Glory!
Psalm 118:20-29
John 12:12-26
The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem,
that we mark as Palm Sunday appears to be the brightest day in Jesus’
ministry. Not many preachers receive
this kind of ovation. Most of us
consider ourselves lucky if we hear a “nice
sermon reverend” at the end of the worship service. None of us expect a
standing ovation. But, on this day people cheered, waved branches, threw their
coats on the road and shouted, “Hosanna,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”[1] It was truly a glorious day.
All
of this hoopla, John records, came as a result of Jesus bringing Lazarus back
from the dead and out of the tomb.[2] So, these palm branch people were not so much
true believers as they were simply curious.
In their minds Jesus was just the “latest thing”. He had
become an instant celebrity. This was his fifteen minutes of fame, and I think
Jesus knew it, because the roar of the crowd, the glory of that day definitely
did not go to his head, nor divert his attention from his real goal.
How
do we know that? Right after John
described the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he portrayed a scene where the
first “groupies” start to gather. They
were Greeks who had come into town for the Feast of the Passover, which is a
distinctly Jewish holiday. We don’t know
what prompted them to come.
They
could have simply been tourists who wanted to taste the flavor of a different
culture. The Greeks of that period were
well known for their inveterate curiosity.
So, when they asked to see Jesus, they may simply wanted his autograph
or a story to tell back home. Or, they
could have been spiritual seekers, who found the Parthenon of their gods to be
empty, and so were searching for answers to their questions, for peace of mind and
soul; who were searching for God. When
they ask, “We wish to see Jesus”,
they may be doing so out of the same spiritual hunger that has brought some of
you here today.
That’s
what makes the response of Philip, Andrew, and even Jesus so puzzling. First, they ask Philip to introduce them to
Jesus, because Philip was a Greek name, and so they thought they had a
sympathetic ear. But, Philip is unsure
of the protocol, so he asks Andrew, one of the 12, “What do you think? Should we
let them into see Jesus or keep them in the waiting room?”
As
far as church growth theories go, this doesn’t follow the current trend to make
church membership as easy and painless as possible. Jesus also, when he hears of their presence,
does not rush out with a pledge card and box of offering envelopes. Rather, he uses their request for an audience
to launch into an explanation of what glory is all about.
This
was the hour they were waiting for and what the Palm Sunday crowd hoped for,
that Jesus would reveal his power and call down the heavenly host of angels to
use the power of the sword to bring justice to their troubled land, and drive
their Roman oppressors out. That is
where they believed the glory of God would be revealed, with a victory on the
battlefield. God’s banner would be
proudly waved over the bodies of dead Roman soldiers.
But,
Jesus knew that the sword brings not so much glory, as it does death, that real
glory is found in a just peace. And
victory in God’s eyes is not so much in vanquishing an enemy as it is in
overcoming sin. As every military
veteran will tell you, the glory of war is not found in the victory. It is seen in the sacrifice.
Perhaps
some of you have seen the Civil War drama called “Glory!” This film starred Matthew Broderick, Morgan
Freeman, Denzel Washington and Jerry Brown.
Jerry wasn’t exactly a star, but he was in the movie and he was a member
of the church I served at the time. He
played one of the African American Union soldiers you see charging down the
beach and attacking the Confederate Fort Wagner.
Jerry
and spoke to me about the historical reality behind that movie. It was based on the creation of the
Massachusetts 54th regiment created in 1863 as a result of President
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which allowed, for the first time, African
Americans and former slaves to bear arms in service for their country. The 54th was the first all black
unit created in the Civil War, but it wasn’t the last. Some 200,000 thousand served their country in
that war.
As
we spoke I asked Jerry, if anyone from the film had spoken of the title, of
where they saw the glory to be? Jerry
said, “In fact he did. It was something
we all discussed. The glory wasn’t in
the victory, because the concluding battle scene ended in a draw. The glory was found in the sheer
participation. This is what made them
men, to participate in this privilege of citizenship. Frederick Douglas summed it up the process from slavery to freedom in
this way: “First the cartridge
box, then the ballot box, and finally the jury box.”
Jerry and I concluded, “The glory was received in the recognition
that the black man was created in the image of God as surely as the white, and
the acknowledgement that the one who had been enslaved was as fully human as
the one who had been the master. The glory was found in their new found freedom
to give one’s life for a just cause.”
This is the glory Jesus
describes. He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat
falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much
fruit.”[3] This
spring planting description foretells the cross. The fruit that rises from the
death of this seed are the billions of lives who have been changed and saved by
the power of this sacrifice. Jesus said,
“when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.”[4] This is a reference to the cross. It is the cross that will draw people to
Jesus.
The glory, Jesus said, is not found in palm
branches or empty cheers. The glory is
found in the fulfillment of God’s will and plan and purpose, even if that will
or plan or purpose is difficult.
Jesus acknowledged that struggle, “Now my soul is troubled, so what should I
say? Father, save me from this
hour? No, for this purpose I have come
to this hour. Father, glorify thy name!”[5]
Have you caught the meaning of Jesus’ prayer? It is in fulfilling the will of God, that
God’s name is glorified. Giving glory to
God is not just a vocal expression; not just shouting “Praise the Lord”. It is
in being what God created you to be and doing what God has called you to do
that gives God the glory. God is most
glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
Years ago, another movie came out
you may have seen called “Chariots of Fire”.
It portrays the story of a Scotsman named Eric Liddell, who happened to
be a world-class runner and a committed and dedicated Christian.
He had grown up in a strong
Presbyterian family and felt called to serve God in the mission field. He eventually moved to China in the 1930’s to
preach the gospel there. But, in his
early twenties he ran, and eventually represented his country in the 1924
Olympics.
I remember one scene, where Eric was
discussing his future with his family, who believed that all this running was a
distraction from his serious calling to preach the gospel. They wondered if it wouldn’t be better to
give up all this dream of Olympic glory and focus instead on the glory of God.
Eric responded with one line I’ve
always remembered. He said, “I believe God created me to run, has given
me this gift, so when I run and the wind brushes against my cheek, it is as if
I can feel God’s pleasure.” He
believed, as do I, that God is pleased when we use the gifts He has given to
us. He believed, as do I, that God takes
pleasure when we become the people God created us to be. He believed, as I do, that we best glorify
God by living our lives with “faith
and hope and love.”[6]
In the seventeenth chapter of John Jesus offers a prayer for all those
who would follow him. It speaks much of “glorifying God” in manner I have
described, and then he offers a startling benediction or blessing for us. He prays, “Father, the glory, (the honor, the recognition, the splendor) that you have given me, I give to
them.” Brothers and sisters, them
is us! Jesus asked his Father in heaven
to give us glory, in fact he passes it on.
Look
around this room today. Do you see the
glory of God in the lives of these people? Take your time. I’ll wait. Do you see it? If not, why not? Jesus has promised he would pass it on to
those who live their lives in him, who abide in him, who yield their hearts and
minds and strength to him.[7] Have you ever recognized the glory of God in
anyone? Have you ever acknowledged the
glory of God in anything?
If
you’ve answered “No” to all of the above, the problem may be with them or even
with God. It may be with you. You may be
suffering from the malady known as “presbyopia”, which is a fancy
ophthalmological term, which means that you can’t see things that are close
up. Now, Presbyterians aren’t the only
one to suffer from this. Anyone who
needs reading glasses endures this in one form or another.
I
think we sometimes suffer from a form of spiritual presbyopia as well. We don’t recognize the glory of God revealed
in the people and things that are standing right in front of us. As a result, we don’t recognize the blessing
that Jesus promised even within ourselves.
So, all of life becomes drab and gray and ordinary and routine.
A
psychologist Walter Trobisch chronicled a case study of patient he treated that
lived this way. He wrote,
She was a beautiful Scandinavian girl. Long blond hair fell over her shoulders. Gracefully she sat down in the armchair
offered to her and looked at us with deep and vivid blue eyes…
As we discussed her problems, we
came back again and again to one basic issue which seemed to be the root of all
the others. It was the problem, which,
we had least expected when she entered the room. She could not love herself.
To point out her the apparent gifts
she had – her success as a student, the favorable impression she had made upon
us by her outward appearance – seemed to be of no avail. She refused to acknowledge anything good about
herself. She had grown up in a tight-laced
religious family and had learned that self-depreciation was Christian and
self-rejection the only way to find acceptance by God.
We asked her to stand up and take a
look in the mirror. She turned her head
away. With gentle force I held her head
so that she had to look into her own eyes.
She cringed as if she was experiencing physical pain.
It took a long time before she was
able to whisper, though unconvinced, the sentence I asked her to repeat, “I
am a beautiful girl.”[8]
This
is why good theology matters, and why bad theology is so dangerous. How many have grown up thinking they didn’t
matter in the eyes of God, so they can’t matter to anyone else, and so live
gray and drab lives. They recognize no
glory in God, and so settle for vainglory
that quickly fades.
Are you not sure what I’m talking about? Well, many of you watched the NCAA basketball
tournament and know that the University of Connecticut won both the men and
women’s championship, and saw the hype and hoopla and glory of that event. But, how many can name last year’s champion
or the year before or the year before that?
Human honors and glory quickly fade in our memories. Even our own
achievements can quickly lose their luster.
But, those who recognize the glory of God in the
miracle that takes place each time a larva transforms into a butterfly find
that life is filled with more color than they thought. Those who recognize the glory of God revealed
in cross of Jesus Christ find that life is filled with more meaning than they
thought. Those who recognize the glory
of God that Jesus promised to give to those who follow him find that life is
filled with more love than they thought.
So,
glorify God with heart and voice.
Glorify God by living the life God created you to live. Glorify God by learning to love even those
you find hard to love.
Lord, we praise you in this sanctuary. We praise you for your mighty deeds; we
praise you according to your greatness.
Let everything that breathes, praise you Lord. Amen.[9]
No comments:
Post a Comment