Palm Sunday 2022C – April 10, 2022
It seems like such a senseless death, doesn’t it?
Jesus had healed people. Fed them. Taught them about God.
But Jesus also taught about a kingdom, God’s Kingdom, where real Freedom and equity and justice could reign. He taught about how this Kingdom was breaking into this world, and was indeed in the world, and inside those who followed him, even now.
So this kingdom was perceived as a threat to the kingdoms of this world, whose power was based on might, manipulation of the system, coercion, fear and scarcity. So the rulers of those kingdoms and systems – Rome and the religious authorities – had to stop it. Had to stop HIM in order to maintain their control.
It didn’t ultimately work. It never does.
Love is stronger than evil. God ultimately conquers death. But not yet.
For now, there’s grief, sadness, disappointment and disbelief.
I think that in most deaths we encounter, we experience at least some of these emotions. Grief, sadness, disappointment, disbelief. Depending on the circumstances, we might add anger, betrayal, guilt, or even relief. These are only some of the emotional ingredients in the cocktail of grief. There are many more.
And death continues to be all around us.
Thousands have been killed in Ukraine – both civilian and miliary.
Over 6 million people have died from the pandemic.
Of course, death is not always so far away. For some of us, those global numbers have personal connections… People you know who have died, or who are suffering.
And of course, death come close to each of us. Last week I spent a several days with my mother in Ohio. Wednesday morning she and I went to say our farewells to her best friend who was dying of cancer and was in hospice. My mom grew up with Kay in Fayetteville, West Virginia and had known her since elementary school. I’ve known Kay and her family my whole life. She’s the reason we ended up in Ohio. Kay was past the point of being able to talk with us, but we were able to be with her, talk to her, and pray with her and the family. She died later that night. I felt gratitude that we could be there; regret that I had not visited with her more often, and sadness for Kay’s family and my mother’s loss.
Later that same Wednesday, I got the from Fred Hall’s family, that he was in the emergency room very close to death. It was somewhat unexpected, probably an aneurism, but they put me on speaker phone so I could pray with him and the family. A few hours later he died, surrounded by the touch and love and support of his family. There was sadness, of course, and some sense of peace at being together.
These are just the deaths that are impacting me the most right now…. There were 159 other obituaries published last week in the Richmond Times Dispatch. Maybe someone close to you was among them.
Deaths deserve our notice – not only to honor those who have died, but to notice the emotions that are stirred up in us as well, and then helping us process them and integrating them as part of our lives that continue. Any emotions you feel around death– from grief, to guilt, to gratitude - are acceptable. They just are what they are. It’s how we process and incorporate them that matters. And that takes time, and sometimes outside help. It takes companions who can let us process all those feelings about death – the deaths of those around the world, and the deaths of those in our inner circle.
Jesus entered this world as a human being to live and die as one of us. At his death, those around him felt the full gamut of emotions. They didn’t know that he would be resurrected.
But we do. We’re not there yet, but we know the end of the story.
And knowing the end of the story brings us hope. Jesus’ triumph over death means death does not have the final word. Evil does not have the final word. God has the final word. But we have to live into the depths of our sorrow and grief before we can experience the fullness and power of Jesus’ resurrection.
In a moment, we are going to observe a time of silence. Just 2 minutes of silence.
In that silence, I invite you to contemplate where God might be in the deaths that are most on your heart this morning. What feelings come up in you, and can you sense God’s presence with you, along with those feelings.
Perhaps you will focus on the death of Jesus, and the story we just heard. How would you have felt to be near Jesus those last hours?…. What feelings have come up in you now as you have just re-lived that story?
Perhaps in these minutes of silence you will focus on the death of someone close to you. What do you notice inside yourself? Can you lift up the mix of emotions you have been feeling to God?
Maybe your heart goes to those who are dying elsewhere in the world where you feel you have no direct impact other than prayer. How can your thoughts, feelings and prayers form a bond of solidarity with them?
Perhaps your own death is what comes most to mind… perhaps unexpectedly, even if you are relatively young and healthy now. Can you notice and name your feelings? Can you offer them to Jesus? Does the story of Jesus’ passion offer you some compassion from him as you contemplate?
Remember, you are not alone.
So, for the next few minutes, just listen to yourself and God.
[2 minutes. ]
Before we close in prayer, let me say two things. One - You may need to take more time for this exercise. We don’t always give ourselves permission to contemplate death or feel the complicated feelings surrounding it. But our feelings are a gift from God. Exploring our feelings on the darker side of the spectrum opens us up to experiencing the lighter feelings more deeply as well. More joy. Deeper love.
Secondly, if your brief time of contemplation stirred up more in you than you feel you can process on your own, there’s no need to walk that road alone. You can share your thoughts and feeling with someone else, with our grief group, with me, with a counselor or trusted friend.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, meet us where our grief encounters your presence. And be with those we love, but see no longer: Grant them your peace; let light perpetual shine upon
them; and, in your loving wisdom and almighty power, work in them, and in us, the good purpose of your perfect will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.