For some, today is "Star Wars Day". While not a part of the church tradition, the movie tale of Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) reminds us that no one is beyond redemption. In real life, God casts his net far and wide, redeeming and calling people ranging from the disciples to Saul.
"Holy Humor" Sunday is a tradition in some churches to celebrate the joy of the Easter season with a morning of communal laughter. It is rooted in the joy that the disciples must have felt to see Jesus again, as he appeared again and again to his disciples. With this Sunday's liturgy of joy in Jesus, we seek to embody Jesus' exhortation, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Today, we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Good News of Easter so wondrous, so magnificent, that we struggle to wrap our heads around it. We sing wonderful hymns that speak our praise, adoration, and joy! But, we also remember, that every Sunday in the Christian Church is an Easter Sunday, because we remember Christ's resurrection each week.
Today, we join Jesus in the final ascent to Jerusalem, knowing the depths we will descend on our journey through Holy Week. We join the disciples in declaring that Jesus, riding on a donkey, is our Ruler, the One who will bring peace and salvation for all. We remember the crowds in Jerusalem who laid their cloaks on the road, shouting "Hosanna" as Jesus passed. We know they were looking for a Messiah who was different from who God sent Jesus to be – not one of political power and military might, but one who came in compassion and mercy to heal, love, and save. Let us be confident that the Messiah for whom we long is Jesus Christ, the Anointed One.
Like Judas, we like to complain about God's generous ways, rather than living in His grace. The poor are always with us, we believe, which justifies our ignoring them. In our memories, we focus on a perceived golden past, and so we ignore the new things done in our midst. We are so enamored with our achievements that we are not willing to throw them away in order to follow Jesus. May our fears turn to faith, our seeds of grief produce a bumper crop of joy, and our tears turn into torrents of tenderness as we journey with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to Jerusalem.
On this fourth Sunday in Lent, we ask God to give us diligence to seek Him, wisdom to perceive Him, and patience to wait for Him. A mind to meditate on Him, eyes to behold Him, ears to listen to His Word, a heart to love Him, and a life to proclaim Him.
We continue, broken, day in and day out, hopelessly applying quick fixes to our worries. We may remember a prayer that grandmamma taught us, or a lesson learned the hard way, or a word from the Word spoken by a sage. We long for relief, we seek it, search for it, yearn for it - relief that can't be purchased or bartered. But we remember that God invites us to drink from His waters and to never thirst again.
God has led us in the past and will continue to lead us in the future. His faithfulness to us does not depend upon our faithfulness to Him. Often we have failed to follow His leadership. We have sown seeds of war, not peace; we have spoken words of anger, not love; we have failed to build bridges with our neighbors when we should reach out to them in Jesus’ name. We repent of these sins and ask forgiveness.
On this first Sunday in Lent, we join Jesus in the wilderness, a place of wild and dangerous things. A place of testing and temptation away from the security of home. As we face our own frailty, we realize that the wilderness is not nearly as dangerous as our choices to prioritize selfish gain and hoarding of power. We find our security in Jesus, who does not waver from the truth.
The Gospel of John relates how Jesus, even while facing death, promised to return for each of us, individually - "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you" (NRSVUE).