Title: The Trouble with Being Fickle
Text: John 12:12-19
Thesis: Fickle folks do not make faithful followers.
Introduction
In Pop-Culture: Do you remember Milli Vanilli? They sold 30 million singles and 10 million albums before they were discovered to be lip-syncing pop fraudsters and became the laughing stock of pop entertainment
In the Sports Arena: CBS senior sports writer, Clark Judge, wrote on CBS Sportline.com in September of 2006 in defense of Jake Plummer, “All he’s done in four seasons with the Broncos is win 34 of 46 starts and take the team to the playoffs every year. So what’s wrong with that? Plus, he’s 3-0 against New England since joining the Broncos, including a playoff defeat of the Pats in January when they were defending champs.
OK, so he stunk in the season opener. You mean to tell me John Elway never had one he’d like to throw back?
We here in the Denver area are familiar with the “fickle finger of blame” which can get you traded or replaced from one week to the next.
In Politics: Remember when Howard Dean was running for the Democratic nomination for president and let out a weird squeal at the conclusion of a speech in Iowa? He immediately went from being the darling of the party to the party pariah? No one knows for sure if he was just high-spirited or having a melt-down. But, we do know that one political blooper can change a political landscape.
Fickle people are marked by erratic change in attraction and affection. Fickle people love you or hate you depending on if you are performing satisfactorily and meeting their expectations… in which case you remain the next great hope. But heaven help you if you blow it!
The crowd that welcomed Jesus as he entered the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was a fickle crowd. It was a ticker-tape parade…
• Jesus was the parade… Jesus rode astraddle a donkey down the center of the street.
• Onlookers waved palms and scattered them along with their coats on the roadway as Jesus passed by.
• Confetti filled the air. Bands played.
• Children sat on their father’s shoulders so they could see.
• The crowd on the left side of the street began a wave which raced down the street ahead of Jesus and then jumped to the right side of the street and raced back to meet Jesus.
• The people shouted, “Praise to God! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!”
Five days later… the enthusiastic and joyful crowd turned on Jesus. The air was charged with disappointment and hatred as the same people who acclaimed him King of the Jews changed their chant to, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
How quickly emotions and attitudes change when people do not meet our expectations.
The people who lined the sides of the street had come to Jerusalem for numerous reasons… some of the folks were vendors.
For the sake of creative and sanctified imagination, let’s call them:
I. The Flea Market People
Jewish historian, Josephus purports that as many as 3 million religious pilgrims were gathered in the city to mark the Passover Celebration. We can get something of the sense of what it was like by bringing to mind the Muslim Hajj.
Just as Jewish people visited their holy site during Passover every year, all able-bodied Muslims who can afford to do so, are required to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. Every year when pilgrims do their hajj to Mecca, the city which is normally at 1.4 million people, triples in size as 2 million pilgrims visit the holy site.
In anticipation of the influx of religious pilgrims, many had come to the city early to prepare to capitalize on the needs of those who were coming to Passover. Just as vendors will prepare for the influx of people who will converge on our city for the 2008 Democratic Convention, vendors prepared for those who would come to Passover. They had lamb, matzo balls, shish kabobs, Passover products, Passover T-Shirts, currency exchange booths… if it was something a Passover crowd might need, they provided it.
These folks were there because there were services that were needed and the opportunity to make some money providing those services. They had little or no interest in Jesus apart from the fact that he may have been good for business.
I think to suggest that these people were fickle, would be incorrect. I don’t believe they were fickle… they were not running hot and cold for or against Jesus. These people would more accurately be described as “indifferent” to Jesus.
The trouble or problem with indifference is that indifference doesn’t care one way or the other… indifference lacks passion. Indifference is disinterest and apathy. To be indifferent toward Jesus Christ is to be without any inclination to respond with either acceptance or rejection.
Every Sunday Bonnie and I have to make an earth shattering decision… where to eat lunch. Our conversation is the ultimate expression of indifference. It goes, “I don’t care, you choose.” “Well, I don’t care either. You choose.” This is a decision we need to make before we leave the parking lot here at church because it determines which way we will turn. This back and forth continues for some time until I say, “Okay, let’s eat Chinese.” When I mention Chinese, the indifference ends and we narrow the field of opportunities to Italian, Greek, Ethiopian, Mexican, Tex-Mex, French, soup and salad, meat and potatoes All You Can Eat and More buffet, greasy spoon, Cajun, steakhouse, pancake house… or just go home and eat tuna fish.
When a person is indifferent toward food the worst that can happen is you have to eat something you don’t really care for. But, when you are indifferent toward Jesus Christ… you will miss out on the hope of heaven and you will most certainly, end up with an eternity which will not be to your liking.
Jesus is not into indifference. In his message to the Church at Laodicea he said, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spew you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16
We can also assume that there were people there whom we can liken to the people who flock to New Orleans or Rio de Janeiro for Mardi Gras or Carnival.
II. The Mardi Gras People
Mardi Gras, also known as Fat-Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day takes place on the last day of a period of merriment and festivities preceding Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season.
It is likely that there were people in Jerusalem for Passover who had as little interest in Passover as Mardi Gras people have for Lent.
These folks have little interest in Jesus either… it just so happens that Jesus is making an entry into the city. They are there because Jerusalem is where the action is… and if Jesus is part of the action and there is a party going on, they are happy.
While having a bite to eat at a funeral reception I sat at a table where a lady told me that she attended a church in the area. I know the church of which she spoke is a great church with a great pastor. So, I asked her what she liked best about attending there and she said, “The pastor (she called him by name) does a mean Elvis…” (I told her that we couldn’t say “Elvis” in our church…)
These folks are happy as long as Jesus is turning water into wine, and laying out a spread in the city park sufficient to feed the thousands who had come to hear him speak, and keeps them entertained with a mean Elvis.
The trouble with Mardi Gras people is not indifference. They are passionate about what they want… and they want a good time. They are essentially unrealistic if they think Jesus Christ is in the entertainment business or that being a follower of Christ is one big party.
These folks are fickle. Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23
Following Christ is about commitment that exceeds showing up for the party on Christmas and Easter. It is a commitment that shows up for the day to day, week to week stuff of life and service in the faith community not just for baptisms, confirmations, weddings, funerals, and Fall Fests.
But now, we move beyond the speculative to those whom we know had personal expectations regarding Jesus Christ. One group may be though of as Houdini People.
III. The Houdini People
These folks were the curious, miracle seekers… they are signs and wonder people who want Jesus to work his mo-jo and do something exciting and miraculous.
Despite the passing of two millennia, people are still drawn to Christ and a Christianity that is entertaining and awe inspiring… there are people who expect that Jesus be a health and wealth Jesus.
A very large contingency of people with those kinds of expectations had gathered in Jerusalem in anticipation of his arrival. The storyline leading into our text states that before the Passover Celebration, many people from the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the cleansing ceremony before Passover began. They wanted to see Jesus, and as they talked in the temple, they asked each other, ‘What do you think? Will he come to the Passover?” John 11:55-56
And, in our text we read, Those in the crowd who had seen Jesus raise Lazarus back to life were telling all about it. That was the main reason so many went out to meet him… because they had heard about this mighty miracle. John 12:17-18
The trouble or problem with Houdini people is that they are fickle as well… they may be likened to those to whom Jesus said, “You demand a sign but it is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign.” Matthew 12:38-40)
There is nothing fickle about Green Bay Packer fans. Green Bay Packer fans may be the most loyal in all of football. Brett Farve has a job for life as the Packer Quarterback. They wear Packer clothes. They hang Packer stuff on their walls. They collect Packer memorabilia. They stick Packer stuff on their bumpers and fly Packer flags. They tailgate and eat meat by-products with an entire line of Packer accessories. Packer fans spend $17.95 so they have Cheese Hats to wear at the games. They receive an official Certificate of Authenticity with every purchase of a Brett Farve autograph. On game day fat guys paint themselves and go bare-chested in frigid, blizzard conditions to support their team. It doesn’t matter if Brett Farve throws five touch downs or five interceptions… they will be there for the next game. They believe!
Jesus said to Thomas, the disciple who said he would not believe that Christ was risen unless he saw the nail wounds and placed his finger in them, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and yet believe.” John 20:29
However, by far, the largest number in the crowd had political expectations of Jesus. I call them, “The People for the Revolution.”
IV. The People for the Revolution Crowd
These folks are politically motivated people who use religion or in this case, hoped to use Jesus to form a resistance movement and overthrow their Roman oppressors. In our culture these are the people who might use Christ and Christianity to achieve political ends.
We know this is true because the fans of Jesus perceived Jesus as the coming Messiah who would overturn their oppressors and restore the Nation of Israel as a religio-political power.
A. We hear it in the cheering and chanting of his fans.
“Praise God! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!” When Jesus came into the city riding on a donkey he was perceived as the fulfillment of the prophecy, “Don’t be afraid, people of Israel. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.” Zechariah 9:9
B. We also sense it in the reaction of his foes.
Meanwhile the leading priests and Pharisees announced publicly that anyone seeing Jesus must report to them immediately so they could arrest him. John 11:57
Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus. John 12:11
Then the Pharisees said to each other, “We’ve lost. Look, the whole world has gone after him!” John 12:19
Yesterday, March 31, 2007, the New York Times ran a column by Patrick Healy stating:
“Concerned about Senator Barack Obama’s presidential fund-raising, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign has dispatched former President Bill Clinton to attend 16 fund-raisers in the last six weeks and to lead conference calls and Internet appeals to donors…
Democrats close to the couple say that Mr. Clinton’s efforts on his wife’s behalf were just beginning and that they were likely to accelerate after he finishes writing a book this spring. Several donors said that Mr. Clinton’s role was even greater than they originally expected after Mrs. Clinton announced her candidacy on Jan. 20.
The early deployment of Mr. Clinton highlights the continuing concerns in the Clinton camp about the strength of Mr. Obama’s candidacy and his fund-raising prowess.”
In politics there is always the fear that the whole world will go after the other candidate… and in politics there is always the fear that our candidate of choice may not give us what we want.
When the political hopes of the people for the revolution realized that Jesus was not about earthly kingdoms… their hopes and their devotion were dashed and they demanded his death.
Conclusion:
I don’t know that much has changed…
On this Palm Sunday there are people who are indifferent to Jesus. There are people who believe Jesus exists to ensure their health and prosperity. There are also folks on both sides of the aisle in Congress and entrenched around our country who believe Jesus is for their agenda. And there are people who are fickle, fair-weather, wishy-washy, and shallow.
The bible likens being fickle to being double-minded. “A double-minded person is unstable or unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven by the wind.” James 1:6
Jesus did not come for the purposes of industries of commercialism, entertainment, health and prosperity… nor did he come to prop up anyone’s political agenda. Jesus came to establish the Kingdom of God in the hearts of people. He made it unmistakably clear when he said, “All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me…” John 12:26
Rather than attempting to mold Christ into a Christ of one’s liking, faithful followers of Jesus Christ are marked by devotion to the person of Jesus Christ and the pursuit of being molded into his likeness.
