What Are We Called To?

Six weeks ago, the gospel lesson was Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem from the perspective of Luke.

Today, we hear the same story from Matthew’s perspective.

That may seem odd and you may wonder, what more is there to say?

The simple reason for doing it is that, by bracketing the sermon series with the same story told from two perspectives, it lends valuable context to the series.

We opened the series by showing the juxtaposition of Empire and the Kin-dom of God.

Today, we will close with a look at what the Palm Sunday story has to tell us about our walk with Jesus.

The central theme of Jesus’ teaching was the Kin-dom of God.

The Kin-dom of God is about justice.

It is God’s intent for God’s children.

In preaching about love and peace and justice, Jesus shed light on the many places where Roman social norms and Jewish law fell short.

His example of radical love and inclusion was subversive for the time and made him a threat to the status quo.

But it was also what made the general populace love him so much that they laid cloaks and branches before him and shouted “Hosanna in the Highest” as he rode into Jerusalem.

It was a display of love that unfortunately wouldn’t last—couldn’t last—because the power of Empire was too great.

We don’t need to be historians to understand the power of Empire.

We see many examples of Empire at work in our world today:

Law enforcement—whether we are talking about ICE in immigrant communities or overpolicing in minority neighborhoods—acting as cruel overlords, rather than public servants.

Disrespectful political discourse meant to humiliate opponents as a show of strength.

Racial profiling accepted as a reasonable tactic, rather than as the moral failure that it is.

An economic system that consistently harms poor and low-income folks while wealth continues to flow upward to the megarich.

And perhaps the greatest injustice of all, many claim to do these harmful practices in the name of a Christianity that has no resemblance to the teachings of Jesus.

So, what has this to do with us?

The simple answer is, as I have said before, that our country is on the wrong path.

It’s not about politics.

It’s about morality.

It’s about justice—or more accurately, lack thereof.

It’s about what Jesus actually said—not about what the Empire would like you to believe that he said.

I’m in the process of reading a book called “The Separation of Church and Hate”.

I haven’t finished it yet, but what I have read so far is pretty good.

In it, the author writes, “Christianity is under attack—but by divisive right-wing fundamentalists who publicly worship Jesus while fighting against, voting against, and legislating against his actual commandments.”

I think that’s pretty accurate.

Some would disagree with me—perhaps even some of you sitting here in these pews this morning.

I am not up here to judge you or embarrass you.

I’m not going to argue with you because I’m not sure that I can change your mind.

All I can do is point you to Matthew 25, verses 34-36.

“‘Come, you blessed of my Abba God!

Inherit the Kin-dom prepared for you from the creation of the world!

For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me.

I was ill and you comforted me; in prison and you came to visit me.”

Jesus said we should feed the hungry.

He did not say only feed those who we believe deserve it.

He certainly didn’t say that we should reduce or eliminate food security programs like SNAP and WIC.

Jesus said we should welcome the stranger.

He did not say that we should only welcome blond-haired, blue-eyed immigrants from Northern Europe.

He did not say that we should only welcome immigrants with technical skills that we need.

He certainly didn’t say that we should abandon refugee programs that protect people fleeing war zones, gang violence, and religious or sexual persecution.

So, the question then becomes: what do we do about it?

Do we do anything about it?

In my first sermon in this series, I posed the question: which procession are we going to follow—Jesus’ procession of love and justice or Pilate’s procession of Empire?

So, I ask you again:

Is taking action in support of our neighbors part of our calling as followers of Jesus?

Is it part of our faith practice?

If it isn’t, should it be?

I think that is a question that can only be answered by each of us individually.

For me, the answer is clear.

There are things happening in this country that are in direct opposition to my faith.

There are injustices being perpetrated by Christian Nationalists that are an affront to Jesus and his teachings.

Just as Rome corrupted Christianity in the fourth century when it became the official religion of the Empire, so too is Christian Nationalism corrupting it in the 21st century.

Opposing Empire is part of my calling and my faith practice.

I was at the No Kings protest in Princeton yesterday.

And I’ll be at the Palm Sunday Witness in Trenton this afternoon.

I was not—and will not—be alone.

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, will join me.

We stand opposed to Empire and speak truth to power by the authority of Christ, who strengthens us.

I know some of you joined me yesterday.

I hope some of you will join me this afternoon.

Last week, we commemorated Oscar Romero.

This week, we commemorate Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I will offer a devotional for Bonhoeffer in a few minutes.

I am inspired by their examples.

Their willingness to stand up for the oppressed and the marginalized against the overwhelming power of Empire emulated Jesus.

Jesus could have turned around before he reached Jerusalem.

He could have headed back to Galilee, where he could have lived a peaceful life.

He could have continued to heal and to teach, away from the scrutiny of the religious authorities.

He could have just kept his head down and quietly observed Passover with his students.

Instead, he went into the Temple and overturned tables.

He invited people to a different way of being—a different way of living.

He challenged people to a different kind of relationship with God.

He challenged people to love and care for one another.

Because he challenged the way things were, he was a threat to the status quo.

Because he challenged the power structure, he was a danger their wealth and their status.

And, because of that, the Empire coerced the mob to go from “Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Most High! Hosanna in the highest!” to “Crucify him! Crucify him!”.

Like Jesus, Bonhoeffer could have taken a different path.

He could have stayed safely in New York.

He could have lived out his life as a respected pastor and theologian.

He could have married his sweetheart and raised a family.

Instead, he returned to Germany.

He opposed Nazi influence on the church.

He spoke out against the injustices being perpetrated against Jews.

He organized resistance against the Third Reich.

Bonhoeffer also invited people to a different way of being—a different way of living.

He said, “If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity, as one of the trials and tribulations of life.

We have then forgotten that the cross means rejection and shame as well as suffering.

The psalmist was lamenting that he was despised and rejected… and that is an essential quality of the suffering of the cross.

But this notion has ceased to be intelligible to a Christianity which can no longer see any difference between an ordinary human life and a life committed to Christ.

The cross means sharing the suffering of Christ to the last and to the fullest.

Only those thus totally committed in discipleship can experience the meaning of the cross.”

Bonhoeffer challenged—and still challenges—each of us to follow Jesus.

He encourages us to reject cheap grace, which he defines this way:

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.”

He calls on us to be disciples and to incorporate following Jesus into the very fabric of our lives.

But he cautions that discipleship is costly and that it takes more than an hour or two on Sunday mornings.

Standing in opposition to Empire these days can be costly.

People are being arrested and imprisoned.

People are being detained and deported.

People are being beaten and killed.

You may hear that and think, “the cost is too high”.

It may incline you to think that discipleship is nothing but a burden.

But I beg you to think of it differently.

Our faith is a gift.

It is a gift of God’s Spirit.

And therefore, our discipleship—how we live out that faith—is also a gift.

It is a gift that empowers us to be hope for broken world.

It is a gift by which we are blessed to be a blessing.

Let us seize those gifts of faith and discipleship with both hands and hold them tightly.

Let us live in the light and love of Jesus.

And we pray that all the ways that we reflect Jesus’ love and light into the world bring us one step closer to the Kin-dom.

May this meditation on God’s word keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus. Amen.