Palm/Passion Sunday
Luke 23:1-49

Dear friends in Christ,
A couple of months ago we were having an informal conversation at our outreach team meeting about the challenge of getting people interested in church these days. There continues to be a general interest among people in what we might call “spiritual matters,” but for many this does not translate into involvement with a Christian church. Many are still drawn to some traditional rites of the church, like weddings and Baptisms, but that’s about as far as it goes. Many feel they have their individual spirituality, but there’s no need for the community of faith as we’ve know it in the church.
One of our members, Janet Reiter, said she had just heard about a new book, featured on Oprah Winfrey, called The Secret. It seemed to be another source of spirituality that was catching on and she was wondering if it was something we should at least be aware of. Well, to be honest, I didn’t give it too much thought. It was about the time we were getting ready to go to Tanzania, I had lots to do, and an Oprah book was not on the top of my list. I have seen a few segments on the book since that meeting, but it wasn’t until this week, when a pastor friend brought to my attention an article about “The Secret” in last Saturday’s Star Tribune, that I began to look into it.
Here’s how the article began. “It’s all about us. That not only is the overriding theme of the hotter-than-the-blistering-gates-of-Hades “The Secret,” but it’s also an apt reflection of the singular passion Americans have for self-help books. From Norman Vincent Peale through “I’m OK, you’re OK and “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” Americans have positively glommed onto feel-good tracts that purport to tell us how to be better people.”
When Oprah features a book, publishers tell us that sales go up 10 to 20 times from what it had been selling. That was certainly true for “The Secret.” To date, 3 ¾ million books are in print, and there are 1.5 million DVD’s, and ½ million 4 CD audio books. There’s a waiting list of 106 people at the Wash. Co. Library.
The basic premise of the book is that when it comes to wealth, health, and relationships, we can control our fates with our thoughts. If we ask and believe-with the proper focus- we shall receive. “The Secret” referred to in the book is that positive thoughts attract positive results and “everything that’s coming into your life you have attracted into your life.” The inverse is also true. When one experiences tragedy or catastrophe it is negative thoughts that have brought this on oneself.
This really is a book that’s all about us. What matters is our thoughts. Our thoughts, not our effort, determines our future. Health problems can be solved with positive thinking. Our thoughts can even help us control our weight. It’s a spirituality based almost entirely on our inner power rather than a higher power like God.
The philosophy of “The Secret” provides a sharp and clear contrast to what we see in Jesus during Holy Week, and the core values of the Christian faith. I want to talk about this today, to remind you of what truly matters to Christian believers and to suggest that ours is a spirituality far deeper and more enduring than the self centered, think positive thoughts philosophy that is the latest fad of the day.
In “The Secret,” the loyalty is to ourselves only. What matters is our thoughts. Life is centered around what we think and how we can better ourselves. For Jesus, as portrayed throughout Luke’s gospel and especially in the passion, the polar opposite is true. This is not about Jesus doing things for himself. He has two completely different loyalties. What he does he does out of complete loyalty to God his Father. And what he does he does out of complete loyalty to us, God’s children. Never do we see Jesus doing something for himself. What he does, he does for God and others.
Jesus’ complete loyalty to God the Father is seen many places throughout the gospel and in the passion story. We only have one story in scripture of Jesus as a boy. We find it in Luke, when Jesus, at the age of 12, is left behind at the temple. When his frantic parents finally locate him, he tells them, “Do you not know that I must be in my father’s house.” Already, at such a young age, his loyalty points to God. When tempted by Satan in the wilderness, the lesson for the first Sunday in Lent, Jesus says to Satan, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”
Today is Palm Sunday, and we also read about his passion as we begin Holy Week. Why did Jesus ride into Jerusalem? Was it so that he could be a new king? Was it so that others would lavish their praise on him? Was it so that he could now have the wealth and political power he so rightly deserved? No. Jesus rode into Jerusalem to die. He knew that would be his fate. Way back in Luke 13 he sent a message to King Herod that said, “Behold I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and on the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the following day; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.” He knew he would one day perish in Jerusalem. It was the crowds of people that wanted to anoint him their new king by waving palm branches before him and laying down their garments to make a smooth path for their king. That wasn’t Jesus’ doing. He rode in on a donkey, not the white stallion of a king. He knew that any praise would only be temporary, for he rode in to die. That was his Father’s will, and to God the Father alone would he be loyal.
As the passion plays out we see other signs of his ultimate loyalty. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when he still had time to escape and save himself, he cries out in prayer, “Not my will, but thine be done.” While dying on the cross, he turns to his Father again, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And then his final, dying words, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
In his loyalty to the Father, Jesus models for us what our first loyalty is to be as well. It’s not about us. It’s not about our positive thoughts shaping a positive future. Now, I do believe positive thoughts can make a difference in many cases. I think it is much better to be positive than it is to be negative. Negative thoughts can poison relationships. It’s much healthier to live with a positive outlook on life.
But positive thoughts are not our God. They can only do so much. As a pastor, I’ve known people with a positive attitude to overcome a disease like cancer. I’ve also know people that have been just as positive to die from cancer. There has to be more to our life philosophy than our own thoughts. Jesus was loyal to the Father. He trusted the Father even in the face of death itself. This we must do also. It’s the only way to make sense out of life and death. It is to believe that God, in Christ’s death and resurrection, finally defeats the sting of death and gives us hope even beyond this life. No positive thoughts can do that. We need a savior, and to place our trust in him, not ourselves.
Jesus was loyal to God the Father. It wasn’t about him. And in being loyal to the Father, Jesus was supremely loyal to us. Again, it wasn’t about him. It was about him living and dying for us.
In “The Secret,” it seems to be all about our glory, our wealth, our health, our relationships. That’s not what Jesus was about. What he did, he did not for himself, but for others. Why didn’t Jesus flee from the garden before being arrested? Why didn’t Jesus make a vigorous defense for himself in front of the High priest, Herod, and Pilate? Why didn’t he lash out in anger against those that beat him and mocked him? Because it wasn’t about him, it was about us. He was taking our sins, dying for us, the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sins of the world. His words on the cross speak this loud and clear, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And to the penitent thief, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” He lived and died for others, up to his very last breath. That’s who Jesus was.
And that, too, becomes the model of loyalty for us. We all have personal needs and want the best for ourselves and our families. But life best lived is not just about us. It is about others and serving others in need. This brings depth and meaning to life, something that is not possible when we are self-absorbed by our own thoughts. I believe the secret to a meaningful and well lived life is not thinking thoughts that attract good things, rather it is in giving ourselves in service to others.
I’m not entirely sure of the best way to communicate meaningful spiritual truths to people that seem to have a vague interest in spiritual matters. It’s something we need to figure out and do better. But I do know that the reason the Christian faith has endured for 2000 years and continues to thrive today is really no secret. It is because Jesus was completely loyal to God the Father and to us. He became our savior. It’s no longer up to us and our positive thoughts to reach God. As we follow the model he has given, remaining loyal to God and serving one another, we will have a spiritual life of quality and depth far beyond “The Secret” or the next latest spiritual fad that will inevitably come. This Holy Week, may we see in Jesus his loyalty to the Father and his self-giving love for us. Amen