Full Or Empty (Palm Sunday)

FULL OR EMPTY

Text: Philippians 2:5 - 11

The late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was greeted by a burst of applause when he made his appearance as a speaker at a meeting in Minneapolis. He responded by saying: “Applause before a speaker begins is an act of faith. Applause during the speech is an act of hope. Applause after he has concluded is an act of charity.” (James S. Hewett. ed. Illustrations Unlimited. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. ). How many times have you known people who like applause? We all like applause. Who does not want the accolades of a crowd's applause? There will be times when we all need our spirits lifted. It is nice to be applauded for something when we need our spirit lifted. It is another thing altogether to live like we are full of ourselves.

There is a difference between being full and being empty. There is also a difference between being empty and emptying one's self.

The crowd cheered Jesus on as He rode to Jerusalem. Every once in while a poll is taken to determine the President of our nation's approval and his progress. "A life that is based only on applause, the plaudits of the crowd, has no foundation, because this approval is not lasting. It changes. Jesus did not seek to please the crowd, although the crowd at that moment was pleased with Him. But, that same crowd would not more than five days later be shouting "crucify Him." The person who bases his life on a desire to please everyone discovers first of all that this is impossible, because people have conflicting and contradictory desires." (Wallace T. Viets. Seven Days That Changed The World. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962, p.19). The crowds shouted "Hosanna" as they showed their approval of Him. Hosanna means "save now." Although they shouted Hosanna, it was their paving of the road on which He traveled with palm branches and cloaks that they showed their praise and approval of Him. Someone has noted that "Hosanna" was not a cry of praise to Jesus, but "... a cry to God to break in and save His people now that the Messiah had come" (Barclay from The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel Of Mark, p. 268). The irony is that Jesus came as God in human flesh to give us the gift of salvation for in the person of Jesus Christ God had truly "broken in" to bring salvation to all who were willing to receive it. But, those in the crowd were thinking of physical salvation and geographical conquest. Jesus came to us as a Prince of Peace to reconcile all who would be reconciled to God which was and is both a spiritual salvation and conquest.

FULL

How well do we follow the in the footsteps of Jesus emptying ourselves in loving service to others? Someone (William Barclay) once said, “If humility, obedience, and self-renunciation were supreme characteristics of the life of Jesus, they must also be the hallmarks of the Christian. Selfishness, self-seeking and self-display destroy our likeness to Christ and our fellowship with each other.” (William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible Series: LetterTo The Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians. Revised Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975, p. 38). This is why the apostle Paul exhorts us to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).

Have you ever known somebody who was what we call “full of himself or herself?” History books are filled with people who were “full of themselves”. Alexander the Great was full of himself. He succeeded his father Philip to the throne of Macedonia at the age of 20. He died at the age of 33 demanding to be remembered as divine [a god]. (Tom Wright. Paul For Everyone: The Prison Letters. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 202004, p. 101). We would say that he meets the criteria to be considered full of himself!

Paul had a contemporary bigwig who was full of himself. It has been said that the closest thing to Alexander in Paul's day was the Emperor Augustus who was known for putting an end the log-running Roman civil war and brought peace to the known world. (Tom Wright. Paul For Everyone: The Prison Letters. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 202004, p. 101). Like Alexander, he too, wanted to be regarded as divine.

There are people in modern times who have been full of themselves. Muhammad Ali was in his prime, and as he was about to take off on an airplane flight, the stewardess reminded him to fasten his seat belt. He came back brashly, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” The stewardess quickly came back, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either.” Ali fastened his belt. (James S. Hewett. ed. Illustrations Unlimited. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. ). We could go on and on with a list a list of people who we think are full of themselves. But, what about us?