The greatest love

Philippians 2: 5-11; Luke 19: 28-40

Many artists have illustrated this moment in Jesus’ life, when he enters Jerusalem for the last time. To paint the picture, we need to notice the details.

First, Jesus has made arrangements for his ride into town. How and when did he do that? We don’t know.

Second, he starts from Bethany, the home town of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Perhaps Lazarus was the one who made the arrangements. Jesus and the group head down the mountain from Bethany, and back up the next mountain into the city.

Third, the road is dusty, and as they travel, people throw their cloaks on the road. Cloaks, not palms. There are no palms in the story! Palms are mentioned only in John’s gospel.

Fourth, as they travel they sing praise songs, songs which proclaim Jesus as the king, the messiah. In the US, they might be playing “Hail to the Chief”.

Fifth, while some people praise Jesus and proclaim him king and messiah, some Pharisees object to this proclamation.

Sixth, Jesus declares that all of nature is praising him at that moment.

… As we imagine the scene, we might also consider what is going through Jesus’ mind at this moment. Here’s what I think.

Elation at being recognized as who he really is: Lord, King, Messiah. He knows he is God incarnated – God with skin on.

Dread about what will happen soon – his death at the hands of the Romans.

Worry that the human desire to live will over-rule the divine desire to prove how much God loves God’s people.

Anticipatory loss – he has grown to love, as humans love, the disciples, Lazarus and his sisters, Mary Magdalene and the other women, and all the other followers. He weeps at the loss of this direct interaction he now has with them. And he weeps at the pain his death will cause them, even though it will be temporary.

He is bubbling over with joy at the surprise he has for them, because even though he has told the disciples he will be raised on the third day, they don’t understand what that means.

Jesus knows at this moment that he could give in to the human desire and claim the power and become king of Israel. He knows he has the ability to make it happen, just as the satan tempted him to do, right at the beginning of his ministry.

But, he chooses to live this last week with his divine power channeled for divine purposes. He chooses to continue to preach and teach and heal until the very last minute. He chooses to allow himself to be arrested and tried and humiliated and crucified. Instead of a crown of gold and jewels, he ends up with a crown of thorns.

… Paul describes this choice in his letter to the Philippians. Jesus gave up his divinity in order to become human, obedient to God’s plan. He accepted that he would die on the cross in order to prove the extent of God’s love for humanity, for all of us. Jesus says, “The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends.”

Some of us have intentionally put ourselves in harm’s way for the sake of others, especially those who serve in the military and as police officers and sheriff’s deputies. These men and women sign on for long-term service.

Some have dived into water to save someone else from drowning. Others have shoved people from in front of a bus or train, putting themselves at risk in split-second decisions. We remember today Deputy John Kotfila, who was buried on Friday after heading off a wrong-way driver on the highway. But how many of us have willingly offered to die so that someone else could live?  

Would you be willing for your child or grandchild to die instead of you? Of course not. We would all choose to die so our children could live. God loves us so much that God was willing for God’s Son to live, love us, teach us, heal us, and die for us. Jesus was willing to die on behalf of us, God’s children. That is how much God loves us.

In response to this extreme love, we are to praise God and exalt Jesus’ name.

In response to this extreme love, we are to confess that Jesus is Lord, and the boss of us.

In response to this extreme love, God does not call us to die also, but to live. We are to live knowing that we are loved, cherished, and worth dying for.

We are to live knowing that God’s Holy Spirit lives within us.

We are to live knowing the end of this story, that the tomb is empty. And that means we can do anything!

Hope’s mission statement is: To Know Christ and to make him known. The more we know Jesus the more we can make him known to others.

When we pray, read the Bible, and spend time alone with Jesus, we get to know him.

When we pray and study and worship together, we get to know him even better.

When we make quilts, mow the lawn, fill the food basket, listen to a friend’s grief, check on someone who isn’t where they are supposed to be, we get to know Christ and make him known.

I know a woman who knew Jesus so well, she loved serving at the soup kitchen. She organized her congregation and got a group of volunteers to join her. Churches signed on to take one day a month. After a few years, she became the leader of the soup kitchen and served for many years in that position. Through her, many people came to know Jesus.

When we know Jesus, we can help our friends and acquaintances and people we’ve just met to know him, too. I know a woman who always had a full pew at church because she would say, “Please come with me this Sunday. I’ll save you a seat.” She was so enthusiastic about her congregation that many of the people she invited did come to sit with her and came week after week.

Every year we learn a little more how God’s extreme love for us is demonstrated in what Jesus did for us. Let’s get better every year at sharing that love with others. Together and as individuals, let’s exalt Jesus and proclaim him our Lord.

Please pray with me. Jesus, we can only begin to imagine your emotions at this moment in your life on earth. We praise you and give you thanks for your love for us. Lead us to share that love with others who don’t know you as we do. Amen