Cloak Sunday...

“Cloak Sunday”

 

Luke 19:28-40
19:28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

19:29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,

19:30 saying, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.

19:31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'"

19:32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.

19:33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

19:34 They said, "The Lord needs it."

19:35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

19:36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.

19:37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,

19:38 saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"

19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop."

19:40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."

 

This weekend is “Palm Sunday.” I know that many will commemorate it as “Passion Sunday,” and will read the biblical texts of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. This latter phenomenon has been popularized by the decline in Christian faith communities foregoing the observance of Good Friday, and their pastor’s “fear” that they may therefore skip over the suffering aspect of the Christ Event. Back in the day (as has become a popular phrase), Good Friday was most often an ecumenical, community-wide event. Often coordinated by a “ministerium” of local clergy, it may include a processional parade through the streets of a given small town, with one volunteer dragging a cross. From Noon to 3:00PM, businesses were closed, and an extended preaching service featuring the “Seven Last Words of Christ” was held in a centrally-located church. It was a big event. Unfortunately, it has largely faded into the past in most places, hence the newfound emphasis on the biblical passion narratives the Sunday before Easter is celebrated. Some large churches still observe Good Friday, but typically with a service of Tenebrae, or the pairing of the passion narratives with the methodical extinguishing of candles, resulting in a darkened sanctuary at the moment of Christ’s death on the cross in the story. 

 

As an aside, my favorite Good Friday observance was during the years I served in the Shenango Valley. Each year there, the two ministerial groups—one predominantly of African American clergy from the Farrell area and the other predominantly white clergy from Sharon—would sponsor a Noon to 3:00PM event focusing on the “Seven Last Words.” This would alternate from year to year, with a Black church from Farrell hosting one year and usually First UMC in Sharon hosting the next. It was such a refreshing thing to share the “words” with African American colleagues and to hear the passion and power of Black gospel preaching. I miss that, honestly. One of my African American colleagues—Rev. Clevon Dukes—was one of the best preachers I have ever heard. I will never forget how, one year when Sharon First UMC was hosting, he preached on the phrase from Luke, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” He absolutely made it come alive. I will never forget that message.

 

Still, all this in consideration, I like keeping the “old” tradition of observing the Sunday before Easter as “Palm Sunday.” Having walked down the curving, hillside cobblestone from the Mount of Olives, down through the Kidron Valley, and up through the gates into the Old City of Jerusalem—the best guess of the route Jesus would have traveled on the back of a donkey—I enjoy reading one of the gospel narratives of this event each year. Luke’s version of the story gives us a bit of a different version, as the gathered crowd puts their “cloaks” on the road in front of Jesus, rather than palm branches, as we read in the Matthean narrative. 

 

Imagine, if you will, how different it would be in our traditions if the church had adopted the Lukan version. Would we be observing “Cloak Sunday”? Would we be throwing coats around as the children process? Would we burn some old coats for ashes for next year’s Ash Wednesday? Or might we adopt this as a time to collect coats and clothing for the needy? Waving palms as King Jesus came riding into town may have had a bid of a “royal” flavor in its time, but Luke records a greater sacrifice made by those who threw down their cloaks to honor him. Waving palm branches was no sacrifice, except possibly an inadvertent one by local landowners whose palm trees were plucked by the “mob” greeting Jesus. Laying down one’s coat on a dirty road possibly tainted by animal waste and the traffic of filthy feet certainly would be. There was a cost to their praise in Luke; not so much, in Matthew. I admit, though, that our churches look so much better adorned in the majestic palm branches rather than covered in cardigans, barn coats, or hunting camo.

 

Let’s talk about “praise” for a moment. What does it mean to “praise God”? There are those who sing praises, shout words of praise, sway rhythmically with the “breeze” of the Holy Spirit, and others who lift up their hands as an act of praise. Still others like to sit in silence, imagining within their minds sweet prayers of gratitude for God’s blessing, God’s pardon, or God’s goodness. Some like to listen to the musical offerings of others, praising God along with the musicians or vocalists by listening, absorbing, and apprehending the moment as praise, both corporate and individual. I’m fresh off a wonderful night of conversation and sharing with a young, incredibly gifted Black pastor friend, who could describe in almost poetic terms the impassioned, yet Spirit-coordinated praise of the Black church, which is music, voice, dance, clapping, and even swooning in sincere, as well as deeply historically-rooted acts of praise. And while he somewhat eschewed the more benign “praise” acts of the white church—often more rehearsed performance than spontaneous in nature—he acknowledged that we should at least respect each other’s “church culture.” Our praise has integrity when it emanates from within the soul, and is endorsed by our mind and “comfort level.”

 

This takes us to the second consideration of what praise is—it is most “praise worthy” for me when it is a form of praise with which I am comfortable, and that causes me to enter into the experience without feeling coerced. It may not be legitimate praise for me, if I feel YOU are forcing me to praise in the way that works for you. In trying to create a worship service that serves both of us, one may either provide time for reflection so we each may have a “privacy window” of praise, or one may attempt to cover several of the popular “praise bases” wo we each may find something in the course of the service we can observe as praise moments. The service may include times of “corporate” praise, such as a shared liturgy, a hymn, or a simple praise song, but rarely is a worship service able to sustain corporate praise that will draw all persons in attendance, in. When it tries, it is presumptuous, and uninviting to many. When worship planning doesn’t try to take more than one idea of what “praise” is into account, it will fail as well.

 

I don’t believe that praise does much for God. There, I said it. If we believe in a God who made the glory of the cosmos, in a God who created all living creatures, and who loves so deeply that God reached across the expanse to connect with God’s human creation, then nothing we do can purport to “bless” God with words, music, or liturgy. In fact, the best “words” of praise are already inscribed in the pages of holy writ. No, I think the act of praising God is meant to change US. I believe it helps us focus on “the other,” beginning with our Creator, and then transferring this love and compassion to the other things God created, including the world, the ecosystem, and especially “my neighbor.” Praise moves us off “the great I” to the beloved other. When I am engaging in praising God, I am acknowledging that my needs are being met, and I can be “freed” to now help, or uplift, or encourage others who are still needy. God is most acknowledged and uplifted when we do this! And is even more “praised” when we act on this praise-induced compassion through acts of mercy, mission, and ministry. Ultimately, I believe God feels most “praised” when God’s people join together to worship, learn, and serve. Pretty much, the Bible tells us this.

 

In today’s Lukan narrative, the Pharisees begin to fear the “power of praise”—most especially this “change of focus” it brings about. They could see that as “praise of the people” for the efficacy of Jesus was increasing, their hold on the reins of religion would be lessened. They demanded that Jesus tell his disciples to stop praising like this. I think that Jesus’ answer that if he did, “the rocks would cry out” was his way of saying that the movement instituted by God visiting earth “in person” could not be stopped, nor could its new focus be derailed by a prohibitive command. And throughout history, when newly redeemed souls were “ordered” to stop “speaking,” the rocks of justice cried out. Black people under the thumb of enslavement were, themselves, “rocks crying out,” empowering a movement that resulted in the beginnings of freedom. “Rocks” under the threat or condemnation of fascism cried out from Auschwitz and Buchenwald, and the remnant that persisted today vows “never again.” Religious oppression under fundamentalists, be they Islamic, Christian, Jewish, or Hindu, continues to be threatened and eventually defeated by “rocks crying out.” Jesus knew. He also knew that in a seven-day week, another stone would “cry out”—the one that others attempted to use to blot out the New Covenant he was instituting by using it to plug up a tomb. Doesn’t it just drive you nuts when people want to STOP good things that happen? It would seem that CONTROL is more important for some than compassion, mercy, and empowerment of the oppressed. This is so very sad.

 

So, for some of us, we praise by waving branches and shouting our cheers. For still others of us, we rather choose to praise by throwing down our cloaks, feeding the hungry, and “releasing the captives.” Both count; both help us refocus away from it being about “us.” Both may be legitimate acts of praise. And both may move us closer to our Creator God, and to our neighbor. But ultimately, the praise that most affects or “blesses” God is the changed heart, the genuine affection of a loving child, and the singing of the soul, freed by the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord. “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” indeed. Amen.