| Written
Transcript of Homily
A while back Rabbi (???) Quizzed me about
Palm Sunday because as far as our Jewish neighbors are concerned, we’re
doing this at the wrong time of the year.
I don’t know if you know that Jews use
branches of Palm in their liturgy also, but it’s associated with the
feast of (? ? ? ?).
Which happens in Fall.
Perhaps if you live in Skokie you’ve
seen people come back and forth from the Synagogue with palm branches in
October.
And it’s apart of the feast ( ? ? ?)
The feast of ( ? ? ? ).
And the Rabbi asked me...why is it that
we do this in Spring? Perhaps Jesus purified the spirit or caused a riot
at the temple.
And... I had no answer for him.
But I realized that Jesus was taking the
symbol of the feast of ( ? ? ? ).
And applying it to His passion and death.
A few weeks ago we had a reading of the
Transfiguration of the Lord.
That happened on the feast of ( ? ? ? )
And remember St. Peter said to Him, “Lord
it is good of us to be here. Let us build three ( ? ? ?).”
And it’s clear that Jesus was transfigured
before the disciples on the feast of ( ? ? ?).
Now...this isn’t very complicated, so
bare with me for just a brief moment.
In order to understand today’s celebration,
the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the feast of Palm Sunday.
You have to understand the meaning of the
Jewish feast of ( ? ?? )
Jews for one week in the year, in the Fall
of the year, take their meals in ( ? ? ) a ( ? ? ) which means ( ? ? ),
a ( ? ? ?), which is built outside their house.
I’m sure in Skokie we seen them all the
time on people’s lawns.
In downtown Skokie, across from St. Peter’s
church, there’s a Sukka for people to eat in.
And the symbol of it is is that you have
no permanent dwelling. That’s the symbolism in this.
The sukka has to have a roof that’s made
of wood, or a product of a tree, that’s see through.
You have to be able to see the stars.
It’s a sign of failure.
And it’s a sign of impermanence.
This is just a shack that will be torn
down.
And in the Holy Land these roofs are usually
palm branches.
And on a certain day of the feast of (
? ? ? ), it’s an eight day feast, the Jews carry palm branches to and
from their worshiping in the synagogue.
Jesus was going to the temple.
Now the temple was considered the most
beautiful building in the ancient world.
It looked like a mountain kept in snow
and gold in a distance.
IT was made of such incredible stone, if
you ever see it, you’ll wonder how did Herod and his builders get stones
that size.
Anywhere near the temple.
And this was the monument of the Jewish
people.
This was their pride and joy.
It was considered, even by the Romans and
the Greeks, one of the most beautiful buildings in the ancient world.
And it was the sign of permanence.
It was proof to the Jews.
Well, another way to put it, that they
were right.
They had this beautiful monument to their
faith.
Now Herod the Great had totally rebuilt
the temple and he had built it, not as a monument out of the honor and
glory of God, but really as a monument to his own honor and glory.
To prove his ( ? ? ?), his Jewishness.
Jesus walked into the temple and caused
a riot.
And said, “not one stone will stand on
another.”
This is a symbol for us as we carry these
palm branches what we are confessing that what is in this world that there
is no permanent structure.
The letters to the Hebrews say, “Our
citizenship is in Heaven.”
We look at institutions and buildings
and relationship as being rock soiled.
And they are not.
You know...what’s your biggest investment?
Your house.
As you watch the mortgages go up and the
assets values of homes go down.
Ya get nervous.
As equity evaporates in your home.
That’s the biggest investment that we
make is our house.
And these are kind of scary times.. I mean
that was real estates and investments that you could count in.
Well Jesus says to the Jewish people, “The
real estates that the temples are built.. You can’t count on that.”
You can’t count on anything.
Except the love of God that we have in
Jesus Christ.
When you take this palm home, it’s a
custom to take that branch home, some people hang it on their doors, some
people put it behind a crucifix, or to a religious image, everytime you
look at it, understand... it’s not the palm of victory, it is the palm
of insatiability.
Yesterday I was at a, every year I go to
this St. Patrick’s day party, in the afternoon, some old friends of mine
from a prayer group...
..it was rootbeer, nothing exciting. But
very good cornbeef.
Well I went to this gathering, and one
of the guys who always go to this gathering, he came. And I said, “Where’s
your wife?” he looked at me, he’s getting up there in years, he’s
in his 70.
He looked at me and said “she’s in
a home.”
I looked at him and said, “Oh.. I had
no idea.”
He said, “She has Alzheimer disease.”
And this man just looked lost.
This was a great marriage.
These were lovely people.
And she’s been suffering from Alzheimer
for four years, and it has finally taken over, and he couldn’t do it
anymore.
And he just looked lost.
This relationship, which was the rock which
he and so many people have built their lives.
Well, now it’s gone.
You see, we want to find places to invest
in.
We want a sure thing.
And Jesus... was condemned to death because
he said, “destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.”
He was reflecting the thought of the people
who lived by the dead sea who thought the temple was corrupt and they would
pray that they’re Messiah would come and destroy it and build a new and
perfect temple.
And Jesus said “That’s what I”ve
come to do, but you don’t understand the temple I want to build.”
We look at buildings like this and they
seem so permanent.
We look at relationships and they seem
so permanent.
We look at convictions and prejudices that
seem so permanent... and everything is passing away.
Saved for one thing.
The Love of God that we have in Christ
Jesus.
There is a saying that... in the Christian
bargain.. You are asked to give up, that which you cannot keep, in order
to receive that which you cannot lose.
Do you understand?
God wants you to offer to Him.
Things that you can’t keep.
You can’t keep your money, you can’t
keep your health, you can’t keep your relationship, you can’t keep
your house, you can’t keep your car.
All of those things will be taken from
us.
Jesus’ very clothes were taken from Him.
And we’re asked to be ( ? ? ) to Christ.
All these things that we cling to, we cannot
keep them.
And God asks you to give up what you cannot
keep.
IN order to receive something you cannot
lose.
Which is the promise of His love.
These days of Holy week, which are meant
to be, and these palms that you hold in your hands is to remind that everything
passing to save for one thing.
Your faith in Jesus Christ... if you lay
hold of Him, you have laid hold of something that the world the flesh,
and the devil cannot take form you.
And if you fail to lay hold of him then
you have nothing you can lay count on.
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Top Of Page
|
