Sunday Throught, March 29, 2015: Palm Sunday

The Donkey

When fishes flew and forests walked

And figs grew upon thorn,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil's walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,

I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet. 

-- G.K. Chesterton

Daily we are tasked to carry our Lord, and by him we are graced with palms before our feet as we trod our path into the Holy land, which is His kingdom.  Who are we to ask for more, or to place ourselves higher than those around us due to the honor of the task we have undertaken?  We do this bidding willingly, humble and without ego, as did the Christ when he triumphantly entered Jerusalem, on an ass and amidst much fanfare, to forfeit His life for the salvation of all mankind and claim his place as King.  Would that we all could so willingly give of our lives for our fellow man, then would there truly be peace on earth... yes?

For those many non-Christians that wonder of the meaning of Palm Sunday, or Sunday of the Passion, I have included a link to Wikipedia for some elaboration:  Palm Sunday Explained .

I was blessed to catch a show, on the PBS series Nova, concerning the history of the Hebrew Bible, the first five books of the Old Testament.  Of all the scripture in the Hebrew and Christian faith, these are the most contentious among biblical scholars.  These are the books that rely most on folk tale and hearsay, those stories passed from one person to the next, generation after generation.  Though there is much disagreement, as well, over much of the newer scripture due multiple translation, interpretation and transcription, over the last two thousand years, the first books were compiled from the early chicken scratch of a Hebrew language, the writing of which was in its infancy.  These books do little to bolster the reality of biblical scripture, and actually bring into question the very existence of a Jewish people during this early period.  The Nova series left us with the thought that the early scripture was simply a "fabrication" of a history, with intent to give credence to the Jews as a people and a nation.  Hey, don't wrinkle your nose at this; we all pad our resumes so we seem better than we are in hopes of getting a good position.  They were small fry in a pond full of big fish, who are we to judge? 

I am the first to call into question the validity of much scripture.  I am also the first to declare that questioning scripture does not invalidate the inherent meaning behind why it was written.  These were stories, true or not, I feel were written to give substance, and understanding, to a moral code for living life and guiding us along a righteous path to salvation in the next life and beyond.  The stories were written so the people of the time were able to identify with the message being taught.  That the message isn't perfect, is contradictory to other stories, or perhaps was simply a bedtime parable, is not as important as the message they were trying to relay.  Do not have faith in the Bible, as it is simply a book.  To do so would be to have faith in an object, an idol.  Have faith in the sweet, peaceful, message the Bible tries to impart.  Have faith in those messages that reflect the true spirit of the Christ who gave up His life for us all.

"But everyone who lined the streets had a different reason for waving those palms. Some were political activists; they'd heard Jesus had supernatural power, and they wanted him to use it to free Israel from Roman rule. Others had loved ones who were sick or dying. They waved branches, hoping for physical healing. Some were onlookers merely looking for something to do, while others were genuine followers who wished Jesus would establish himself as an earthly king. Jesus was the only one in the parade who knew why he was going to Jerusalem – to die. He had a mission, while everyone else had an agenda."

-- Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church

This Sunday of the Passion, think about your path; think about your own mission.  First of all, do you even have a path, much less a mission?  If not, why not?  What selfish reason have you come up with to excuse your lack of drive to do anything meaningful for your fellow man?  If you do have a path and a mission, is it truly a selfless mission?  Is it forward your personal agenda, or His?  And, finally, ask who you condemn.  Who do you judge in the stead of the Lord?  What egotistical excuse do you use to claim the right to stand in judgment over another for the master of us all?

As we approach Easter, and the rising of the Christ, we should take stock of our actions.  There are many evil people in the world, killing the righteous of many faiths, and yet we still see the "righteous" among us condemning those homosexuals wishing to know Christ, and a peaceful Islam trying to live down the atrocities being committed by heretics in their name.  Religions still fail due to the segregation of their own faiths represented by sects disagreeing on basic interpretations of peace, love, understanding, and tolerance; disagreeing on the concept of the one God.  These are the desired precepts of a humanity that that will forever be so unobtainable until we learn to shun the segregation we seem to practice in every aspect of our lives.  

Perhaps we should work more on coming together, and less on segregation.  Perhaps we need to begin celebrating our peaceful cultural diversity and start trying to eradicate the evil that threatens peace in our world.  To quote the famous plea of Rodney King during the Los Angeles riots of 1992, "Can we all get along?"  Maybe, if we tried.

It's just a thought.

"When Jesus entered Jerusalem the people spread their clothes in the way and strewed branches before Him in order to do Him honour. Jesus rode upon an ass, according to the word of the prophet. His feet did not touch the road which was decorated in His honour. It was the ass which trod upon the garments and the branches. But the ass would have been very foolish to have been uplifted on that account; for the road really was not decked in its honour! It would be just as foolish if those who bear Christ to men were to think anything of themselves because of what men do to them for the sake of Jesus."

-- Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929), Indian Christian missionary

Note:  You might find the story of Sadhu Sundar Singh of some interest.  I have included this link, if you have the time.

Editor's Note:  

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion.  It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other.  An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human.  God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Pastor Frank Anthony Villari

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."