Mind of Christ

Palm Sunday (Year B)

Philippians 2.5-11; Mark 14.1—15.47

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 36:30)

 

Here we are. Palm Sunday. Also sometimes referred to as Passion Sunday. A day that is a bit schizophrenic. Or, at least, that is what it has become over time. The definition of schizophrenic is “of or relating to conflicting or inconsistent elements; characterized by unusual disparity.”[1] On this day, we certainly see conflicting elements and experience great disparity, as we go from celebrating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosannah!” to witnessing Jesus’ Passion, with shouts of “Crucify him!” And if “schizophrenic” doesn’t describe what we witness on this day, I don’t know what does.

Spoiler Alert

Fifth Sunday in Lent (Year B)

Jeremiah 31.31-34; John 12.20-33

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 12:30)

 

I don’t know about other clergy, but for me, one of the biggest struggles of preaching during Lent, particularly as we get closer and closer to Holy Week, is figuring out how much to reveal of the story. I mean, we all know how the story unfolds. We all know how the story ends. But I struggle with not wanting to reveal too much. I don’t want to spoil the ending. Not that I can really do that, because, as I said, after 2,000 years of doing Lent and Holy Week, we know the story like the back of our own hands. Rather, I don’t want to spoil the build up to the climactic ending that is Easter. Ideally, I want the events of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday to slowly build in intensity: Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his Last Supper with the disciples, his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, his trial before Pontius Pilate, his conviction and condemnation to death, his crucifixion. All building, only to leave us with that momentary pause—that pregnant pause—called Holy Saturday. That period where we feel abandoned. Where we feel all alone. Where we feel bereft of hope. And then BOOM, Easter! Resurrection! New life!

For God So Loved the World

Fourth Sunday in Lent (Year B)

Numbers 21.4-9; John 3.14-21

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 11:55)

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3.16. Perhaps one of the best-known Bible verses of all time. So well known that even if you were to ask a non-Christian to recite John 3.16, they probably could. Part of this is likely due to the pervasiveness of the use of this verse, or reference to it, throughout our culture. While obviously part of the canon of scripture for nearly 2,000 years, it was particularly during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s that John 3.16 came to the fore of our collective consciousness, thanks to the rise in evangelicalism in America. This verse almost becoming the motto or the mission statement for American evangelicalism, thanks to Billy Graham, who was particularly active during this time, holding mass rallies or crusades, where he often preached on this verse. The popularity was so pervasive that signs that simply read “John 3:16,” or even the more truncated “3:16” seemed, and still seems, to be everywhere. On T-shirts, on signs and billboards, even graffitied on freeway overpasses. It is so commonplace that references seem to be present at every sporting event, from high school to nationally televised professional games. So, what is it about this one verse, of all the 31,102 verses in the Bible (excluding the Apocrypha), that has captured our collective attention?

Removing Barriers and Being the Body of Christ

Third Sunday in Lent (Year B)

John 2.13-22

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 14:30)

 

Thus far this year, we have focused on the Gospel According to Mark. But through the rest of our Lenten journey, we switch to the Gospel According to John. Now to be sure, John’s Gospel is a completely different animal compared to the Synoptics Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John’s theological perspectives, his language, how he portrays Jesus, are all very different than the other three Gospels. And even some of the stories and when and how they are told are very different. Case in point: today’s telling of the cleansing of the Temple.

 

All four Gospels contain a version of Jesus cleansing the Temple. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all place the event during Holy Week following Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, just days before his crucifixion. John, on the other hand, places this critical event at the opposite end. At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. This alternative placement and other variations offer a different perspective on what Jesus’ actions in cleaning the Temple mean for us.