The Preacher’s Study
First thoughts on next Sunday’s sermon,
Sunday of the Passion
D. Jay Koyle
We are the stories we tell. The stories
we tell form and transform us. They shape our view of the world and have the
potential to spark change in the world itself. We are, or at least we are
becoming, the stories we tell.
This insight, this wisdom lies behind
our weekly rehearsal of the gospel story through scriptures proclaimed, rites
celebrated, feasts and seasons observed.
Our “storytelling” has particular
potency as the church gathers to mark the days of palms and Passion,
Resurrection and New Creation.
Today's lections escort us from Jesus'
triumphal entry into Jerusalem to the seeming defeat of his Passion. This
Sunday marks the first step of transition from our Lenten journey to the
fifty-day celebration of Easter.
The central focus of today's worship is
the entire Passion narrative read in all its power and drama. Essentially, two
“kingdoms” are on display in the narrative of Christ’s Passion and
Resurrection. The one seen in Jesus and that personified by Pilate and Herod
stand in stark contrast to each another. The latter stands for greed, status,
ruthlessness, trust in economic or military might. That embodied in Christ is
characterized by non-violence, service, compassion, solidarity with the world’s
vulnerable and rejected, trust in God.
For most of us, both dominions make a
persuasive claim on our lives. Through our participation in the liturgies of
Holy Week, the Spirit orients us to active citizenship in the everlasting Reign
of God, immersing us once again in the story of Christ Jesus, crucified and
risen. It is vital to recognize that this story is our story, too – the story
of the baptized, the story of our world, the story of God at work today.
Attending to Paul’s words from the Letter to the Philippians can help the
preacher bring home this recognition. The conflict and transformation painted
on a cosmic canvass in the Gospel’s Passion narrative is inked by the apostle
on the sketchpad of our life together as church. Paul exhorts us to be of the
same mind as was in Christ Jesus – humility, service, fidelity to God, love –
an invitation to share with Christ in the mystery of his Passion so we might
know the power of his new life.
To deliver this message, however, Paul
does not drone on in moralistic tones. Instead, he breaks out in doxology,
counting on the Philippian congregation to join its voice with his, hoping that
singing together the story of Christ will issue in unity, joy and persistence
in faith. In short, Paul offers a vivid depiction of what Luther called “the
celestial and eternal fire,” the self-emptying love of Christ, for the purpose
of persuading his listeners (then and now) to exercise a loving concern for one
another.
It
is important to approach any aspect of this Holy Week’s worship not as a
dramatic reenactment, but rather as an opportunity to deepen our participation
in the life of the risen Christ, surrendering our lives to God so we might live
in the power of God's grace.
Preaching
can support this focus by encouraging listeners’ identification with Jesus. It
is a common practice, of course, for sermons to liken listeners to other
characters in the biblical tome. This tendency seems reasonable; it is
difficult to mistake most of us for the sinless Savior. Thus a profound
identification between Christ and Christian sounds presumptuous.
Certainly,
the preacher must not idealize the church and its members. However, at this
central moment of the church year, it will prove efficacious to explore the
ultimate implication of Christians’ baptismal identity as those who have been
immersed into Christ’s death so that they might live his risen life. The
vitality of the church and its members is fueled when they are reminded about
“who and whose” they are and then exhorted to live out of that reality, that
story – their story.
Jay Koyle is
president of The Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission. He serves as the
Congregational Development Officer for the Diocese of Algoma (Anglican Church
of Canada).
"Calvary" by Marc Chagall
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