What Stance Will You Choose?

This Sunday, we rehearse what the church refers to as Palm or Passion Sunday. The crowds who greet Jesus with such warm welcome and fanfare are also among those who, only a few days later, are shouting, “Crucify him!”

Jesus had not changed, but the people’s hearts had; they felt threatened because what they could control was changing. They could not change their economic situation; they could not control the suffering around them; they had no say in the empire’s decisions. Jesus had given them hope and faith, but their faith had turned to fear—fear of change and fear of unfulfilled expectations—which, in their small, sinful selves, led directly to anger and acting out. Add to this the government’s fear of a Jewish uprising around this gifted rabbi, and the decision was clear to them: get him out of the way.

This is what fear does; it scapegoats others with fear we want to push away from ourselves—on an individual level and then a corporate level.

Jesus’ life, and that of his disciples and church, were a constant swirl of change. It still is. The choice for all of us is whether to see change with fear or opportunity. Jesus still encourages: “In the world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The Church’s 2000-year history and our church’s 179-year history bear witness to that truth. The risen Christ and his church persist. The upcoming Palm/Passion Sunday and Holy Week underline and put an exclamation mark on this biblical truth. This week, and in our lives, Jesus is asking us, “Who are we in the crowd, and what stance will we choose?”

Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,

Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor