out of a bad situation and get you help. Even if you are skeptical, what do you have to lose? Stay where you are with no change – nothing changes, or risk believing in Jesus and hope for a miracle.

Right now, wherever you are, pray this with me: Jesus, I don’t really know you, but apparently you and God know all about me. You even know about my situation ______________. Fill in the blank here and confess everything in your heart and mind – be honest and face it.

Then say, “Right now I ask you to forgive me for _________________- and name it. Fill in the blank and ask forgiveness for the thing.

And then, this may be even harder, you have to extend forgiveness to others involved who hurt you. Forgiveness is reciprocal. It is the law of the universe – you have to give to receive.

So say the following, “At the same time, God, I forgive ___________- for __________. Name the person or people you are holding a grudge against for the harm they have caused. The prayer Jesus gave his disciples says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” Be bold, say these things with conviction.

Then say, “Jesus, if you are real and can forgive me, then let me feel that forgiveness in my heart. I will accept you as my king, ruler of my life, savior of my soul from even my own self, forever, and I will Rejoice today for this change in my being.”

Churchgoers, this is the hardest for you. You have been in and out of that building so many times as part of habit, you may not even realize the extent to which Jesus is capable of transforming you. You are numb to the language – but Jesus is alive, awake, and not numb. Jesus is real with all the host of heaven. What you do with this moment is up to you.

Either remain in your current state, matted with fear and depression holding on to your past and headed for non-existence, or lay it at the feet of Jesus, let it go and Rejoice that you are free.

The hair on these dogs would grow back, but they had new parents that were committed to their care and proper grooming. Jesus is committed to your care. A dog and its owner have a tremendous loving relationship – how much more does God of Heaven care for you as does Jesus, his Son.

Amen.