April 13, 2025 ~ Palm Sunday
Drink from the Fountain of Grace ~ Rev. Beckie Sweet
The concert impresario, Sol Hurok, liked to say that Marian Anderson hadn’t simply grown great, she had grown great simply. He says: “A few years ago a reporter interviewed Marian and asked her to name the greatest moment in her life. I was in her dressing room at the time and was curious to hear the answer. I knew she had many big moments to choose from. There was the night Toscanini told her that hers was the finest voice of the century. There was the private concert she gave at the White House for the Roosevelts and the King and Queen of England. She had received the Bok Award as the person who had done the most for her home town, Philadelphia. To top it all, there was the Easter Sunday in Washington when she stood beneath the Lincoln Monument and sang for a crowd of 75,000, which included Cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, and most members of Congress. Which of those big moments did she choose? ‘None of them,’ said Hurok. Miss Anderson told the reporter that the greatest moment of her life was the day she went home and told her mother she wouldn’t have to take in washing anymore.”
Today, even today, we are invited to Drink from the Fountain of Grace. Scripture readings over the past six weeks have provided images of vessels, such as the Cup of Fasting, the Broken Cup, the Cup of Living Water, the Cup of Discipleship and the Cup of Compassion. Today we are invited to utilize the Cup of Humility. Humility; humble: 1) not proud or arrogant; modest; subservient; lowly; courteously respectful. Humility: having a modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance.
Palm Sunday is a day when Christians traditionally celebrate the TRIUMPHAL Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This is an event which is SO important that it found its way into all four gospels! That day Jesus is declared to be King by his disciples and those who loved him and saw his miracles. Jesus is declared to be One who comes in the Name of the Lord and the whole multitude is praising him.
As Jesus rode a donkey into the city of Jerusalem on that day, it’s likely the people were thinking in terms of a political messiah-king who would free them from Roman bondage. They were looking for a king who would break their chains and restore the kingdom to Israel. Even Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand all this, and they still had the same question after Jesus’ resurrection. That wasn’t Jesus’ plan, though. As Dr. Daniel Akin reminds us, “He is not here to purge Israel of foreign domination; no, Jesus is here to purge the people of their sin!”
Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the King, but he would reign on his terms – not according to the nationalistic expectations of the people. How would Jesus do that? By HUMBLY following God’s plan, all the way to a wooden cross and a borrowed tomb.
Humble, that was who Jesus was:
- Royalty born in a Bethlehem stable;
- The Master who came to serve;
- The King who rode into town on a donkey, rather than the warrior-horse that carried victorious leaders;
- The sinless Sovereign who came to seek and save the lost;
- The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Giver of Life, who came to die.
In all these events Jesus was a King who, as the prophet Zechariah had foretold, served in humility and gentleness.
The Palm Sunday event is a lesson in humility. Jesus paraded among the common people of society. He was kind to the underdogs and outcasts. He conversed with women, Samaritans, even with lepers, the blind, those society labeled as untouchables.
When we see Jesus in his humility, as a humble servant, we must give pause to let the Scriptures challenge us in several ways. First, Christian leadership demands humility. The best Christian leaders I know stand for the truth, but they stand on their knees, in a posture of humility. They’ve been humbled under the grace of God, and they lead from a unique combination of strength and weakness. They lead, but out of dependence and gratitude.
Second, we’re not all that we might think we are, no matter what others might tell us. Ministry and church leadership have a way, if we’re not careful, of building up our egos. We, too, often long for stronger recognition, more popularity, greater prestige – and we look for platforms that allow us to ride into the city as the king. We don’t long think about taking on the role of a lowly servant: one with no home; one who washes dirty, smelly feet; one who knows he will soon be executed in one of the most cruel ways possible.
Third, our proper response to seeing Jesus in his humility, is to praise Jesus with all our being. He is, after all, the King – and we are not! Jesus had come to Jerusalem in a final act of triumph to make a statement. What he stood for was peace. He wanted everyone to love one another and work together as a community. It was an impossible mission because we know that even with his efforts, the world has not changed its ways. Nevertheless, that didn’t keep Jesus from being an advocate for peace.
Since the world has become so complex and overwhelming, we easily become filled with despair and hopelessness. How can we, the church, make a difference? How can a minority of caring and loving people possibly hold things together? It truly seems like an impossible task. And the only way to meet that challenge is to use the Cup of Humility to Drink from the Fountain of Grace.