Sermon by The Very Rev Chris Yaw, 4/13/2025, Palm Sunday
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Awaken me to myself and others
And so the saints of God gather here in Southfield, on this bittersweet day:
My brothers and sisters of good will and sincere hearts - who have been touched by Our Savior's power through the testimony of our forbearers who share with us this epic story:
Of celebration - For the triumphant King has arrived home to his Sacred City -
Of mourning - as we consider the unjust and deadly failings of our sorely misguided ancestors -
And for sober reflection on the truth that remains as challenging today as it was two millennia ago, as the multitudes lined that dusty road paved with cloaks and palms from Bethany to Jerusalem.
And amidst the pageantry of that day, and this one, let us not be swept away by the outward show of commemoration -
For at the heart of our iconic story lies a profound and timeless lesson.
Together, let us think about this lesson - one that is often overlooked in the clamor for power and recognition.
It is that radical, revolutionary power of humility.
Think about it.
Our hero is God who has become Man, on our behalf -
Who has traded the perfection of heaven for the frailties of earth - the never-ending, melodic praises of angels for the stinging and painful cries of suffering humanity.
And He appears *not atop an armored warhorse, a gilded chariot, or a golden throne held aloft by shirtless minions.
No, his is a borrowed donkey - whose path is strewn with the heartfelt homage of the humble masses for their humble king -
- who have come to honor a man of God who has embodied the true essence of our faith: and indeed, to teach it to you and me and all who have lived before and after:
That the authentic follower of God is someone who grieves more for the sorrows of others, than he does for his own.
Humility is that powerful.
To a man who embodies humility comes fame that was never sought:
"What are you doing with my colt?" asked the owner of that donkey when the disciples came for it. "The Lord needs it!" they said. "Then, by all means, take it and anything else you need!"
After 3-years of healing, feeding, and raising people from the dead certainly this horse-owner, and everyone else in town knew who "The Lord" was - what "The Lord" had done for them - as you and I witness a multitude of people giving even the shirts off their backs - cloaks - literally.
To a man who embodies humility comes power that was never sought:
"Teacher, order these disciples to stop!" pleaded the Pharisees amidst the singing and celebrating of that triumphal entry.
As if anyone could halt the momentum that had built up after years of selfless care and endless ministry to the hungry, hurting, and dying -
As appreciation poured out from every corner of the region -
Who could stop the very atmosphere from being electrified with the unbounded praises and songs of heraldry from gleeful hearts and divinely touched souls rising in a crescendo of emotion at the climatic arrival of their king? "I tell you, if these were silent," observed The Master, even "the stones would shout out."
And to a man who embodies humility comes, yes, even more humility:
For Jesus' mission was too serious, too important, too existential for him to rest upon the laurels of earthly fame and power;
He had work to do!
He had a people to form!
He had a world to change!
You and I get that.
It's the same world - one marked by greed and oppression -
A world where we grow enough food, but don't feed enough people- A world that's rich enough, but doesn't share enough -
A world that yearns for peace, tranquility, and harmony, but wallows in chaos, confusion, and division.
A world God so loves!
A world got so cherishes!
A world we have signed on to help Jesus change.
And we consider Jesus' triumphal entry into the Holy City - as the lynchpin to God's Master Plan of turning it all around.
After all, we know what gets us into our messes.
We need not try more arrogance, hatred, and greed.
We need not continue to perpetuate systems of injustice, oppression, and inequality.
Failed are all of those strategies centered on pride, hubris, and me-first-ism.
We know that we need another way.
We need a way that works.
We need to reclaim the Way of the Cross - the Way of Humility.
Unexplored because it's unpopular: As the sages of old have observed: The way of the servant on the donkey has not been tried and found wanting - it's been found difficult and therefore, not tried.
But today, O saints of God, let us try!
Let us not be thwarted by the dark forces of distraction and the headwinds of diversion.
Let us renew the course of right, the course of humility.
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Today we see anew three lessons in this much-needed and elusive attribute.
Beginning at that final Passover meal – we see humility -
when Our Savior taught us, in stark word and vivid imagery, that we are to serve, not be served.
He took those simple elements - the bread and the wine - that come from God's good earth - but are shaped by Humanity's toil - emblematic of this enduring partnership, founded in that long-ago garden, when God made the animals, but humans named and trained them.
And Jesus took the cup and the loaf - and told us these were his blood and body -
Blood to be poured out for others -
A Body to be broken for others -
For the leader is the one who serves, he declared, before posing a question: "Who is greater? The one who is at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves."
In this simple act, Jesus taught us not a passive way of co-dependence, but a powerful way of ordering society - a revolutionary approach to power –
- that shows us that a true king, a true leader, is one who is willing to lay down their own privilege to walk alongside the marginalized to serve the least of these.
Just look at the leaders that garner History's respect:
Gandhi, Tutu, Teresa, and Romero.
And observe that we name our children after Martyrs like James, Matthew, and Thomas -
And our dogs after despots - 'Come Napoleon, Sit Caesar.'
Seek to serve, not to be served!
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We accompany Jesus, then, past his betrayal and into Pilate's court to face made-up charges based on baseless allegations:
"Are you the king of the Jews?" asked the Roman ruler.
"You say so" was as far as the Lord would go.
For his Capital trial was a stark demonstration of
aggression meeting restraint,
provocation meeting passivity, and
accusation meeting silence.
Jesus' defense was not the Bruce Willis tome of:
Prideful vengeance, but of loving restraint.
Patience not payback.
Humility not hubris.
We understand the fury that wells up inside each one of us when we are attacked, maligned, cheated, and betrayed.
We have all harbored feelings of ill-will against those who have provoked, penalized, and struck out against us.
And we see, in Jesus, a way of channeling our anger that goes against aggressive instincts that seek swift retribution - and plays toward the long game of conflict resolution that requires restraint and humility.
Does the Jesus-way of peace-making require us to be treated unfairly?
Yes.
Does the Jesus-way of peace-making require us to be treated disrespectfully?
Yes.
Does the Jesus-way of peace-making require us to put up with bad behavior, even betrayal?
Yes.
Just as Jesus did.
For we know it well.
We know our way is not the easy way.
The road ahead will not comfortable. There will be obstacles. There will be setbacks.
But if we walk together, hand in hand, with humility in our hearts and justice as or guide, by taking the way of humility and love, we can see the arc of the moral universe bend toward justice.
Seek restraint over revenge.
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Finally, we follow our Lord to the cross.
As if the betrayal of his friends and the mockeries of the once-cheering crowd that had now turned 180-degrees, were not enough:
Jesus' back is now bloody from the scourges of injustice-
His head, throbbing from the crown of unjust affliction-
His every step weary and wavering under the weight of that undeserved cross.
All to the work and witness of humility as the embrace of suffering.
The unpopularity of humility is rooted in discomfort.
We all know what it means to change our plans and goals for another.
It takes humility to say we're wrong and admit we're fallible.
We live in a world that breaks up with girlfriends via text because it's uncomfortable to face them.
We live in a world where people just don't show up to parties because they're too timid to RSVP.
We live in a world where flipping people off is easier than giving them the benefit of the doubt - supposing that their ill behavior may have underlying causes about which we know nothing.
The frailty of our humanity that causes mistakes that need to be forgiven are *not best handled by vengeful behavior -
Rather, we must suffer injury in humility, believing that our commitment to do what's right - will reward us all with resolution.
Jesus did not tell us to 'turn the other cheek' because he was a scared wimp.
Jesus taught us to endure provocation because it was the only way to make things better.
And Jesus' strategy is as powerful as it is effective - as we all remember Gandhi's famous line: "If we continue with the law of 'an eye for an eye' soon the whole world will be blind."
Legion are the world's civilizations that have crumbled under the haughty vicissitudes of the prideful motivations of revenge and retribution.
The humility Jesus embodies points to the cross - to which you and I must go.
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So friends, as we move on from this moment of reflection and renewal - let us keep our steps aligned and our eyes focused on that cross.
Let us remember to serve instead of be served - knowing that the greatest among us are not those who shake a golden fist, but those who take a humble knee.
Let us remember to show restraint in the face of provocation - knowing that our avoidance of vengeance is not our weakness, but our strength.
And let us not avoid, but embrace righteous suffering - knowing that our commitment to peacemaking takes us down that winning path that is bound to include a slap on the cheek, or worse, that is not returned.
Saints of God - Embody compassion.
Embrace humility.
The world Jesus died for desperately needs you.
Let us not keep them waiting.
Amen.