“It's Easy to Shout But Much Harder to Serve” (Palm Sunday)

Dear Friends in Christ,

   If you’ve ever been a Sunday School teacher, you’ve probably wondered whether the children you are teaching are actually getting what you want them to get out of the lesson.  Like one little girl who came out of Sunday School on Palm Sunday.  When her father asked her what she learned, she told him all about Jesus riding on a donkey while the crowd waved palm branches in the air and sang to him.  The father was pleased that she had learned and especially remembered all that.  But when he asked her what song they were singing to Jesus, she paused for a moment and then said, “I think it was ‘O Susanna.’”

   Well, Palm Sunday is the day we celebrate what we sometimes refer to as Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem when the crowds sang not “O Susanna” but “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”  But perhaps even more importantly than that, Palm Sunday is the day that marks the beginning of Holy Week, that momentous and memorable week in the life of our Savior that culminated in his horrific crucifixion on Good Friday followed by his victorious resurrection on Easter morning.

   Speaking of Good Friday, I came across a true story recently about a man who was standing in line at a bank last spring when the bank meltdowns were just starting.  All of a sudden there was quite a commotion at the counter as this woman started screaming, “But where will I put my money?  I have all my money in this bank, plus my mortgage!!  What will happen to my mortgage??”  She was obviously distressed, but it all resulted from a misunderstanding of a small sign on the counter that read: WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR GOOD FRIDAY.  Apparently she wasn’t familiar with the events of Holy Week or the meaning of that special day because she took it to mean that the bank was going to be closed “for good” that coming Friday.  I guess in today’s financial environment it’s easy to see why she might have misunderstood that.  But still it’s sad to think that there are countless people who really have no clue as to what this most important week of the year is all about.

   Well, in our special services this week on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we’ll be focusing upon the events of Christ’s Passion, but for today, I want to spend our time examining the Palm Sunday parade that we find taking place in our text as we consider the theme “It’s Easy to Shout, But Much Harder to Serve.”  And the first thing I want you to note from this story is the high hopes of those who accompanied Jesus into the city.  Mark tells us in his gospel that Jesus’ parade route started in Bethany, which was only about 2 miles from Jerusalem.  And as Jesus rode a donkey on that road, a crowd began to gather, a crowd that was in the mood for a celebration.  There was excitement in the air as some spread their cloaks on the road while others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them in the way for Jesus to ride on.  There was singing and shouting.  The people were ripe for change.  They’d had enough of Rome’s oppression.  They were looking for someone to lead them to a better life and they had high hopes that Jesus was that someone. 

   Have you ever noticed that there is something very appealing, something very contagious about people with high hopes?  That was certainly the case with one little boy named Tommy Tighe.  When he was 6 years old, believe it or not, he asked a local business man for a loan of $454.  Why?  Because since the tender age of 4 Tommy had a dream.  He wanted to make a bumper sticker that said, “Peace, please!  Do it for us kids, signed Tommy.”  He had high hopes that that bumper sticker could make a difference.  He just needed the $454 to print 1000 of them.  Interestingly, the business man agreed to float Tommy the loan, but explained to him that he’d have to pay it back.  Tommy understood that.  So he listened to some tapes with suggestions for selling.  One tape said that you should start selling at the top.  So that’s where he decided to begin.  He convinced his father to drive him up to former President Ronald Reagan’s home.  Without a moment’s hesitation Tommy rang the bell and soon the gatekeeper came out.  Tommy gave a 2-minute, irresistible sales presentation about his bumper sticker, after which the gatekeeper reached into his pocket, gave Tommy $1.50, and said, “Here, I want one of those.”  Then he said, “Stay here and I’ll get the former President.”

   Later the Orange County Register did a feature story on Tommy.  The reporter interviewed him for several hours, during which Tommy was asked what he thought his impact would be on world peace.  Tommy replied, “I don’t think I am old enough yet; I think you have to be 8 or 9 to stop all the wars in the world.”  As a result of this newspaper article Tommy appeared on national television.

   I believe God has a special place in his heart for people like Tommy – people who are believers – people who have high hopes to not only see the world become a better place but to actually do something about it.  And that was the mind-set of the crowd that accompanied Jesus that first Palm Sunday.  They definitely had high hopes.

   Unfortunately, those high hopes were short-sighted.  You see, when they saw Jesus approaching Jerusalem, they immediately thought that at last their deliverer had come.  Their view of the Messiah as a conquering king, a triumphant hero was about to be fulfilled.  They believed Jesus was going to enter the city to defiantly confront the established order.  It would be the showdown to end all showdowns between their champion and the Roman officials.  That’s why the cries of “Hosanna” rang out everywhere along the parade route.  That was a Hebrew word that could be translated “Save us now.”  You get the picture?  These people were pumped and primed for a revolution against Rome and they were willing to fight to the death if that’s what their newly crowned leader called them to do.

   But Jesus did nothing of the sort.  In fact, his actions were just the opposite of what the people were expecting.  For starters, he was riding a donkey, a symbol of peace, rather than a white charger, the symbol of conquest.  He approached Jerusalem as a humble servant rather than as a warrior king.  And when he actually entered the city, his first order of business was not to confront the Romans but the money changers at the temple – his own countrymen – who had turned his Father’s house from a house of prayer into a den of thieves.  And because the people were so preoccupied with their preconceived ideas of political conquest, they were blind to what was actually taking place right before their very eyes.  For God was at work, only not in a way that they could see.  Which serves as a powerful reminder to all of us that he is at work even when we can’t see him or feel him or understand him.

   Charles Spurgeon, who was one of the greatest preachers of all time, discovered that.  One time he preached what he thought was one of his worst sermons ever.  He stammered and floundered his way through it, and when he finished, he felt like a complete failure.  When he got home that day he fell to his knees and prayed, “Lord God, you can do something with nothing.  Please bless that poor sermon.”  That’s a prayer I have to confess I have offered many times myself.  All through that week he uttered that prayer, but he was also determined that the following Sunday he would redeem himself by preaching a great sermon.  Sure enough, the next Sunday his sermon went off without a hitch and as the people shook his hand at the door, they heaped lofty praise upon him.  Spurgeon went home pleased with himself, but something told him to watch for the results of those 2 sermons.  And what were they?  From the one that seemed to be a total failure he was able to trace 41 conversions.  And from the one he was so pleased with he was unable to discover a single soul that was saved.

   So it’s true.  God is at work even when we can’t see him or feel him or understand him.  And there is no better example of this than in what happened at the cross.  Do you think the disciples of Jesus believed that God was at work when they saw their master arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and dragged away to be tried before the Jewish authorities?  Do you think his followers believed God was at work when they saw Jesus being scourged by Pilate’s soldiers and then dragging his cross through the streets of Jerusalem?  Do you think Mary believed God was at work when she knelt at the foot of the cross while those who passed by hurled insults at her son as he hung there dying?  Do you think Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimithea believed God was at work when they removed the corpse of Jesus from the cross, wrapped it in clean linen, and then placed it in Joseph’s tomb?  I can’t imagine anyone who was close to Jesus that day saying, “Look at how God is working!  Isn’t this a wonderful thing that he is doing?”  But on Sunday morning their tears turned to triumph and their fears turned to faith when they visited the tomb and the angel proclaimed to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here.  For he has risen, just as he said.” 

   So never forget that, my friends.  God is at work even when we cannot see him or feel him or understand him.  And that takes us to the last point that I want to talk about today which is what I’ve stated in my sermon title, namely, that it’s easy to shout but much harder to serve.  Now what do I mean by that?  Well, that’s just another way of saying that it’s easy to say you’re a Christian but much harder to live it out.  It’s easy to talk the talk but much harder to walk the walk.  You see, sometimes we’re like the crowd on that first Palm Sunday.  We get caught up in the excitement of the moment – maybe a great worship service that really touches our hearts or a mission project or servant event or Christian gathering that we participate in.  Our enthusiasm skyrockets and our faith and our commitment to Christ go through the roof.  But after a few days, it begins to fade.  We get busy.  We lose interest.  And it’s back to business as usual. 

   May I make a prediction here?  I predict that that will happen in just 2 weeks here at our church as well as just about every other Christian church in our country.  Next Sunday, of course, is Easter.  If things go as they have gone in the past, we will see our biggest attendance of the year in our 2 services that morning.  Last year we had 380.  The year before, it was 433.  The year before that it was 406.  But the Sunday after Easter is a different story.  Last year our attendance was 232.  The year before, it was 275.  And the year before that it was 232.  You see what I mean?  It’s easy to shout.  It’s easy to get caught up in the joy of the Easter miracle, but it’s much harder to serve.  It’s much harder to maintain that level of joy and enthusiasm and carry it over into our everyday lives.  Which is why we need to understand what the original Palm Sunday pilgrims failed to understand, namely, that Jesus came into this world not to be a military hero or a political leader who would defeat the powers that be.  Rather, he came to establish a new kind of kingdom, a kingdom that would be marked by love for others rather than lust for power; a kingdom that would marked by service to God rather than selfishness toward man; a kingdom that would be known for its obedience to God rather than its oppression of others; a kingdom that would promote forgiveness and reconciliation rather than resentment and revenge; a kingdom where faith would rule the day rather than fear.

   Today, my friends, I invite you to be a part of that kingdom.  Will it be easy?  I think you know the answer to that question.  Will it be worth it?  I think you know the answer to that question too.  Of course it will be worth it.  For we have Christ’s own promise in Rev. 2:10 that if we will be faithful, even to the point of death, then we will receive the crown of life. 

Amen.