Cosmos and Christian Faith by Peter Surran
The Purpose of CosmosOn Sunday, March 9, 2014, the show Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey premiered on the FOX network. The program is a reboot of Carl Sagan’s project Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which aired about 35 years ago. The host of the current show is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
A review of the show in Entertainment Weekly described the goal of Cosmos very simply: “to make science cool again.” In the opening of the show, Tyson says that Sagan invited the viewers to a “great adventure—the exploration of the universe revealed by science.” Tyson then prompts the current voyage by saying, “It’s time to get going again.”
And “get going again” we do, blasting off with Tyson in the “ship of the imagination,” out of Earth’s atmosphere, past the sun and the rest of the planets of the solar system. The viewer is taken all the way to the edge of the “observable universe,” where we are given the image that our universe is simply one bubble in a vast waterfall of other universes.
The show is worth seeing if only for the visual effects alone. I was able to see the premiere episode prior to writing this article, and the journey through the universe was indeed breathtaking, provoking awe and wonder at the vastness of space. After returning to Earth, the show condenses the entire history of the universe into one calendar year, called the “cosmic calendar.” Starting with the Big Bang, Tyson reviews the story of the cosmos, ending with the appearance of human beings and pointing out that all of recorded history only covers the last seconds of that calendar year, starting at around 11:59:46 on December 31.
Questions for People of Faith
The visual effects and the mind-blowing realization that Earth and humanity are like a speck of dust in the vast sweep of the cosmos make the show both thrilling and humbling. It is clear that, should the right audience tune in, Cosmos could go a long way in making science cool again. But what questions does the show raise for people of faith?
Front and center in the premiere episode was the uneasy relationship the Christian church has had with science throughout the centuries. Through comic-book style animation, Cosmos told the story of Giordano Bruno, a 16th-century monk who was imprisoned and eventually burned at the stake for advancing heretical views, including one that the planet Earth was not the center of the universe and that, in fact, our universe is only one of an infinite number of universes.
Even though Bruno attempted to use the infinite nature of God as evidence of his viewpoints, he was still tried and condemned. In the dramatic scene just prior to the pyres being lighted under Bruno’s feet, a priest puts a cross in front of Bruno’s face, an opportunity, perhaps, for one last shot at repentance. Bruno gruffly turns his head, rejecting the offer and, one might assume, the religious underpinnings of the system that had condemned him.
So, the question might arise: Was this an accurate portrayal of the church’s relationship with science? Or, the bigger one: Is there room for both science and faith? Do we have to pick a side, throwing out either the Bible or the science textbook?
Cosmos is not the only recent event to raise these questions. On February 4, Bill Nye, “the Science Guy,” traveled to Petersburg, Kentucky, to debate Ken Ham, founder of the Answers in Genesis ministry and head of the Creation Museum. The topic was whether or not creationism, the hypothesis that a creator is responsible for the universe, is scientific. Bill Nye was arguing that it was not, because in his view, scientific evidence points to an evolving universe that is the product of the Big Bang, with no evidence or need for a creator. This debate, widely covered in the media, and the portrayal of the church in Cosmos could easily lead one to believe that faith and science are at odds and that one must choose a side.
A Third Way
In his response to the premiere of Cosmos for Discover magazine, Corey S. Powell noted some oversimplification in the show’s portrayal of the saga of Giordano Bruno. For instance, “the Roman Inquisition listed eight charges against Bruno. His belief in the plurality of worlds was just one.” Powell then goes on to list the theological positions that Bruno advocated that obviously went against what was considered orthodox Christianity at the time. He quickly points out that “none of this means that Bruno in any way deserved his fate. But neither does he deserve to be reduced to a cartoon about intellectual freedom.” There were, in fact, other thinkers who held similar views to Bruno at the time, and they were not tried as heretics as they were able to reconcile their thinking with orthodox Catholic theology.
Just as Cosmos may have oversimplified the story of Giordano Bruno, so current media focus has tended to oversimplify the Christian church’s connection to science. The universal church cannot be easily pigeonholed into an anti-science box. The Roman Catholic Church, though involved in some unfortunate cases like with Bruno and, more famously, Galileo, nonetheless has had an official scientific research organization, now known as the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, under its umbrella since 1603.
In an entry on “Religion and Science” in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Alvin Plantinga points out that “the early pioneers and heroes of modern Western science—Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Boyle, and so on—were all serious Christians.” Plantinga then goes on to describe how some of the most influential theologians in the history of the church, including Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, considered the use of reason and science to explore how the world works to be indicative of people who were created in the image of an intelligent God. “Indeed, the pursuit of science is a clear example of the development and enhancement of the image of God in human beings, both individually and collectively,” Plantinga states. In short, while there certainly are those in the church who may seem to be “anti-science,” the truth is that the church has often taken a third approach, able to blend the discoveries of scientists with the truth of the Bible in order to get a more complete picture of God’s work in the world.
Awe and Wonder: A Good Place to Start
One’s approach to the discoveries of science might determine what other questions emerge as one considers the show Cosmos. If we accept the claims of science as valid on such questions as the age of the universe and how it was formed, how do we reconcile those accounts with the Bible’s stories of Creation? If we feel that the claims of scientists overstep the authority of the Bible, how do we faithfully and respectfully engage our brothers and sisters in the church who hold a different view in a way that leaves room for God’s Spirit to operate and maintains the unity of the church? The answers to these questions are beyond the scope of this article. There is, however, one point upon which Christians and scientists definitely can agree: The universe is a beautiful and mysterious place that provokes a sense of wonder and awe.
In the Book of Job, Job’s friends can’t come up with a good explanation of why he is suffering. Job repeatedly directs his questions to the only one who really can answer them: God. Finally, in Chapter 38, God answers out of a whirlwind. God’s response to Job evokes the profound humility that ought to come in the face of the sheer vastness of the universe: “Who is this darkening counsel with words lacking knowledge?” (verse 2). For all our amazing advances in science and technology, the universe still presents more questions than we can answer. “Where were you when I laid earth’s foundations?” God challenges Job. “On what were its footings sunk; who laid its cornerstone, while the morning stars sang in unison and all the divine beings shouted?” (verses 4, 6-7). Wonder and awe in the presence of the God who can do all this and so much more is the appropriate first step for people of faith who contemplate the cosmos.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups. FaithLink motivates Christians to consider their personal views on important contemporary issues, and it also encourages them to act on their beliefs.
Italian philosopher, b. at Nola in Campania, in the Kingdom of Naples, in 1548; d. at Rome, 1600. At the age of eleven he went to Naples, to study "humanity, logic, and dialectic", and, four years later, he entered the Order of St. Dominic, giving up his worldly name of Filippo and taking that of Giordano. He made his novitiate at Naples and continued to study there. In 1572 he was ordained priest.
It seems, however, that, even as a novice, he attracted attention by the originality of his views and by his outspoken criticism of accepted theological doctrines. After his ordination things reached such a pass that, in 1576, formal accusation of heresy was brought against him. Thereupon he went to Rome, but, apparently, did not mend his manner of speaking of the mysteries of faith; for the accusations were renewed against him at the convent of the Minerva. Within a few months of his arrival he fled the city and cast off all allegiance to his order.
From this point on, his life-story is the tale of his wanderings from one country to another and of his failure to find peace anywhere. He tarried awhile in several Italian cities, and in 1579 went to Geneva, where he seems to have adopted the Calvinist faith, although afterwards, before the ecclesiastical tribunal at Venice, he steadfastly denied that he had ever joined the Reformed Church. This much at least is certain; he was excommunicated by the Calvinist Council on account of his disrespectful attitude towards the heads of that Church and was obliged to leave the city. Thence he went to Toulouse, Lyons, and (in 1581) to Paris.
At Lyons he completed his "Clavis Magna", or "Great Key" to the art of remembering. In Paris he published several works which further developed his art of memory-training and revealed the two-fold influence of Raymond Lully and the neo-Platonists. In 1582 he published a characteristic work, "Il candelaio", or "The Torchbearer", a satire in which he exhibits in a marked degree the false taste then in vogue among the humanists, many of whom mistook obscenity for humour. While at Paris he lectured publicly on philosophy, under the auspices, as it seems, of the College of Cambrai, the forerunner of the College of France.
In 1583 he crossed over to England, and, for a time at least, enjoyed the favour of Queen Elizabeth and the friendship of Sir Philip Sidney. To the latter he dedicated the most bitter of his attacks on the Catholic Church, "Il spaccio della bestia trionfante", "The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast", published in 1584. He visited Oxford, and, on being refused the privilege of lecturing there, he published (1584) his "Cena delle ceneri", or "Ash-Wednesday Supper", in which he attacked the Oxford professors, saying that they knew more about beer than about Greek. In 1585 he returned to France, and during the year which he spent in Paris at this time made several attempts to become reconciled to the Catholic Church, all of which failed because of his refusal to accept the condition imposed, namely, that he should return to his order.
In Germany, whither he went in 1587, he showed the same spirit of insolent self-assertion as at Oxford. In Helmstadt he was excommunicated by the Lutherans. After some time spent in literary activity at Frankfort, he went, in 1591, to Venice at the invitation of Mocenigo, who professed to be interested in his system of memory-training. Failing to obtain from Bruno the secret of his "natural magic", Mocenigo denounced him to the Inquisition. Bruno was arrested, and in his trial before the Venetian inquisitors first took refuge in the principle of "two-fold truth", saying that the errors imputed to him were held by him "as a philosopher, and not as an honest Christian"; later, however, he solemnly abjured all his errors and doubts in the matter of Catholic doctrine and practice (Berti, Docum., XII, 22 and XIII, 45). At this point the Roman Inquisition intervened and requested his extradition. After some hesitation the Venetian authorities agreed, and in February, 1593, Bruno was sent to Rome, and for six years was kept in the prison of the Inquisition. Historians have striven in vain to discover the explanation of this long delay on the part of the Roman authorities. In the spring of 1599, the trial was begun before a commission of the Roman Inquisition, and, after the accused had been granted several terms of respite in which to retract his errors, he was finally condemned (January, 1600), handed over to the secular power (8 February), and burned at the stake in the Campo dei Fiori in Rome (17 February). Bruno was not condemned for his defence of the Copernican system of astronomy, nor for his doctrine of the plurality of inhabited worlds, but for his theological errors, among which were the following: that Christ was not God but merely an unusually skilful magician, that the Holy Ghost is the soul of the world, that the Devil will be saved, etc.
Giordano Bruno
To the works of Bruno already mentioned the following are to be added: "Della causa, principio ed uno"; "Dell' infinito universo e dei mondi"; "De Compendiosâ Architecturâ"; "De Triplici Minimo"; "De Monade, Numero et Figurâ." In these "the Nolan" expounds a system of philosophy in which the principal elements are neo-Platonism, materialistic monism, rational mysticism (after the manner of Raymond Lully), and the naturalistic concept of the unity of the material world (inspired by the Copernican astronomy). His attitude towards Aristotle is best illustrated by his reiterated assertion that the natural philosophy of the Stagirite is vitiated by the predominance of the dialectical over the mathematical mode of conceiving natural phenomena. Towards the Scholastics in general his feeling was one of undisguised contempt; he excepted, however, Albert the Great and St. Thomas, for whom he always maintained a high degree of respect. He wished to reform the Aristotelean philosophy, and yet he was bitterly opposed to his contemporaries, Ramus and Patrizzi, whose efforts were directed towards the same object. He was acquainted, though only in a superficial way, with the writings of the pre-Socratic philosophers of Greece, and with the works of the neo-Platonists, especially with the books falsely attributed to Iamblichus and Plotinus. From the neo-Platonists he derived the tendency of his thought towards monism. From the pre-Socratic philosophers he borrowed the materialistic interpretation of the One. From the Copernican doctrine, which was attracting so much attention in the century in which he lived, he learned to identify the material One with the visible, infinite, heliocentric universe.Thus, his system of thought is an incoherent materialistic pantheism. God and the world are one; matter and spirit, body and soul, are two phases of the same substance; the universe is infinite; beyond the visible world there is an infinity of other worlds, each of which is inhabited; this terrestrial globe has a soul; in fact, each and every part of it, mineral as well as plant and animal, is animated; all matter is made up of the same elements (no distinction between terrestrial and celestial matter); all souls are akin (transmigration is, therefore, not impossible). This unitary point of view is Bruno's justification of "natural magic." No doubt, the attempt to establish a scientific continuity among all the phenomena of nature is an important manifestation of the modern spirit, and interesting, especially on account of its appearance at the moment when the medieval point of view was being abandoned. And one can readily understand how Bruno's effort to establish a unitary concept of nature commanded the admiration of such men as Spinoza, Jacobi, and Hegel. On the other hand, the exaggerations, the limitations, and the positive errors of his scientific system; his intolerance of even those who were working for the reforms to which he was devoted; the false analogies, fantastic allegories, and sophistical reasonings into which his emotional fervour often betrayed him have justified, in the eyes of many, Bayle's characterization of him as "the knight-errant of philosophy." His attitude of mind towards religious truth was that of a rationalist. Personally, he failed to feel any of the vital significance of Christianity as a religious system. It was not a Roman Inquisitor, but a Protestant divine, who said of him that he was "a man of great capacity, with infinite knowledge, but not a trace of religion."[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03016a.htm]
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When Did Christians Become So Mean? by Ron Edmondson
Okay, this one will get me into trouble. Especially if the shoe fits. Wait for the comments on this one.But I have to ask…
When did Christians become so mean?
Not all Christians. Most Christians I know are nice. Very nice.
But, I’ve met some mean ones lately.
Now, let me be clear. I am one. A Christian that is. (Hopefully not mean—too often.) In fact, I’ve centered my life around my faith and even am vocationally supported by Christians. (So I love you! I really do.)
But, when did some of you—my brothers and sisters in Christ as we are often referred to—become so mean?
It’s mostly online. You write something they don’t agree with, and instead of a healthy disagreement, they blast you. Right there on your Facebook wall or with a hurting comment on a blog post. Where everyone can read it. In fact, some people read it even before the one who wrote the post reads it. I’ve even had guest bloggers tell me they don’t want to post anymore because of the comments.
I understand that. My blogs are reposted on different websites—with more widespread readers than I have —and I don’t read the comments much, because when I do, I’m tempted to tell them I don’t want to post there anymore. Mean people commenting—calling themselves Christians. I don’t want to play that game either. Who has time for that?
It’s not that they don’t have valid points. Many times they do, but the way they make their point doesn’t come across very Christ-like. Actually rather mean.
I get that it’s cultural now. We’ve become transparent. Honest. Blunt. But — just being honest — sometimes that comes across as mean.
I can’t imagine how those outside the faith view the way we often treat each other.
I wrote a post about Christians behaving online. It wasn’t just because I didn’t have anything else to write about. It’s because some Christians have become mean. Online. For everyone to see.
The Internet has made it so much easier—and faster—to be mean if you choose to be mean. Even anonymously if you want.
But, I’ve seen it in public too.
Just last week I saw a Bible study group meeting at a local coffee shop. I didn’t know any of them. I was minding my own business, but it was obvious what they were doing was discussing the Bible. They had Bibles. :)
I loved it.
Then one of them became a real jerk to the girl who messed up his order.
Mean. Right there in front of his Bible study friends, me, and all the other coffee shop patrons—many who may not have been Christians. And, probably aren’t anymore motivated to be one now.
I was embarrassed.
I’ve had some restaurant people tell me the “church hour”—after the churches finish on Sunday—is one of the hardest hours of their week. Really? That’s sad. I would hope it’d be the opposite.
How’s that for having the mind of Christ? Or being witnesses? Or considering others better than ourselves?
Whenever I’ve asked, well over three fourths of my blog readers identify themselves as believers. So, if you’re in the one fourth who don’t claim Christianity, this post isn’t for you. Sorry about that, but today I’m only addressing the “family”. We call ourselves brothers and sisters. In love, we sometimes gently rebuke one another. That’s what families do.
So, brothers and sisters. Quit being mean.
Consider what you say and the way you say it before you ever say it.
That sounds logical. Biblical. A good discipline even.
Because I can fall into a culture that thinks more about myself than others too. You can too. We all can. We can value our opinion, consider others without our opinion wrong, and talk to people who we know are wrong like they are less human because of it. Sometimes we treat members of our family—people we love—worse than we treat a stranger. I get that.
But, when we are mean it flies in the face of what Christians are taught to do—in the Bible we claim as our guide. And, it’s the kindness of God that leads to repentance. To my knowledge, no one ever comes to faith through meanness. Or watching someone be mean to others.
In fact, there is no “meanness” of God. God is love—even when He’s sharing truth.
And, we are to be like Him. At least becoming more like Him.
So this is an encouragement. A simple, striving to be nice, non-mean intended, encouragement.
Let’s clean up our act. Or, to put it in my Christian like terms—let’s let Jesus clean up our act. Let’s be more like our Savior. The One by whom we are called Christians. Christ.
Let’s set an example for others. Not be so mean. Actually be nicer. A kinder, gentler breed of Christians. Let’s learn how to disagree with one another the right way. Full of grace and truth. Let’s love one another. And, demonstrate the peace of Christ to those who are seeking peace.
If they can’t find kindness, forgiveness, love in us—where will they find it?
“A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings disaster on himself.” Proverbs 11:17
This post was originally published at RonEdmondson.com.
They Were Wrong When They Told You Not to Proof-Text by Clifton Stringer
In seminary we were told not to proof-text. They meant: Don’t just quote isolated verses of the Bible to support your views or doctrines.They were wrong to tell us not to proof-text.
The ban on proof-texting in modern seminaries masquerades as a pedagogical tool to teach students to be more attentive to the text of Scripture. But it is not this: it is a power-move to indoctrinate students into asking a different set of questions, and having a different set of interests, when they approach the Bible. More often than not, this new set of questions and interests is useless with respect to the salvation of a preacher’s hearers.
Seminary professors often ridicule proof-texting as arbitrary, implying that it is illogical, uncontrolled, individualistic. But this is false. Christians who “proof-text” are typically putting a verse of Scripture in a wider context than a historical critic ever does: the context of Jesus Christ, true God and true man. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:16-17 NASB). “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (Jn. 1:3 NASB). Jesus Christ, and his saving work, is the widest and deepest possible context in which any verse of Scripture could ever be placed. It is also the best context: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16 NASB).
The person and work of Jesus Christ himself norms good proof-texting, which is how Christians and churches usually proof-text. And they should. Such Christ-normed proof-texting serves a soteriological interest, and every such citation fits within an implicit (if not explicit) systematic theology—the Christian one.
To all I have said, a zealous Assistant Professor could reply: “The ban on proof-texting is a necessary pedagogical tool to help future pastors learn to read the text more carefully and critically than they otherwise ever could. If the best and worst pastors outgrow this rule in the course of ministry, still, they will be the better for having kept it during their pastoral formation.”
But this is patently false. It bespeaks a singularly intransigent myopia, a navel-gazing fideistically devoted to the superiority of the present moment, to fail to notice that, say, Origen of Alexandria (among countless others) reads the Scriptures with as great (if not greater) attention to detail than most modern biblical scholars.
Yet Origen never reprogrammed himself as though the Scriptures were for something other than making humans wise unto salvation. Rather, Origen came to a deeply detailed appreciation of the patterns, nooks, stumbling-blocks, and nuances in the Scriptures precisely in view of the divine inspirer whose appallingly generous (and humbly clear) intent is our salvation. Origen didn’t even have to ignore the particular humans who wrote the Scriptures in order to read soteriologically.
Still, seminary students are regularly taught to read in line with the curious purposes and presuppositions of the modern academy. They are judiciously told: “Read every passage always in the context of what comes before it and after it (but never in the context of the book or Testament that comes before it or after it). Read every passage according to the (unknown) intention of its (uncertain) human author”— Why?—So that we can judge his (“yes, undoubtedly his”) achievement like we judge the fourth Wes Anderson movie, or delineate his ever re-conjectured blend of honesty and hagiography like we judge the latest JFK biography. In light of all the resultant Babel—in light of all the ascending and descending on the Ivory Tower that this engenders—were it not much better and, actually, more humble, more wise, and fitting, if future Christian preachers might be taught to read the Bible in the context of its known author: God?
(At least, if you are a Christian, you presumably have heard that God is the author of the Bible, and that this divine authorship is not in contradiction with the fact of all the human authors. Still, one hates to presume.)
Best of all, the divine author states his intentions for us clearly: “God our Savior… desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4 NASB). Might not Jesus Christ and the salvation he brings be an adequate hermeneutic for Bible interpretation?
Clifton Stringer is a Ministry Matters contributor and Ph.D. student in Historical Theology at Boston College. He is an Elder in the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Digging Up the Root of Bitterness by Angela Roberts Jones
…“lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…” Hebrews 12:15bIt’s ironic how the season of Lent coincides with the change of seasons from winter to spring. The change of seasons causes Mother Nature to transition from the cold weather which causes plants and animals to lie dormant for several months to warmer weather. But as soon as the rain comes, everything desirable and undesirable appears in the flower bed! The weeds we thought we killed with pesticide last year just keep cropping right back up.
I am thoroughly convinced that the root of bitterness is one of the most deadly and common issues gripping the hearts of people. Bitterness knows no age. It can be described as something pointed, sharp and keen, irritating, extremely wicked or deep sorrow and grief affecting the emotions and mental state. It is a seed of painful experiences, hurt, and disappointment which latches on to the heart, mind, emotions, and even our physical body. It becomes rooted when it seeps into the inner person and consumes our thought life, affecting our decisions, and relationships. Bitterness is not just symptomatic, but is a root identified by symptoms.
For example, last summer, I decided to clean out the planters on my deck. Each planter was filled with weeds along with my beautiful ivy and greenery. As I dug into the dirt, I could not distinguish the difference in the roots of the weeds from the decorative greenery. On the surface, everything was cleaned out, but although I dug into the dirt, there were remnants of roots. So I left it to see what would come up the next spring. Sure enough, some of the greenery sporadically sprang up along with the weeds. That’s what happens with the root bitterness. I have learned that you just can’t cut the top of a weed; you have to pull it up from the roots.
Do you know what’s rooted in the garden of your heart?
From the root of bitterness springs anger, wrath, ill speaking, cursing, hatred, envy, and jealousy. Bitterness can also be the seed of many diseases, mental illness, and emotional instability. Many of these symptoms are treated with medication, drug and alcohol addiction, even destructive behaviors. Broken marriages and families, division in religious and secular organizations such as churches, government, or social groups, as well as drama on the job, can all be affected by the bitterness of the individuals involved.
The thing about roots is that they grow beneath the surface, hidden to the naked eye. They also grow downward and become firmly established before growing up and producing fruit. Roots will spring up and the plant affect everyone around it. And so it is with bitterness.
In dealing with this root of bitterness, you must first deal with yourself and what is in your heart. Are you still harboring hurt and pain from childhood issues with parents, rejection and bullying in school, social ills, and even parental neglect, sexual, and verbal abuse? Have you gone through the pain of divorce, death of loved ones, being mistreated or overlooked on your job, or economic failures? Are you dealing with sickness or a physical handicap? The question is what has it produced in your heart? In order for you to move on, you can’t just deal with the external factors of life, you must deal with yourself. Identify the poison of your emotions and take control of your own life. You are not responsible for the shortcomings of other people, but you can do something about your own life, health, and emotions.
Secondly, forgive those who hurt you. I am reminded of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who suffered and died on the cross. He was severely mistreated, but He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” In other words, even if people hurt you deliberately, they still may not understand what they are doing. They may think their behavior is acceptable, but eventually, evil comes back when evil is planted. But there are also unintentional hurts. The secret to healing is to release your hurt and the need to retaliate so that it does not take root in your soul. And of course, forgive yourself. Life happens and you can’t turn the clock back to fix things.
Lastly, learn to trust God. Offenses in life will come! I believe that there is power in professional counseling, and should be utilized if necessary. We really need to rebuke the stigma that your faith is weak if you need psychological services. But I believe that effective tools in digging up the root of bitterness are to spend time in prayer and the study of scripture as you release your emotions and the situation to God. You must believe that God knows your situation.
Years ago I was dealing with a very distressing situation. I was led to study the book of Psalms to discover how King David first dealt with his disappointment, and how he prayed for his enemies. So to safeguard my emotions against bitterness, I read through the Psalms, and prayed David’s prayers. This helped me to release my emotions and disappointments to God. Through this, I learned how to love and forgive, and feel compassion toward my offender. It really works!
Everything that happens in your life, the good, the bad and the ugly will all work together for good to bring you to your God intended destiny. So don’t sweat it…today, just dig up that root of bitterness and let God do the replanting!
Prayer: Father, thank you for deliverance from the root of bitterness. Amen
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Living for Resurrection by Melissa Slocum
Last month ABC TV premiered the new drama Resurrection. The pilot episode introduced an eight-year-old boy who wakes up in a rice patty in China and is eventually reunited with his parents at his home in Missouri. The problem is that the boy had drowned thirty-two years prior and no one (other than his mother) is prepared to accept his return. While the boy is left to question whether he died and is dead, his father is forced to reveal an old family secret, and his best boyhood friend turned local pastor questions whether he truly believes in miracles. Each episode features a new character who has come back from the dead and the struggles of his or her loved ones to understand what has happened.Confusion
Popular TV shows and movies like Resurrection often use religious terms far outside of the Christian context. The new ABC series uses the term resurrection instead of walking dead (which would be more accurate). Resurrection is not simply coming back to life—into one’s old body and a random time continuum. Resurrection means to be raised with Christ into a new spiritual body for eternal life.
The problem is that many people, especially non-believers, may not know the difference. Even worse, believers may be lulled by the “entertainment” into thinking popular shows have merit because they use “religious” terms.
Getting Clear
As Christians we are supposed to know what the Bible teaches. But do we know what resurrection truly is? Do we understand the Old and New Testament stories of people being raised from the dead and how those are different from Jesus’ resurrection? Regardless of media depictions of resurrection, Christians know that the resurrection of Christ was the greatest gift ever given and that our response is to live a holy life that will be worthy of our own resurrection through Christ.
This article is also published as part of LinC, a weekly digital resource for youth small groups and Sunday school classes. The complete study guide can be purchased and downloaded here.
Palm/Passion Sunday, 13 April 2014
Worship Elements by Marcia McFeePalm/Passion Sunday
COLOR: Purple
PALM SUNDAY READINGS: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Matthew 21:1-11
PASSION SUNDAY READINGS: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14–27:66 (27:11-54)
THEME IDEAS
This last Sunday in Lent heralds the triumphal entry into Jerusalem with Jesus the liberator. This Sunday also ushers in the beginning of Holy Week and what feels like defeat as we face the consequences of standing up to unjust authority. While it is difficult to move so quickly from joy
to sorrow, a good symbol can help us make this transition. The palms that are waved at the beginning of the service become the sign of our “letting go” into the sorrow of the events of the week to come. Encouraged by the steadfast love of God expressed in the scriptures, this is a Sunday to stand up together with Jesus even in the face of adversity.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 118, Matthew 21)
(Needed: one liturgist, five readers, two acolytes, one gong & player, ten or so youth, and many children with palms. In a call and response fashion, the liturgist reads the unmarked words while the congregation reads the bolded words. Only these parts of the script need to be in the program.)
Liturgist: When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
People: Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good. God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Liturgist: The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
(Gong sounds)
Reader 1: (from the back) Open the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to God.
Reader 2: (from the back) This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.
Readers 1&2: I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
Musical Offering (e.g., a choir may sing the choral introit “The Gates of the City.”)
(Call to Worship, Continued)
(Gong sounds)
Reader 3: (from the altar as the ten youths bring cloths down the center aisle and place them on the
altar) The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
All Readers: (from around the congregation, randomly, overlapping each other) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!
(Gong sounds)
Reader 4: (from the baptismal font) O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success.
(Acolytes come forward with the light)
Reader 4: The crowds that went ahead of Jesus and that followed him were shouting:
People: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Reader 5: (from the front center aisle, indicating to acolytes as they pass) The Lord is God, and God has given us light.
(pause as the candles are lit)
Reader 5: With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
People: Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good. God’s steadfast love endures forever!
All Readers: You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God and I will exalt you.
Processional Hymn (e.g., “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”)
(All persons should have palms to wave from their seats. The children process with palms, led by banners, ribbons on sticks, whatever makes a colorful and festive entrance.)
Unison Prayer of Confession (Matthew 21, Psalm 118)
O God,
we stand at the gate,
hesitant and uncertain;
we are reluctant to answer your invitation;
we are slow to embark on the journey
toward your reign.
Forgive us, we pray.
Grant us the help we need to be your people—
the courage to join you in the procession;
the selflessness to lay our cloaks before you;
the freedom to lift our palms to your glory;
and the knowledge that by your grace
we are forgiven. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Hear this good news!
The procession is ever moving forward.
We can join at any moment.
The invitation still stands!
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Glory to God! Amen!
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer for Illumination (Isaiah 50:4)
God of Courage,
give us wisdom,
that we may sustain the weary
with our words.
As we speak,
help us also to listen.
Amen.
Response to the Word (Isaiah 50, Psalm 31)
Our God helps us!
We stand up together.
Our God is gracious.
We put our trust in the Lord.
God’s face shines upon us.
We find salvation in God’s steadfast love.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen!
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Offering Prayer (Philippians 2)
Name above all names,
as you emptied yourself for others,
we offer ourselves and these gifts
as a sign of our hope in your reign.
Where there is death, bring life.
Where there is sorrow, bring joy.
Where there is injustice, bring courage for change.
Amen.
Ritual of Passion (Matthew 27:11-54)
(As the Matthew text is read, play meditative music underneath. Invite people to bring their palm branches to the chancel and lay them on the steps or altar where they will wither throughout Holy Week. The invitation to this action should highlight the move from triumphal entry with the waving of palms to a much more somber mood as the week progresses.)
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Matthew 27:54)
“Truly this man Jesus was God’s Son.”
As disciples of Jesus, truly you are God’s children.
Go into this week with the knowledge
that resurrection will come,
even when it seems there is no tomorrow.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
with the courage to stand with those in need.
In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.
Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (Psalm 118)
Open the gates!
Give us courage to walk through!
Lay down the cloaks.
We mark the journey to Love’s reign.
Lift up the branches!
Let us boldly proclaim God’s peace!
Passion Sentences (Psalm 31)
Grief wastes me.
Scorn surrounds me.
There is scheming against me.
My strength fails.
But your face shines.
I will trust in you.
And your love endures.
I will trust in you.
Worship Connection by Nancy C. Townley
Palm/Passion Sunday
COLOR: Purple
PALM SUNDAY READINGS: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Matthew 21:1-11
PASSION SUNDAY READINGS: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14–27:66 (27:11-54)
Note: We have been following the theme of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AT THE CROSS, highlighting people whose lives Jesus transformed. Today’s theme is “The Burden-Bearer Rides Home” and for Palm Sunday a special series of monologues is used, featuring the people we have met throughout the Lenten Journey. There is still a scripted presentation of the Gospel Lesson, which may be then rolled over into the monologues. The same people who portrayed the characters should be portraying them on this Sunday.
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1:
L: This is a day to let your heart take control of your lips.
P: We can’t keep silent. Our hearts are bursting with praise for Jesus, King of our lives!
L: In spite of the shadow of the cross over the palm-strewn way, Jesus rides in the hearts of those who surrender to him.
P: We commit ourselves wholly to Jesus and ask him to be present in our lives always. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2:
L: The way has been prepared.
P: For the crowds it is the way of celebration.
L: For Jesus it is the way of completion
P: Amid shouts and waving palm branches, he comes into the Holy City.
L: Open your hearts this day to receive the Savior.
P: We open wide our hearts and spirits to receive Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2109, “Hosanna! Hosanna!" offer the following call to worship as directed. This call to worship may be used as a special processional for the choir.]
Soloist and choir: singing leader part and response part, verse 1 of “Hosanna! Hosanna!" through 1 time
L: Look! He is coming! The King of all creation is riding into Jerusalem!
P: He is seated on a donkey’s back! He does not look like royalty.
L: Yet the crowds cheer and wave branches from the palm trees.
P: Is he riding into a royal welcome or to condemnation?
Soloist and choir: singing leader part and response part, verse 2 of “Hosanna! Hosanna!" through 1 time
L: Let us join the celebration and raise our voices to welcome the Lord of Life!
P: Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. AMEN.
Call to Worship #4:
L: Wave high your palm branches! The Lord of life approaches!
P: Sing with great joy for the Savior has come to us!
L: Even the beast of burden on which he rides seems to be royal.
P: All creation shouts praises to the King of Kings!
L: Hosanna! Hosanna!
P: Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna! AMEN.
PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer
O Lord God, whose Son followed your will, both as Servant and Savior, and now rules in the hearts of those who accept him as King: Open our hearts to his rule, that we may rejoice in the blessings of his kingdom and share with those who honor him with their lives. In his name, we pray. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
Patient God, we confess that we love a parade. We are very happy to see banners waving and hear people shouting their praises. Our hearts thrill to the spectacle. But we fail to see the sadness on the face of the Savior; our shouts block out his sorrow. He comes to us as King, and we expect that royal treatment will follow. We do not and cannot believe that in a few days we will be among those who will turn our backs and run from his presence. How fickle we are, O Lord. Yet you continually forgive us and call us to turn our lives around--to see the needs of others, to reach out in trust and faith, to be willing to witness to your good news of saving love. Heal our hearts and give us courage for the days ahead; for we ask this in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
Words of Assurance
Though you have fallen short, God reaches out to you in loving forgiveness. God is with you, celebrating this day and walking all the way to the cross with you. For the time of salvation is near. AMEN.
Pastoral Prayer
Are you ever amazed, O Lord, at our responses to the Savior? We get all excited about the parade into Jerusalem. We gather palm fronds and distribute them among those present so that they can wave them in triumph, replicating the parade and the crowd. Children sing the praises of Jesus. Adults remove their cloaks and place them on the road in front of the donkey so that he may not make a misstep. We could stay at this scene forever and enjoy the moment. But we are being called forward, through the gates of the Holy City to the Temple and from the Temple to the Cross. Be with us and give us courage to face what lies ahead. Strengthen our faith that we will remain steadfast at the time of reckoning; for we ask this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.
Reading
[This may be used as the introduction to the gospel lesson.
Note: If you are not going to do the dramatic presentation from each of the people Jesus met, you may want to use this as the dramatic presentation of the scripture.]
Narrator:
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethpage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples with these instructions:
Jesus:
Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this: “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.
Narrator:
This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: “Tell the daughter of Zion: Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him, and those that followed were shouting:
Congregation:
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
Narrator:
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil. People were wondering who this person was? Some said that he is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.
***************
[Note: If you are going to replace the reading of the scripture with the dramatic presentation, you may want to use this.]
Narrator:
The crowds surged into Jerusalem for the celebration of Passover. This was the high, holy time--a time when something wonderful could happen in the lives of believers. They came offering sacrifices and prayers, bringing their hopes and dreams, their burdens and sorrows. All these were mingled together with the aromas of incense and sacrifice--smoke billowing toward heaven - toward God.
Congregation:
Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Behold, the king comes. He comes riding on a donkey. Surely this is the son of God. Hosanna in the highest!
[Nicodemus enters.]
Nicodemus:
I came here to the central part of the city to be part of the usual festivities that surround the preparations for Passover. Everything must be done correctly, and I am one of those who is charged with that authority. But my heart isn’t in it. I can’t seem to get the face and words of Jesus out of my mind. He is like no other prophet we have ever known; there is something so different about him. A great teacher? Perhaps. But something more. He saw into my soul. He knew my longings and my burdens. Now he has come to Jerusalem. I saw him, riding on a small donkey. People were waving palm branches, and some were even throwing their cloaks in the path in front of the donkey. His disciples were shouting. People began to sing, “Behold, the King comes!” The King of this kingdom? I don’t think so. His kingdom would be much larger. I don’t know what’s in store for him here. I do know that he is in great trouble with the Temple hierarchy. They want to get rid of him. He threatens their authority; and more, he challenges their faith. He is a dangerous person in their eyes. [Nicodemus leaves.]
[The woman at the well enters.]
Woman at the well:
So this is Jerusalem. I have never been here before, but after the time we spent with Jesus, that miraculous day when he told us of God’s power and love for us, I had to follow him here. I have been on the outskirts of town on the Mount of Olives with some of his followers. We listened to him speak in that soft tone that seemed to comfort us. Today, he rode a small donkey down the path into the city. It seemed that all Jerusalem turned out to greet him. People were stripping palm fronds from the trees and waving them like banners and shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord!” Some people lined the path of the donkey with their cloaks, so that he would not step on stones or stumble. What an incredible sight! This city is so fortunate. He is the Messiah, the Anointed One, and he comes to bring them good news of peace. [pause] But I sense something sinister here. Something is not right. There are whispering voices and suspicious glances; the religious leaders are more in evidence that I thought they would be. Perhaps it is only my imagination. After all, I am an outsider. [pause] Maybe it is always like this at Passover. [The woman at the well leaves.]
[The blind man enters.]
Blind Man:
The colors are unbelievable! People, plants, colors, shapes, forms! It is almost too much for me to take in. When Jesus healed me--gave me back my sight--I decided to become one of his followers. I am nobody special. I’ll never be one of the main disciples, but I will always praise God for the gift I have received through Jesus. Like the woman at the well over there, I was also on the hillside at Mt. Olivet. I stood among the many that wanted to enter Jerusalem with Jesus. I have never seen the golden city before now. I followed him down the path. He was astride a small donkey. People were waving palm branches and putting their cloaks in the pathway. It was overwhelming! “Here comes the King,” they shouted. I agreed with them. He would be the one to rule in my live. I wanted to learn more about him and the good news he brought. There is so much to see. One of the things that bothers my sight is the sense that I get that some people here don’t like him. They seem to be wary of Him. I’ve even heard some whispers of finding ways to get rid of him. But I can’t be sure of that. After all, there is so much to see, so much to do. [The blind man leaves.]
[Martha enters.]
Martha:
We decided to spend Passover in Jerusalem this year. Even though our home is ready for the holiday, we wanted to come with Jesus to Jerusalem. There may be some way in which I can help. I know how to make preparations for meals and for accommodations and how to deal with the vendors for food. Personally, I prefer to be a background person and help in any way that I can. Lazarus wanted us to become part of the group that traveled down the path from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem. He said it would be like a parade. I would rather have just gone into the city and begun to make arrangements for our sojourn. However, there is nothing that I would not do for my brother. So we followed Jesus down the path. He rode on a donkey. The crowds were gathering and swarming to meet Jesus, shouting and calling out to him. They waved palm branches. It was a parade! I wondered if Jesus was pleased. Everyone seemed to love him. But he wore a look of sadness, just as though all the burdens of the people had been heaped upon his shoulders. Something is wrong. This should be a time of triumph, but it isn’t. [Martha leaves].
[Mary enters.]
Mary:
You can just imagine how exciting it was to march down that path from Olivet to Jerusalem! People were shouting out to Jesus and celebrating his presence. This was a great parade! They were waving palm branches! Some of the people were throwing their cloaks on the path in front of the donkey. I was so happy! I wanted to shout to everyone who came to see Jesus, “Here is the Messiah! Here is the King!” Some of the people seemed to know that, for I heard shouts of “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” The Lord entered the Holy City and things will never be the same. He will change things. Those who oppress will be brought low. Peace will be restored to our nation and our people. At last we will be the people whom God called out of bondage, and we will be a people of light. [pause] Martha says that something isn’t right. Martha is worried, but that’s Martha. She always worries. She will see. Jesus will turn things around here. Just you wait! [Mary leaves.]
[Lazarus enters.]
Lazarus:
Yes, I am the one whom Jesus raised from the dead! You know, it’s hard for me to talk about that. I am told that I died. Then one day, he came, and behold, I am alive again! And my life has taken on a new dimension. I feel such a sense of freedom and peace. I wanted to walk into Jerusalem with Jesus. I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, “Jesus raised me from the dead! He is Messiah, the Anointed One of God!” I convinced Martha, the reluctant one, and Mary, the eager one, to accompany me on the journey from the Mount of Olives into the city. We would be part of a parade that would forever change the lives of all people. We would march in with the King. Jesus mounted a donkey for the trip into the city, a sure sign that the King is coming, a definite reminder of the passages in Isaiah’s scroll about the King, the Anointed One of God. He would ride into the city on a donkey, a beast of burden. I believe that he is the One! But the look on his face gives me concern. He looks as though he has the burdens of us all on his shoulders. He should be excited. But he looks sad. It is as though he knows something that we don’t know. It makes me uneasy to see that expression. I wish I knew. Is something going to happen to him? Is there something I can do to protect him? Is this going to be his triumphal entry, or will it be something else? I don’t know what to think. I will just be grateful that I am with him. I will help him all that I can. Everything will be all right. I’m sure. [Lazarus leaves.]
[Note: This might be a good place for a brief message on Palm Sunday and expectations.]
Benediction
Lord, just as we have entered Jerusalem with you, be with us in all the Jerusalems we will be facing. Guide our steps. Encourage our hearts. Give us abundant faith to follow you. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional Color for today is: PURPLE; however, I have chosen to leave the “character” colors in place.
SURFACE:
There are no risers on the worship center.
FABRIC:
The worship center is covered with a purple base cloth and the strips of cloth that have been gathered from the cross during Lent. The strips of burlap, left at the foot of the cross, are now tossed on the fabric as it is draped on the worship center; some of them may fall into the “puddled” fabric on the floor.
CANDLES:
Place two white candles on either side of the open Bible.
FLOWERS/PLANTS:
From a local florist, gather two bunches of Ti Palms, the kind that are used in funeral baskets. Place them in containers--preferably earthenware--on either side of the candles. Use traditional palm fronds to be given to the congregation and also to place some of the on the fabric on the worship center.
ROCKS/WOOD:
Not recommended for this setting.
OTHER:
Place an open Bible on the center of the worship table, flanked by the white candles and the arrangements of Ti palms.
Worship for Kids by Carolyn C. Brown
From a Child's Point of View
Consider the children when deciding whether to celebrate Palm or Passion Sunday. If they will not worship with or around the Passion stories on Holy Thursday or Good Friday, celebrate Passion rather than Palm Sunday. No worshiper of any age can fully understand or share in Easter joy without experiencing the betrayals and crucifixion.
Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11 (Palm). In Matthew's account of this event, all the people of Jerusalem turned out to welcome Jesus. Children know that a king should enter town on a spirited white charger and ride over a plush carpet or a carpet of flowers. Jesus rode on a donkey on a path of tree branches and coats. His choice of a mount shows what kind of king Jesus intended to be. The pathway of coats demonstrates the people's devotion. (Imagine explaining your soiled coat to your mother that evening!)
In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus was welcomed as the Son of David. If you explored David's character on the fourth Sunday of Lent, children will be ready to compare David and Jesus. Both were God's chosen kings, though neither was born as a wealthy prince and both were overlooked at first. David was known as "a man after God's own heart," while Jesus was "God's own Son." Jesus, however, was "God with us," and is therefore far greater than David—or any other king.
The challenge of this Palm Sunday account for children is to welcome Jesus as king of their own lives, with as much enthusiasm as the crowds in Jerusalem showed.
Psalm: 118:1-2, 19-29 (Palm). This psalm is a liturgy for welcoming a victorious king to the Temple. Children enjoy acting it out as it is read and learn from the process that even kings are subject to God. Though they have trouble identifying Matthew's quotes because the English translations of the psalm do not use the word Hosanna! children quickly identify the similarity of Jesus' entrance to that of the king.
Gospel: Matthew 26:14–27:66 or 27:11-54 (Passion). Children respond strongly to the pain of Jesus' betrayal by Judas, his denial by Peter, and the desertion of the others. They know from experience how it hurts when friends fail us.
Children need to hear a clear physical description of the crucifixion in order to understand its pain. They need to know that Roman whips were tipped with metal and glass, and people sometimes died from the whippings. Unless they comprehend that Jesus died as painful and terrible a death as ever was invented, they cannot fully appreciate the wonder that God still allowed it and forgave the human race for doing it. So we do them no favor when we downplay the gore and violence.
Psalm: 31:9-16 (Passion). If it is presented as a prayer Jesus could have prayed on the cross, children will hear in this psalm a number of short phrase which they can imagine Jesus praying.
Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11. This great hymn of the early church describes in cosmic terms the things that the passion story describes in earthy realities. Children will understand the story first. To help older children, alert them to the "down" direction of verses 6-8 and the "up" direction of verses 9-11. Point out the call for us to be as obedient in our lives as Jesus was in his (verse 6).
Old Testament:Isaiah 50:4-9a. Children will hear in this suffering-servant song the words and phrases that Jesus could have said, or those that describe Jesus.
Watch Words
Hosanna! the big word for Palm Sunday, is a fun word to say over and over, knowing that it is a greeting meant only for Jesus. It need not be translated or defined.
Be sure to define passion as one title for the story of Jesus' death. Remember that its common use today is to describe sexual feelings.
The word crucifixion is used only in the Christian church today. Be sure to define and explain it.
Let the Children Sing
Palm Sunday Choices: "Lift up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" is a song with which the crowds might have welcomed Jesus. Before singing it, point out that we will be singing about opening the gates of a city, and also of opening "the portals of our hearts," or getting ready to love and serve Jesus. "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus" is a Palm Sunday hymn many children know.
Passion Sunday Choices: "Were You There," with its repeated lines that tell the passion story, can be sung even by nonreaders. "O Sing a Song of Bethlehem" traces Jesus' whole life and ministry with simple words and tune. Avoid hymns that speak of "the cross" as a symbol for the passion events and those that are filled with abstract atonement language.
The Liturgical Child
1. Matthew's account claims that the whole city was stirred up. So, if there are other congregations nearby, plan palm processionals of choirs and congregations from several churches to an outdoor gathering place where a Palm Sunday litany is read and hymns sung. It is best that worship services in each sanctuary precede such a procession.
2. Act out Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29. The congregation, standing in place, takes the role of the welcoming crowd, reading verses 1-2. A worship leader in the pulpit, as the priest, reads verse 20. A second worship leader, taking the role of the king, enters from behind the congregation and stands about halfway up an aisle to read verses 19 and 21-23. The congregation replies with verses 24-29.
3. To confess fickle loyalty to King Jesus, pray:
Almighty God, on Sunday it is easy for us to say, "Jesus is Lord!" It is easy to sing about you as our King and make big promises about being your servants. It feels good to be among your people. But it is different at school and at work. Too often, we are ready to try anything to get good grades or to be successful. We ignore your rules to satisfy our own wishes. We listen when friends want us to try things we know are unloving and wrong. Forgive us. Help us remember that you are the King of all our lives, every day of the week, everywhere we go. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon: Jesus is Lord—the Lord of love and forgiveness. From the cross, he forgave the people who had praised him on Sunday and called for his death on Friday. And he forgives us too! Thanks be to God!
Sermon Resources
1. Instead of preaching a sermon, read all or parts of the passion narrative. Prepare a lively, dramatic reading. Consider illustrating the reading with slides or large pictures. Select a variety—some great paintings and some simple pictures from the church school picture files. If you plan ahead, you might even include some drawings done by children's classes, mounted on poster board or photographed on slide film.
2. Matthew's Gospel stresses the fickleness of the crowd. On Palm Sunday, they shouted, "Hosanna! Save us!" Five days later, they shouted just as loudly, "Crucify him! Let his blood be on our heads!" In preaching about our fickle loyalty to King Jesus, tell stories about . . .
• a girl who recited a dozen memory verses about love in Sunday school, but played only with her chosen few friends at school.
• a boy who promised to give all the money he usually spent at the store to the Easter Hunger Offering, but kept putting it off to buy a candy bar "just for today."
• a grandchild who enthusiastically made Easter baskets for older church members, then complained about staying home for an hour that afternoon with Grandpa.
4. Collect and post on a bulletin board the children's Holy Week pictures from the Worship Worksheets.
Sermon Options
SERVING THE SUFFERING
ISAIAH 50:4-9a
In the movie The Doctor, William Hurt plays Jack McKee, an accomplished surgeon who jokes around, dances to music, and flirts with the nurses during surgery. On rounds with his interns he warns against involvement with patients: "I'd rather you cut straight and care less." He favorite saying is, "I know about pain. I'm a doctor."
But he learns that knowing about pain and experiencing pain are different. He is diagnosed with a malignant tumor. As he begins radiation therapy, he is outraged at how he is treated. He doesn't think he should have to wait like other patients, fill out forms, or share a room. And he is particularly upset about the callousness of his physician.
Everyone knows a doctor who is insensitive. Everyone knows a minister who doesn't seem to care. According to Isaiah, however, the servant should be caring and also personally acquainted with pain.
This text comprises the third of Isaiah's four servant songs. Everyone is familiar with the last one, "a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity" (Isa. 53:3). That fourth song is the climax, but this is the first of the servant songs to speak of suffering. This is the song of preparation. Isaiah declares that God has given him "the tongue of a teacher," that he might know how "to sustain the weary with a word" (v. 4). But God has also given him the ear of a disciple. Verse 5 literally reads, "The Lord GOD dug out my ear." In addition to the pain of being struck, having his beard plucked out, and being spat upon, he knew the pain of having his ear opened up. From a New Testament perspective on this Passion Sunday, we acknowledge that these verses extend beyond the prophetic ministry of Isaiah to the messianic ministry of Jesus. Jesus was not only a suffering servant but also a servant to the suffering. He could look out over a crowded synagogue and sense the pain of a disabled and isolated woman in a man's world (Luke 13:10-17). He could look out over a group of people and cry for them who were like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:35-38). He could look out over a city and want to gather up the people like a mother hen protecting her chicks (Luke 13:34-35). Jesus comforts us with the tongue of one who has learned about suffering and of one who has heard it and experienced it. Jesus knows your pain. He hears it. He has felt it. He will speak to it.
In the movie McKee learns what it means to care. In fact, he sees to it that his interns check into the hospital to eat hospital food, sleep in hospital beds, and undergo all of the appropriate tests for a variety of diagnoses. But the most significant evidence of his compassion is the relationship he forms with June, a young woman dying from a brain tumor. He learns from her what it means to care, and he sits with her on her deathbed, holding her hand. After her death, he reads a letter she had written that includes a story: "There once was a farmer who owned much land and who used to keep the animals from his fields with traps. But the farmer was very lonely. So he stood in his fields with his arms outstretched calling the animals to himself, but none came. They were afraid of what looked to them like a new scarecrow." June then writes, "Jack, let down your arms and people will come to you." Of course, you and I know that people came to Jesus because he held his arms out, there on the cross. (Mike Graves)
HYMN OF HUMILITY
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11
Our text contains a hymn that captures the nature of Christ. He calls and empowers believers to take on this nature. As we allow the Holy Spirit to carve us into Christ's image, we cannot dismiss Paul's charge that our attitude should be the same as Jesus Christ's (v. 5).
Redeemed nature includes a "new mind" or manner of thinking. What is our view of life, others, and ourselves in relation to them? Discipleship demands that we place even the area of our attitude under the lordship of Christ. How we think is part of our spirituality.
I. We Are Called to a Christlike Attitude
In verses 6-8, Paul describes the attitude of Christ. This attitude serves as our model. The first characteristic of the attitude of Christ is that of being nonpresumptuous. While Jesus bore the full nature of God, he did not selfishly assert it by reaching to grasp it (v. 6). As we see in verses 9-11, he waited for the exaltation of the Father. Human nature whines with arrogance, struggling to establish who we are and our value. It is not fashionable to wait for honors to be bestowed; we quickly point out how we were "overlooked" or "robbed" of our "earnings." As believers, however, our human nature is to be mortified, and we are to take on the nature of Christ to be nonpresumptuous, awaiting God's timing to bring deserved honor.
The second element of Christ's attitude is the nature of servant-hood (v. 7). We might have exclaimed, "As the Son of God, I have the right to be worshiped and to be served, not to serve!" Sadly, even in the body of Christ, some speak more about rights than about New Testament responsibilities. But our attitude is to be willing to serve, not demand service.
Finally, Paul describes the attitude of Christ as humble obedience (v. 8). Christ was obedient unto death—death that he has conquered—even the shameful death of the cross. Obedience to God's Word and reverence for authority are parts of the Christian attitude. This attitude can be viewed as weak, but Jesus described kingdom members as "meek" (that is, self-controlled). A willingness to submit in obedience is an act of free will demanded of persons of faith.
II. God Honors Those with a Christlike Attitude
Because of Jesus' humble attitude, God exalted him to the highest place (v. 9). Christ's refusal to grasp the honor or exaltation results in the action of the Father of bestowing the honor due him as the Son of God. Verses 10-11 note that every knee would bow in worship and every tongue utter to confess Jesus as Lord.
Fallen human nature is tainted by the impact of Satan's vices. Lucifer, once the angelic worship leader, fell in arrogance grasping what was not his (the glory of God). Human beings, tainted with sinful nature, struggle for their recognition. But Christ came not grasping what was rightly his but awaiting the Father's bestowal. The Father was faithful to exalt Christ who receives the worship due him.
What are we willing to wait for? Do we trust God enough to allow God to be faithful in our lives? Do we view the intensity of a circumstance and desire to take it into our own hands since our pride is at stake? The fallen nature says, "Defend yourself and grasp what is yours." The redeemed nature reflects Christ's attitude of trusting the faithfulness of the Father. He will make all things beautiful and complete in his time. (Joseph Byrd)
HOW TO BUILD A CROSS
MATTHEW 27:33-42
Shall we build a cross? Crosses were commonplace two thousand years ago. Seventy years before Christ, after the smashing of the revolt of Spartacus, roads to Rome were lined with 6,000 crosses and 6,000 men dying on them. At the death of Herod the Great a revolt broke out, and the Romans crucified 2,000 people in Jerusalem. In A.D. 70 at the siege of Jerusalem, the Roman troops crucified as many as 500 Jews daily for several months.
In 1968, during excavations in Jerusalem following the Six-Day War, the remains of a man clearly put to death by crucifixion were found in a hidden tomb. His name was Jehohanan; in his late twenties, he was obviously from a well-to-do family. Jehohanan was fastened to the cross by nails, there being no standard way to put a cross together or to put a person on it. The victim could be fastened to the crossbar by either ropes or nails. Without some other support a person would die within two or three hours on the cross from muscular spasms and asphyxia, so the Romans devised ways to prolong the agony: a pointed peglike affair as a seat, and a footrest. With these aids, a person might linger for days. A long nail was driven through Jehohanan's heels; the nail went on into the upright beam and bent when it hit a knot in the hard olivewood. When his family attempted to get him off the cross after death, they had to cut off his feet, then bury a small section of the cross with his feet still attached to it, and the archaeologists found that.
How you build a cross depends on its use. If it is to be worn as a trinket around your neck, that's one thing. Arthur Blessit, on the other hand, puts wheels on the crosses he pulls across the country. In Passion plays the crosses are made of light wood. The rows of white crosses in cemeteries are often made of stone.
If you are going to save a sinful world by means of it, defeat all the powers of evil with it, crucify the Son of God on it, then making a cross requires more than fine craftsmanship, more than a vertical stake and a crossbar. Look with me at the kind of cross we need to build on which to crucify Jesus.
I. Endure God's Curse
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 tells us how shameful this death on the cross was, and we've lost that reality. Someone from the first century walking our streets today would be utterly appalled to see the cross on our churches and around our necks. It would be similar to you coming back to earth five hundred years from now and seeing little electric chairs on churches and on chains around folks' necks. Paul says the preaching of the Cross is foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews. Yet he does not hide the shame of the cross. He embraces it, saying in Galatians 3:13 that Christ became a curse for us. The One who died on that center cross that day died as a man accursed by people and by God; a criminal soon to be dead, buried, and forgotten.
A drama pictures the mother of Jesus years after his crucifixion. Another son, Joses, and his wife have a new baby boy. They ask Mary what they should name him, and Mary stands gazing out the window for a time, then turns with tears in her eyes and, fumbling with her apron, says, "I would have you name the child Jesus....I would not have him forgotten." Crucified, cursed, but forgotten? Never. But as we build our cross let us remember it must:
II. Hold a God
The irony is that the cursed One being nailed up is no ordinary thirty-year-old in the vigor of manhood; he is also God: "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself" (2 Cor. 5:19) . So what we have on the cross is divinity wrapped in human flesh; God willing to dwell among us and suffer with us and for us, for a higher purpose than anyone gathered around that cross that day could grasp. But let us keep working on this cross. It must be strong enough to:
III. Hold the Sins of the World
On the cross Jesus becomes the very embodiment of sin. Isaiah 53 vividly points out twelve ways that all the sins of the world—your sins and mine—were heaped on the God-man Jesus on the cross that day: "The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (v. 6). Peter, who may have stood at the edge of the crowd with head bowed in grief and shame, tells us that Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the cross" (1 Pet. 2:24) . What a paradox! All the sin of this world gathered to the cross on which is dying the only sinless person ever to set foot on this earth. But let us keep building, for the cross must also hold the:
IV. Loneliest Man Who Ever Lived
There has never been a darkness like what spread over that hill at noon that day and covered the cross of the man Jesus. For when the sins of every human being gathered at the cross, he suffered the depths of all that sin means, and it is seen in the bitterest cry ever wrung from human heart: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). We know that just as the essence of heaven is the presence of God, so also the essence of hell is eternal separation from God, and that this cry is the agony of hell itself. Consider further the cross we are building for Jesus. It must be:
V. A Tall Cross
This cross of Jesus towers not just over the crosses of the condemned men on either side of him, but over all the ages, to draw people to it through the years. Jesus told Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the pole with the bronze serpent on it for the healing of the Israelites, even so must Jesus be lifted up on his cross, above all the nations, all the tyrants, all human achievements, for his lifting up is the only way men and women, boys and girls, can see the terrible power of their sin and the sacrifice of Jesus that sets us free.
VI. Rooted in the Heart of God
Christ took upon himself our sins by the will and appointment of God. He came as the old hymn says, from the heart of God, and that is also why the darkness and the agony of the cross were so deep. John 3:16 leaves us no doubt that Jesus came because God so loved the world. There is no division between the Father and the Son in their love and purpose—the Son of God came gladly, joyfully, to walk the road of the cross in obedience to the Father's will, and to offer himself up as the greatest act of love ever to grace this universe. I mention only one other aspect of the cross of Jesus; it must be strong enough to:
VII. Hold Two Persons
Remember what Paul said in Galatians 2:19: "I have been crucified with Christ." The New Testament says that the Christian "suffers with Christ," is "crucified with Christ," "dead with him," "baptized into his death," and "buried with him." We who believe are to be identified with Christ in his life, his ministry, his death. Yet in the deepest sense there is no way we can go with him all the way, nor could we have been actually crucified with him on the same cross. We cannot face the darkness he faced, endure the punishment, bear the sins, or die under that ridicule with a prayer upon our lips because we are not the perfect Son of God, the sacrifice without blemish for the sins of the world. But we can kneel at the foot of that cross we have built. Built with our hands? No, built with our sins. We can kneel there and confess that when we survey the cross on which the Prince of Glory died, our richest gain we count but loss, and pour contempt on all our pride. We can kneel there and determine that love so amazing, so divine, demands our souls, our lives, our all. We can kneel at his cross in repentance and contrition, and accept forgiveness, healing, and peace. (Earl C. Davis)
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