The backdrop for this day on the Christian calendar, which we call Palm Sunday, is the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem during the Passover Feast. Jesus has come riding into town from the Mount of Olives on a small donkey. Crowds are following him and shouting in excitement. The Bible says, “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest!’ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred” (Matthew 21:9-10). It was a time of passionate emotion. When they called him “Son of David” they were saying that they saw him as the Messiah, the deliverer talked about in Scripture. They believed it was a new day. Deliverance from Rome and their other enemies was just around the corner. Hope was in the air.
The only problem was that Jesus was not making the moves that the people were expecting. He was not even railing against the government of Rome, let alone forming a resistence group. And then things became worse as the week progressed. It looked as though Rome had conquered the Messiah, rather than the Messiah conquering Rome. He was arrested. They overpowered him, tortured and beat him. In the minds of the people, this could never happen to a real Messiah. The mood began to change. The ecstatic mood of euphoric optimism first faded and then became jaded. Wild endorsement of the Messiah turned into enraged condemnation. Shouts of “Hosanna” became cries of “Crucify him!” Jesus had disappointed them and failed to meet their expectations. They reasoned that God never operates from a position of weakness. They had an agenda for him and when he refused to comply, they thought he might as well die. He was no longer of any use to them.
It is a dangerous thing to be caught up in a mob mentality. One minute the mob can be ready to make you king, and the next minute they want to rid the earth of you. To get caught up in the mob places you in danger of having your values and actions molded by the pressure of the crowd and the emotion of the moment.
A few years ago we saw images on the news about a high school hazing incident. Someone captured it on video and it was televised all the major stations. It showed a group of young people attacking other young people, as a small group of adults stood watching, and even cheering, as the abuse went on. When it was all over there were several concussions, a broken ankle and five young people who were hospitalized. In the mob you lose your personal identity, your moral boundaries and you can become capable of things that you never thought you would do. Remember that these were friends — people who wanted to be a part of their group. You have to wonder how desperate people are to belong when they subject themselves to hazing.
Our goal should never be the approval of this world. Remember that the Bible says, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
But this incident, and others like it, serve to remind us that the temptation to fit in and go along is very strong. We want to be like everybody else, and have everybody like us. We will do almost anything to be accepted. But in the process you lose who you are. You no longer have an identity. You no longer stand for anything, because you cannot stand against what the majority are doing and thinking. When your goal is approval by the world, then if everybody you are with loves God, then you love God. But if the mood shifts, and the people around you become disappointed or angry with God, then you do too. You don’t have a mind of your own. At one time you really loved Jesus and were committed to him, but it did not go over well with people, and they didn’t seem to understand. You found that people rejected you, and you no longer felt like you fit in. It was much easier to drop your faith than make new friends, so you forgot about your relationship with Jesus, or you cooled off a lot. You started well, but somewhere you got off track. You listened to other people who told you to forget the whole thing. The same pressures existed in the time of Isaiah the prophet. He wrote: “These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” (Isaiah 30:9-11).
So how do you stay on the path? How do you stay committed in spite of what anyone else thinks? How do you have what Eugene Peterson calls, “A long obedience in the same direction”? First: Focus on the goal. The goal of the Christian life is to please God, not people. We have eternity to consider. Our goal is not aimed at what takes place here and now, but where we will spend eternity. Determine that you will not be a people pleaser, but a person who seeks to please God above all. In the end it will not matter how much you have pleased people. Paul said, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). You won’t be giving an answer for anyone else’s life at the judgment. You will stand alone before a holy God and give an account for the things you have done, and the things you have left undone.
You need a goal, and it has to be bigger than making money or being happy. The apostle Paul said, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). The goal is Jesus Christ and a living relationship with him. The goal is that in the end you will be found worthy of the kingdom of God. And striving for that goal is not a chore, but one of the greatest blessings of life. Peter said, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).
Late in Joe DiMaggio’s career, the Yankees were playing in the pennant race and had a commanding lead. But DiMaggio was still playing ball like he was on fire. Someone asked him why he continued to play so hard when it was almost impossible for his team to lose. His response was, “Because there might be somebody out there who’s never seen me play.” That is the way every Christian should think, for the Bible says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Why do we continue to be full of passion for Christ and his kingdom? Because as Paul wrote, “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). We are not trying to please other people. You have to determine that even if every other person in the world who claims to be a Christian is a fake, you will remain true. You have to determine that even if no one else seems to care, you will care. You have to determine that even if it doesn’t seem to matter, and you can’t see that it is making any difference, you will continue to serve God with all your heart. The Bible says, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:11-12).
The second thing we need to do is: Focus on fact, not feeling. We cannot depend on our emotions, because they tend to cloud reality. It is possible to put aside our goal just because of the way we feel. We can forget all that God has in mind for us. We can forget all he has done in the past, just because we are feeling discouraged. We can ignore all the blessings we have, just because of being depressed. That is why it is important to keep focused on fact, rather than feeling.
There is a wonderful story of the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament. God told Elijah to prophesy to King Ahab and say that there would be no rain in Israel for three years, because the people had abandoned God, and run after other gods like Baal who would let them indulge in the pleasures they wanted. Sure enough, there was no rain for three years. At the end of the three years, Elijah proposed a dual with the prophets of Baal. Both he and they would offer sacrifices — they would sacrifice to Baal, and he would sacrifice to the only true God. The catch was that they could not use anything but prayer to start the fire for the sacrifices — they had to call down fire from heaven. The prophets of Baal cried and prayed. They cut themselves and pled for Baal (who was the storm god, and whose image included a lightning bolt in his hand) to send lightning and consume the sacrifice. But nothing happened. Elijah taunted them and said that maybe Baal was away on a trip, or perhaps he was using the toilet. Then Elijah prepared the altar of the Lord. He built an altar of stone, cut up the wood, and placed a butchered ox on the wood. Then he poured water over the sacrifice and the wood — three times. After that, he called on the name of the Lord his God. Lightning came, not from the storm god Baal, but from the God who made heaven and earth. The Bible says, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench” (1 Kings 18:38). It was a great victory, and the Bible says, “When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord — he is God! The Lord — he is God” (1 Kings 18:39). Then Elijah prayed and clouds filled the sky. Rain fell from the sky and the drought was over.
It would be a great story if it ended there. But there was this woman named Jezebel. She heard what Elijah did and threatened to kill him. Elijah had faced the king, all the prophets of Baal and the unbelieving people who wanted to see him fail, and never faulted. But now, just one person threatens him, and it is as if he forgot all that had gone on before. He panicked. He forgot the faithfulness and power of God, and ran. He went into hiding and said to God, “I have had enough, Lord, take my life” (1 Kings 19:4). He was discouraged and depressed, and told God that he was the only one who cared anymore; the only one who followed the Lord. Then God told Elijah to go out and stand before him on the mountain. The Bible says, “Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” (1 Kings 19:11-13).
In other words, “What are you doing in this place of discouragement? Why are you hiding?” You are looking for fire. You are looking for something awesome that will stir your emotions, but do not look for the moving of your emotions, look for me in the facts, the truth I speak. God was not in the mighty acts of power. He was not in the wind as it broke apart the rocks on the mountain side. He was not in the earthquake. He was not in the fire. He was in a quiet whisper — the last place most people look for him. Maybe you have been looking for God and waiting for him to do something dramatic. That is what the people were doing on Palm Sunday. But God is rarely in the dramatic acts of power. He is always in the quiet Word that he whispers. He majors in fact, not feeling. But if you are going to hear a whisper you have to get where it is quiet. If you are going to hear the whisper you have to listen. Elijah found God in the Word of God. It was such a holy word that Elijah pulled his cloak over his face.
Somebody here today needs to hear God whisper to them: “What are you doing in this place of defeat? Stand on the fact of my Word. Don’t be discouraged by circumstances, be encouraged by the faithfulness of God. Maintain your commitment regardless of how things look.”
The third thing we need to do is: Focus on growth. In our scripture today, Peter emphasized growth. This is key. If you just focus on being “saved,” then you only do what you think is necessary to receive your salvation. If your focus on growth it accomplishes two things. One, your focus is not on perfection. You won’t get discouraged because you make a mistake or fail in some way. Your emphasis is on growing, and growth is never a strait line upward; it is always a jagged, up and down line that progresses upward. Your goal is not to be a perfect person, but to be a growing person — a constantly growing person. The ultimate goal is perfection in holiness, but the path is always rough with lots of difficulties and barriers. When you make some ground, you are looking for some higher ground to cover. You discover the excitement of growth as you progress in your relationship with God. You understand that you are not earning your salvation, you are seeking to be transformed into the character of Christ. This is what Paul meant when he said, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14). You have not arrived, but you are on the journey. Peter said, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). You are not nearly as tempted to give up when you realize that this is a process — a journey that you will be on all your life here, and beyond.
The second thing this accomplishes is that you maintain the excitement of what it means to walk with Christ. You don’t stop and sit down. You don’t think it is over and done with. You don’t say, “Now I know my sins are forgiven, and that’s all there is to it.” You prepare for the journey, and you wake up every day ready to walk with Christ through the day. You understand that every day will present you with new challenges which will help you grow.
I was listening to Coach Jim Tressel talk about the Ohio State Buckeyes on the radio this week. There are definite stages in the football year. There is the recruitment stage which is crucial — you need to have the right men on the team. Now the team is in Spring training. The time will come when they have the “two-a-day” practices. Then the season will begin. There is the Big Ten season, the playoffs and championship games. Every stage is critical and they must be taken in order. Coach Tressel had such commitment in his voice (at least as much emotion as he can muster), and you knew that at this point he wasn’t even thinking about championships, although that is his final goal. He knows that the constant drill of practice must consume all his thinking and effort at this point. If he doesn’t do that, there will be no championship game. He is thinking of the growth of his players.
That should be our focus: continual growth, so that one day we will be presented with the prize. At that time we will say with Paul, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).
Rodney J. Buchanan
April 9, 2006 Palm Sunday
Mulberry St. UMC
Mount Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
