Sermon - Palm (Passion) Sunday

In the Gospel reading we heard at the beginning of Mass today, before the palm procession, we heard Matthew tell us that Jesus rode into town on a donkey that day, long ago, on his last journey to Jerusalem. Why is this detail important? Matthew gives us a clue when he quotes from the Prophet Zechariah:

“Behold, your king come to you, meek and riding on an ass.”  (Zech 9:9)

What a contrast it must have been. The people crowded the streets having heard that the Savior of Israel was coming to town. Many, even most were hoping for a Savior that would kick out the Romans and reestablish Israel as an independent nation. The Savior that they wanted would have arrived on a large prancing horse, maybe even in a Chariot, with warriors following him carrying bows, swords and lances. But Jesus arrived on a donkey, an animal of the poor and lowly. His followers appeared to be ordinary men and women, fishermen, craftsmen and housewives.

There were a few in the crowd, however, that knew and remembered the ancient prophecies about the expected Messiah and what he would be like and what he would do. One of these ancient prophets was Zechariah whose writing is quoted by Matthew.

“Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, Meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. ” (Zech 9:9)

When the Apostles and early Christian writers sought to understand the meaning of what happen that day when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem they were lead to Chapter 9, verse nine of the book of Zechariah in the Jewish scriptures, our Old Testament. If you read from that verse to the end of the chapter you will be amazed at several other prophecies that appear right on the mark with the Gospel that Jesus taught. Verse 10 says:

"His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; The warrior's bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.” (Zech 9:10)

The horse, the chariot and weapons are certainly signs of a military world view. While Jesus does call us to be warriors in a battle it is not a military campaign that he leads but a spiritual one. Then Zechariah says:

“As for you, for the blood of your covenant with me, I will bring forth your prisoners from the dungeon. In the return to the fortress of the waiting prisoners, This very day, I will return you double for your exile.” (Zech 9:11-12)

Under the New Covenant, confirmed in the blood of Jesus on the cross, Jesus provides us the means for us to be freed from captivity. Not from a jail or prisoner of war camp or from exile but from the captivity and exile of sin. In the sacraments our sins are forgiven and we are set free. Our reward will not just double the time we have spent in sin but an eternity of Joyful freedom. Continuing Zechariah says:

“For I will bend Judah as my bow, I will arm myself with Ephraim; I will arouse your sons, O Zion, and I will use you as a warrior's sword” (Zech 9:13)

Wow! Those humble and ordinary men and woman marching into Jerusalem with Jesus that day will be the army of the new covenant! We, the Church, are the spiritual army of our God. We believe that God will shield the church through the ages. Remember what Jesus said to Peter and the Apostles?

“And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18)

Listen to what Zechariah wrote all those years before:

“The LORD of hosts shall be a shield over them, they shall overcome sling stones and trample them underfoot;” (Zech 9:15a)

Then Zechariah says something that foreshadows the very reason we come here every Sunday and reminds us of the importance of the event we celebrate on Holy Thursday. Speaking of the followers of the Messiah, the Church, he says:

“They shall drink blood like wine, till they are filled with it like libation bowls, like the corners of the altar.” (Zech: 9:15b)

“For what wealth is theirs, and what beauty! Grain that makes the youths flourish, and new wine, the maidens!”   (Zech 9:17)

Jesus calls us, God’s children,  adopted sons and daughters to this table to drink his blood, like wine, and eat his body, like bread made from grain, that we might flourish on the wealth and beauty of his gifts, his saving grace.

I call on you to join in the great celebration, this week, of Christ’s passion and resurrection. The liturgy of Holy Week is called the “Triduum”. It begins on Thursday, the feast of the Last Supper, where we recall Jesus giving the church the Eucharist, the means by which his followers can ‘Eat his body and Drink his blood’, in all places and times.

In our Parish, the beautiful liturgy of Holy Thursday will be celebrated with great joy. Mass will be followed by ‘adoration of the blessed sacrament’ until midnight. Please plan to come and stay with the Lord into the night, the night he will be arrested.

Mass will not be celebrated again until the start of our celebration of the resurrection on Saturday evening. On Friday we gather to commemorate the death of Jesus by reading the Passion, venerating the cross and receiving the Eucharist saved from the night before. This is the second day of the Triduum liturgy.

The third liturgy of the Triduum occurs on Saturday night, Easter Vigil. The celebration continues on Easter Sunday Morning. All of the celebrations of the resurrection will be joyful recognition that the Son of God who was executed for our sin has risen in glorious confirmation of our covenant with him as sons and daughters.

© Copyright 2011 Joseph E. Hilber. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
    may be reproduce in any manner without prior written permission of the author.

Behold The Lamb of God - Something out of the Ordinary

John the Baptist was with some of his followers when he pointed to a man passing by and said,

"BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD!!!" (John 1:29)

The Lamb of God? The Gospel writer tells us that the man was Jesus but if you had been there with John what would you have thought? If you were not a Jew and heard this you might have begun looking around for a fuzzy baby sheep or goat that John seemed to claim was the pet or the property of God.

However, if you where a Jew who had come to the desert to hear John preach and to be baptized by him you would have a very different reaction. The use of the words “Lamb” and “God” in the same phrase would have trigger at least three powerful images of a Lamb of God.

One of these images come from the Prophet Isaiah. The prophet describes the coming savior as a suffering servant who will be “a light to the nations.” (Is 49:6) In his suffering he will be oppressed and afflicted and will go to his death silent, “like a lamb led to the slaughter.” (Is 53:7) In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus is silent at his trials and proceeds as a lamb to slaughter on the cross.

John the Baptist said something else about the man passing by, "Behold, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

This would have lead us to think of the lambs sacrificed in the temple as sin offerings. The book of Leviticus says that the lamb will be sacrificed as , “atonement . . . for sin and the forgiveness of sins.” (Lev 4:35) This image of a Lamb as sacrifice for sin is very much the genesis of the Christian belief that Jesus died for our sins, our forgiveness and our recovery from guilt.

At Mass, when the Lord is present physically as bread and wine, we will sing,

    “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!”

      Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!”

      Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace!”

If we have accepted God’s mercy and been reconciled we are forgiven. If we have accepted God forgiveness we are cured of our guilt. Now, forgiven and cured we can truly be at peace. “Happy are we who are called to this supper of the lord.”

The third great event involving a Lamb and God’s dealing with the Jews was the Passover Lamb, whose blood was sprinkled on the doorposts of the Jews the night before beginning their escape from slavery in Egypt.  The blood of this lamb protected the Jews as they prepared to begin their long journey to freedom and a new land.

It is this third image of the “blood of the Lamb” that seems to be the perspective of John, the evangelist, the author of our Gospel reading today. In John’s Gospel the first thing Jesus does at the beginning of his public ministry is to go to the temple and stop the animal sacrifice by chasing the sellers of animals out of the temple courtyard. For John this signaled that the final and perfect Passover Lamb had entered upon the stage of history. It would be the blood of this Lamb that will protect us, God’s people, on our journey to eternal life and resurrection.

John reports that the day after the miracle of the loaves and fishes Jesus tells the people this:

“I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever, eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (John 6:53-56)

This was a difficult teaching for some of Jesus’ followers and some left him at that time. For those who stayed, the means to follow His invitation to eat the body drink the blood of the Lamb of God was made clear by Jesus at the last supper.

The sacrifice of the final and perfect lamb would be made present for us as food and drink in the Eucharist of the Lord. Holding up the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ, our pastor will say,

“This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, happy are we who are called to his supper.”

It is the blood of the Lamb that protects us on our journey through life to eternal life and resurrection. It is the Blood of the Lamb that strengthens for a life self sacrificing love, a life of forgiveness, and a life of great hope.

John, the Evangelist, in his great vision of heaven reported in the book of Revelation, says,

“I saw standing in the midst of the throne .... a lamb that seemed to have been slain.”(Rev 5:6) Later he noticed a huge crowd, “from every nation, race, people and tongue . . . wearing white robes and holding palm branches." (Rev 7:9) Then his guide said,

“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev 7:14)

He goes on to explain,

“They will not hunger or thirst any more, nor will the sun or any heat strike them.For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 7:16-17)

Going back to the scene with John the Baptist we hear him explains further.

“I saw the spirit come down from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testify that he is the Son of God.” (John 1:34)

We have been baptized and confirmed in the Holy Spirit and we too testify that Jesus is the Son of God.

Behold, today in our midst, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

© Copyright 2011 Joseph E. Hilber. All rights reserved.

The Radical Presense Found at Mass

My sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, was based on the readings and Psalm for the liturgy that urge us to rejoice because God is in our midst. At Mass God is present to us in three very important ways. He is present in our hearts, in our minds and in our bodies.

One of my favorite bloggers, Jennifer , in a posting on her Blog, "Conversion Diary", makes the same points more effectively than my overly intellectual attempts. Here is the ending of her article.

"As I stood with the baby at the apex of the Mass, the reception of the Eucharist, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for this gift that is as simple as it is profound. You eat God. He becomes part of you in a physical way. The whole concept is stunning and yet so primal, so primitive, that anyone in almost any state can grasp it.

Rarely in my life have I felt so comforted as I did that day at the Mass. I realized that no matter what happens to me, whether I become rich or poor, whether I end up strong and healthy or feeble and frail, at the Mass I will be taken care of. Because the only thing that will ever be required of me to fully participate is simply a love of God"

Read Jennifer's entire article .

You can read her daily postings here.