Stay Positive - Optimism

Today we are starting a new message series and I’m not sure we have ever offered a series that has been more appropriate for its context as this one, because right now, with all that is going on around us, we need to stay positive.  As we listen to the voices shouting all around us about the economy, how to start things back up, when to start back up, what’s going on with the virus and how concerned we should or shouldn’t be about it, it is easy to get pulled into negative thinking, criticism, and complaining.  The impact of COVID - 19 has been wide reaching and profound.  And there will be more problems we will face, some unintended consequences for the decisions that have made, and a lot of finger pointing and blaming others in the days to come.   Negativity will be all around us and we can either buy into it or choose to stay positive. 

Over the next six weeks we are going to look at 6 character traits that will help us stay positive, and if we can live these out not only will our lives be healthier and stronger but we can be a beacon of light for our community and world.  The 6 traits we will look at are
Gratitude
Encouragement
Generosity
Enthusiasm
Confidence
and today - Optimism. 

An optimists see the glass as half full while the pessimist sees it as half empty.  Here’s another way to look at it.  The optimist sees a cup literally running over and says, My cup runneth over! The pessimist says, look at the mess I now have to clean up.  For many of us, negativity is easy.  It’s easy to see problems and the problems in other people.  It’s easy to look at decisions others have made and think, I would have done it differently and better.  People love to criticize and critique and second guess those around them, and that road is often the easy one.  The harder road, and the road less travelled, is to be optimistic, and it is optimism, and the vision that comes with it, that will lead us through this moment with faith, strength, and even joy. 

Optimism really is about vision.  It’s not just what we see but what we go out looking for.  If we set out looking for problems, we will find them - a buzzard and a vulture will always find the dead carcass rotting in the sun.  They not only see them, they can smell them.  It is all that they search for.  When they search for death they find it.  A hummingbird, on the other hand, looks for life.  They are looking for new life in fresh flowers so they can draw out the nectar which gives them the energy they need to keep going.  So if we look for road kill - we will find it, and if we look for fresh flowers we will find that too.  What’s interesting is that we often find both rod kill and fresh flowers along the very same road, so the choice of what we look for and focus on is really up to us.  We can be negative or we can be optimistic.

Now, before you think this is just a self help, feel good, mind over matter kind of message, let me be clear.  Optimism doesn’t come from feeling good - it comes from the truth that God is good, and the Bible is full of good words for us to hear and trust.  Staying positive isn’t the result of things going well, it comes from remembering what it is we believe about a good and loving God, and what we remember about God comes to us from God’s word.  Today we are going to look at 4 reasons why we should be optimistic and we find these reasons in just one half of one chapter in the book of Romans. 

In just 21 verses found in Romans 8, we will see 4 reasons for us to be optimistic.  So let’s start with Romans 8:18.  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 

When the Apostle Paul talked about present sufferings, he knew what he was talking about.  Paul had been shipwrecked, beaten, sent to prison, and suffered all kinds of disease and distress, yet he never focused on the problems but the future glory that was going to come through those problems.  Paul believed that God was using each and every situation to bring about something good.  Earlier in his letter to the Romans Paul said, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. 

So through our sufferings and problems comes character and hope, and our hope isn’t just wishful thinking that things will go well but a confidence and assurance that the future will be better, more glorious, because of God.  We know that God can make something good out of the situation we are facing today. 

Last week we heard that God delights in redeeming bad situations.  God always seems to make a way where we see no way forward, so what we are going through today is the road map God will use to lead us into his future.  This is why it says in James, consider it pure joy, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

Struggling through difficult situations is never easy.  We have all gone through periods of pain and uncertainty only to look back and see how God used that time to shape and mold us.  20/20 hindsight often shows us how our problems became the process through which God led us to a better place.  Paul goes on in Romans 8 and says, God works for the good in all things.  We have said many times that this doesn’t mean all things are good - not at all - but God can work for good in all things because what we go through today can produce something good in us tomorrow.  I can be optimistic because God says my future will be better and more glorious if I will look to him. 

We can also be optimistic because it is in difficult times that God helps us.  Romans 8:26, The spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  

In our weakness, the spirit of God is praying for us.  In our times of need, Jesus is at the right hand of God praying for us.  This is driven home later in Romans 8 when Paul says, Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God, and is also interceding for us. 
We are not alone in our struggles and problems - Jesus is praying for us.  We are not helpless in times of need because the spirit of God is with us and helps us.  When I am at a loss for words in my prayer - God picks it up and prays for me.  I have to say that when I look at where we are as a society right now, it’s hard to know what to do and what to pray for.  I’m glad when I just sit before God with no real clear direction of how to pray, somehow the spirit of God is praying.  When I have no words - God’s words come through.  When I am weak - Jesus is my strength. 

In the old children’s song, Jesus Loves Me, my favorite line is this, little ones to him belong, we are weak but he is strong.  It doesn’t say he makes us strong, it says he is strong.  Jesus is our strength.  God is the one praying for us and helping us when we can’t do anything more and it is Jesus’ strength in us that helps us persevere in every situation.

The third reason we can stay positive is found in Romans 8:31,  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not graciously give us all things.  

If God is for me, who can be against me?  Well, the answer is that many people can be against me, and at times it can feel like the entire world is against me.  We all face criticism and critique.  At times if feels like everything we say and do is under a microscope and it’s easy to get discouraged and bitter when all we hear is criticism.  In these moment we can once again focus on the road kill or the roses.  Because God is for us, we can choose to be the hummingbird and go out looking for life. 

We can be optimistic about our lives, our situation, and our future because God has our back.  God is on our side and God said, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and give you a future.  It’s important to know that God gave this message to his people not when things were going well, but when Israel was living in captivity.  They were completely defeated and living in despair, but God was still for them.  God still had a plan for them and it was a good plan.  Through the pain God was leading them into a good future.  No matter what, God is still for us and God always will be because he loves us.  And that is the fourth reason we can be optimistic.  God loves us.  Romans 8:37-39.  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It is because God loves us that we know God is for us, and helps us, and intercedes for us, and works all things out for our good and for a good future.  God loves us and nothing can separate us from that love and nothing can change the power of that love.  Our optimism doesn’t come from circumstances going our way.  It doesn’t come from feeling like we are doing well, or from being strong, smart, talented, or lucky, our optimism comes from knowing that God loves us right where we are and for who we are today.  In this moment, and in every difficult situation, God lifts us up and carries us home. 

This image of being carried by God when we are weak is one of the most enduring images found in the Bible.  God is the good shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep in the flock to go out and look for the one lamb that got away - and when God finds us he lifts us into his arms and carries us home. 

God loves us.  It is the story of the Bible.  God created the world in love.  God breathed life into human beings in love.  God redeemed the world with his love and in this book we find many wonderful images of what God’s love looks like.  God’s love is like...
A mother hen gathering her chicks for protection.
A father running out to welcome home a wayward son.
A brother or sister giving what they have to someone in need.
A friend laying down his life for another.  
A shepherd leaving the flock to find the one lost sheep.

This is what the love of God looks like and it is this love that allows us to be optimistic and stay positive because there is nothing - nothing - that can take this love from us.  God loves us, which means that no matter what, we can stay positive. 

God is with us

There are two significant events in the Old Testament where God stopped flowing water so the people of Israel could cross into a new land.  Once was at the Red Sea when God’s people were fleeing slavery in Egypt.  God parted the waters of the sea which allowed the people to escape from the Egyptian army and begin their journey to the Promised Land.  A generation later, God stopped the waters of the Jordan River so the people could cross over from the wilderness into the Promised Land.  That second time, God told the people to pick up 12 stones from the dry river bed to set up as a memorial so that in the future, when people asked about those stones, the story of God’s power and provision could be told again. 

This year, before we move on from Easter too quickly, I was thinking it might be a good idea for us to pick up and hold on to a stone in order to remember what we have just been through.  As you go for a walk or clean up your yard, I want to invite you to find a small stone that you can keep somewhere and maybe write on it, Easter 2020.  Then in the future, when you see the stone or are asked about it, you can share what we have just been through.

When we are asked, what does this stone mean, we can answer, it means that no matter what - we celebrated Easter.  2020 was the year we realized that the resurrection doesn’t need egg hunts, family gatherings, and sanctuaries full of people or flowers.  Easter isn’t about those wonderful activities, it’s remembering that the power and love of God are available to us each and every day. 

Easter comes no matter what, which reminds us that God comes to us no matter what.  No matter what is going on in our lives or in our land, God comes to us.  God comes with power when we are weak.  God comes with hope when we are in despair.  God comes with assurance when we are uncertain.  God comes with love that heals hearts and lives.  Sometimes God just comes to us to say, hey, I’m here and I haven’t forgotten you. 


Several weeks after Jesus had risen from the dead, the disciples were back in Galilee and there were back to fishing when Jesus came to them.  The scene is quiet.  There was no storm, no crisis, and no big problem, they were just fishing.  From the boat they couldn’t tell it was Jesus on the shore, but when Jesus told them to put their nets over the other side of the boat - and they got a huge catch of fish when they did - they knew it was Jesus. 

Peter jumped into the water and swam to shore while the rest of the disciples hauled in the boats and the fish.  When they landed they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread.  Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”  And then he said, “Come and have breakfast.” 

This was now the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples.  He appeared to them twice in Jerusalem when they were filled with fear and doubt, and now he appeared to them when things were quiet and calm.  So no matter what we are going through in life, God is with us.  No matter what we may be feeling right now - God is with us.  Whether we are adjusting to the new normal, or still stressed about the future - God is with us.  Every day, God is willing to appear to us if we will open our eyes and look for him.  Seeing a stone that says Easter 2020 might remind us on good days and on difficult days that God is with us - no matter what. 

The stone can also remind us of the role a stone played in the Easter story.  In fact, there would be no Easter story without hearing that the stone had been rolled away.  When the women arrived at the tomb they were actually discussing how they were going to roll the stone away so they could get to the body of Jesus and properly prepare it for burial.  When they got there it wasn’t a problem because the stone had been rolled away.  This didn’t just open a grave, it opened up possibilities. 

In the future, when we see a stone that says Easter 2020, we will be reminded that there are always new possibilities for us in life and that even in the midst of trials there can be triumphs.  We can never look at challenging times as dead ends because with God we never face a dead end.  With God there is never a sealed tomb - there is always hope and possibility.  Even the cross (death) gave way to an open and empty tomb (life).  With God there are always new avenues of living and loving. 

While I do not believe for one moment that God caused this worldwide pandemic, I do believe that God is using it for good.  The work of God is to always redeem what is broken.  Through Jesus, God healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf.  Through Jesus, God forgave the unforgivable and loved the unlovable.  God redeemed the pain of the cross by opening the door to heaven.  God delights in showing us a way when we can’t see any way forward.  That’s also the Red Sea and Jordan River story - God makes a way when we can’t see one. 

For some of us, it’s hard to see a way forward right now.  It’s hard to see the first steps of opening up an economy and redeeming the pain of this past month - but with God, all things are possible.  The stone being rolled away means that there are countless new possibilities for us in life and faith and in community.  Here at the church, the challenges of the past month have opened doors of opportunity.  We saw this as an opportunity to get us live streaming so we could connect with each other, but it also opened up the opportunity for us to share the gospel of Jesus with  people who might never come in our door. 

We are hearing stories about family and friends finding us online and worshipping with us who never would have come here on a Sunday morning, and we are thankful for the new opportunity we have to simply share with them the message that no matter what - God loves them.  And while we look forward to the day when we will get back together - our hope is that new people might join us that day because of the door opened to us during this crisis.  God makes a way where we don’t see any way forward. 

The grave stone was moved, it was rolled away, and it opened the door to new possibilities.  What new possibilities is God wanting to show you?  Is it possible that a stronger family, a more vital faith, and a more giving love can develop during a crisis?  Can the possibility of developing a genuine trust in God emerge as we fail to be able to trust ourselves and the work of our hands during this time?  These past few weeks have reminded all of us that there is only so much we can do, and that we can not control everything.  Maybe today the door is open for us to trust God for everything.  The stone has been rolled away and new possibilities are everywhere. 

This stone means that no matter what - God is with us. 
And there are new opportunities all around us. 

This stone can also remind us that there is only one foundation on which we can build our lives - Jesus Christ.  And of all that Jesus taught - there is one message which we can use as this solid rock, and it is a message that Peter heard 3 times after the resurrection.  If you remember, Peter had denied that he knew Jesus three times the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, and so three times after the resurrection Jesus asked Peter a simple question that gave Peter the opportunity to erase the failure of his past. 

John 21:15-17

This scene took place on a rocky coastline and today there is a stone church built on top of a solid rock commemorating this story.  This scene with Peter reminds us that the foundation of our faith is what Jesus is saying here.  What we build our faith on is our love for Jesus and our love for others. Peter, do you love me?  Yes Lord, you know that I love you.  Then feed my sheep. 

Do we love Jesus?  Do we love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength?  And do we love others?  Will we feed and care for others?  What it all boils down to is this, love God and love others.  When we don’t know what else to do we can always Love God and love others.  When the future is uncertain we can always find a way, and maybe a new way, to love God and love others.  Whether things are going well or the world is in crisis, we can love God and love others.  It’s the rock on which we build everything else.   

Peter and the disciples are in these very strange days after Jesus resurrection and before he ascends into heaven.  They are kind of waiting - biding time - uncertain about their future, and it is in these very moments that Jesus comes to Peter to remind him of the rock on which they will build everything - Love God and Love others. 

What’s the great commandment? 
Love God and love others.  
What do we do when we don’t know what else to do? 
Love God and love others.  
What do we focus on when we can’t clearly see the future? 
Love God and love others.  
What will guide us into all the new possibilities God has for us? 
A love for God and love for others.  
What is the rock on which we build our faith, our lives, our family and our future?  
Loving God and loving others. 
What does this rock mean?
We love God and love others.

Easter 2020 - when we look back to this year, what will this stone teach us?  It will teach us that
● Easter will come no matter what because God is always with us.
● The stone was rolled away so there are always new possibilities and new opportunities for us.
● The rock on which we build our lives and our faith is simple.  Love God and love others. 

The Walk - Easter HOPE

Christ is risen.  That may have been how the first resurrection day ended, but it is not how that day began.  The day began with the disciples filled with uncertainty, confusion, disappointment, and fear.  In the past three days, the rug had been pulled out from under them and life as they knew it had changed.  It had changed drastically and rapidly.  Nothing was like it was before.

Just a week earlier Jesus had been riding into Jerusalem.  He and others were saying that he came to be some kind of a king, a leader among God’s people, and now he was dead.  The movement of Jesus seemed dead.  The crowds who had followed him for years were gone.  The faith and trust the disciples had that Jesus was the Messiah, this leader who came from God to establish a new community, was gone and in its place was disillusionment, disappointment, and maybe even some anger because they had given everything to Jesus, and now it was gone.  In the span of a few days it was all gone.  Life would be forever different. 

I think we can all relate to that right now.  In what seems like a few days, our lives are now completely different.  We have all gone from a stable, somewhat predictable, and for many people a good life, to mass uncertainty.  We are still asking questions like: what is this virus?  How bad is it?  How does it spread?  Can we gather with family and friends in any way?  How am I going to homeschool and work full time for the next two months?  Here at the church we are asking, when are we going to be able to meet again, and what will it even look like when we are able to gather together in one place? 

During the past few weeks our fear has increased.  Will I get this virus?  Could I survive the virus if I do get it? What about my parents?  My kids?  I’m not feeling very good today, is it just my allergies?  Will I have a job when this is over?  How am I going to pay the bills?  Feed my family?  What about all my plans for retirement? 

We are all living in the early morning hours of that first resurrection day.  We are living with sudden uncertainty, growing fear and anxiety, and with doubts and disappointments.  This Easter, we connect with the disciples in these early morning hours in a special way, so maybe we have something we can learn from them about how to make it through this challenging time.  The first thing we see with the disciples is that they stayed together.  Mary went to the tomb with other women - they stayed together.  Mary then told the rest of the disciples and they were all together.  . 

That they stayed together is not to be taken lightly.  If we go back to Friday when Jesus was arrested, the disciples fled.  A few hung around the courtyard as Jesus was questioned by the religious leaders, but after being recognized, they fled.  A few gathered at the cross, but after Jesus died they didn’t wait around.  Most of the disciples weren’t there.  In the midst of their lives falling apart - their first instinct was to flee, but at some point they came back together, and that is no small thing because they could have given up and gone home. 

Remember, the disciples are in Jerusalem.  They had come with Jesus for the Passover, but they were all from Galilee.  This was not their home.  When Jesus died and everything looked lost, and their lives were literally in danger, they could have all gone home, back to their own towns and villages, back to their homes and families.  They could have scattered and never come back together, but they didn’t.  They stayed together. 

They stayed together because they knew that if they were going to make it through this storm, they needed each other.  They needed each other for strength, support, and encouragement.  They needed each other for one of the most basic things we all need when life suddenly gets chaotic, they needed each other because in this moment they needed love. 

It was love that brought them all together in the first place.  Jesus had loved each of them in a unique way, and when they responded to the love of Jesus, it drew them together.  Now they needed that love more than ever.  When life is falling apart, and the world around us seems uncertain and chaotic, what we need to help us through is love, and love is experienced when we find ways to stay together. 

We need to stay together right now.  While honoring social distancing and stay at home orders, we need to find ways to stay together because what will help us through this time is the strength, support and encouragement we get from one another.  What will get us through this time is not just knowing we aren’t alone but also knowing that we are loved. 

One of the most amazing things we witness every day is that as everything has gone kind of crazy around us, we are seeing people find new ways to reach out to love others.  It is love that moves people to call the church asking what the food bank needs and how they can help.  It is love that pays daycare bills even though our daycare is closed so that teachers and staff can be supported.  And yes that has happened. 

It’s love that moves doctors and nurses to serve in difficult situations.  It’s love that moves all of us in a variety of ways to show doctors and nurses how much we appreciate them.  It’s love that moves people to call others to make sure they are ok.  It’s love that moves people to make over 1500 masks in our own community to give to people who need them.  Daily we are hearing stories about the unique and powerful ways people are staying together in love.  And it is inspiring.  It’s seeing this love in action, being part of this love in action, and feeling love ourselves that simply helps us hang together as a community. 

What helped the disciples during those early morning hours of chaos and confusion was the love and support they got from each other.  They stayed together and we must find ways to stay together as a church and as a community, and we must commit to loving one another knowing that as we reach out to love others, we will find others reaching right back to love us. 

What also held the disciples together through the difficult and uncertain time they were going through was routine.  They were still living their lives the best they could.  The women went to the tomb early in the morning because they had a job to do.  They hadn’t been able to properly prepare Jesus' body earlier because of the Sabbath, but it was a new day and there was work to be done so they went to work.

They also gathered food, prepared meals, and ate together.  Jesus joined his disciples at these meal times and even asked for something to eat so he could prove to them that he was not just a spirit but that he had risen in flesh and blood.  They continued their routine.  They went about their lives and that routine helped them find a sense of balance and perspective.  It helped them through each challenging day. 

Keeping to a routine can also help us through this period of uncertainty, confusion, and fear.  Establishing new routines can also keep us grounded and give us a proper perspective on life.  New routines also have the potential to improve our relationships.  Daily walks together, meals together, and doing daily devotions together are routines that can help us find peace and strengthen in our relationship with God, and each other. 

Today is Easter and one routine of Easter for many people is to dress up and come to church.  Ok, you can’t come here to church, but we do hope that maybe you dressed up this morning.  It doesn’t matter what you are wearing, we are glad you are with us and we also want to invite you to share a greeting with others because community, connection, and staying together are important.

Staying together in love and keeping some kind of routine is what helped the disciples keep going when their lives had been turned upside down, and staying together in love and keeping some kind of routine will help keep us going as we work through these ever changing times.  This is how they got through the difficult times, but Easter isn’t just about getting through the difficult times, it’s also about a powerful, life changing hope that came to the disciples later in the evening.

It says that when evening came, Jesus appeared among the disciples and said, peace be with you.  He showed them he was alive and that he had defeated sin, death and the grave.  He was once again with them in power and love and in that moment the disciples had something they didn’t have earlier.  They had hope.  They had hope because Christ is risen.   And that changed everything.

Christ is still risen.  It’s what we celebrate today, and the power of Christ’s resurrection means that no matter how difficult the situation is that we are facing with our jobs, our finances, our future, and our families - we still have hope.  We have hope that each new day will bring peace, and health, and strength, and all the help we need.  We still have hope that we will see the power of God move in our lives and world in spite of a virus.  And we have hope that life will not return to what it was before this virus hit, but that it will turn into what God wants it to be.

I can’t imagine that the disciples thought that with Jesus now standing there with them alive that their lives would somehow go back to normal.  They weren’t going to go back to just teaching and preaching throughout Galilee, this was life changing.  Jesus' victory over the grave wasn’t like healing the sick, turning water to wine, or even walking on water, this was Jesus being crucified as the Messiah and then rising from the grave in a final act of triumph.  They didn’t know all that life would hold for them, but they had hope that it was going to be new, and better, and powerful.   

When we say that resurrection is about new life - this is what we are talking about.  New life.  A hope that life would be forever different and forever better because we have seen the power and love of God. 

Today as we remember that Christ is risen, we also hold on to the hope that life will never return to what it was before but that it will be different.  Our future will be new, and better, and filled with God’s power and love if we will allow it to be.  There will be challenging days ahead where we will need to hold on to one another in love and work to keep the routines going, but our hope is that someday, when jobs and schools open up, and we will be able to be together, we will not be the same but that we will be people who live with the hope and power of Jesus Christ - the risen one. 

This year, our Easter hope is that we will always see the needs of others as clearly as we see them today.  Our hope is that we will never again see the church as just our gathering here in this place but as the body of Christ living and working and loving in the name of Jesus everywhere we are.  Our hope is that we will always remember that the people we need to value the most are the ones who make the greatest impact in our lives and we are learning right now that it isn’t celebrities and social media influencers but doctors and nurses, teachers and custodians.  It’s those who work in grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations, and we can not forget all those who cut and style our hair!.  When we value the people often overlooked and taken for granted, we offer hope and life to the world around us. 

Globally, this is an Easter like no other we have ever seen.  And while we may not be together physically, we can come together as the body of Christ and offer the world everything that it needs.  Hope for the future, and God’s love for today.  When we walk with Jesus on this Easter Sunday, we are people filled with hope that life will never get back to normal, but be better and forever changed because we know, we know, Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed. 

The Walk - Palm Sunday CELEBRATION

I have to be honest and say that it doesn’t feel much like Palm Sunday.  There was no Easter Egg Hunt yesterday.  There are no crowds today, and we weren’t even able to get any palm branches.  Crowds and palms have always been part of the Palm Sunday celebration.  When I was growing up, our congregation would gather down by the pond at the end of our parking lot on Palm Sunday to begin our worship.  We would be given palms, start singing, and walk together up to the church.  It was great because once we got into the sanctuary we would hear the organ playing and then we would then all start singing on key, and with more assurance.  It was a joyful time.  It was a celebration.

The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey it was a celebration, and there were crowds and palms.  Crowds gathered and sang Jesus praise, and they cut palm branches and waved them in the air to celebrate the arrival of the one they hoped was going to be their king.  Crowds and palms have always been part of this celebration, but not this year.  There can be no crowds gathered together and there are no palms.  This year’s Palm Sunday is very different, but maybe in the strangeness of this year's holy week, we can learn something important about who we are as we walk with Jesus, because regardless of our circumstance, who we are as we walk with Jesus, we are people who celebrate.

The reality is that Palm Sunday has never been a day to celebrate the palms but the person who rode into Jerusalem that day.  We celebrate Jesus as our King and our Messiah, and we have never needed the crowds because we have Christ Jesus, the Anointed One who comes in the name of the Lord.  So regardless of our circumstances, today we can celebrate, and this Palm Sunday we need to celebrate.  In the midst of uncertainty, anxiety, confusion, and fear we need to celebrate Jesus who came that day and comes this day to be the one who comes with stability, peace, and God’s unending love and peace.


When we celebrate, we are really stopping to remember and give thanks.  When we celebrate a holiday like Memorial Day or Thanksgiving, we remember the important events from the past that have shaped us.  When we celebrate a birthday we are giving thanks for life and looking forward to the blessings to come.  When we celebrate Jesus, we both remember all he has done for us and how he has shaped us, but we also give thanks for what he continues to do for us and what he means for us in the midst of life.  So a celebration isn’t what we plan and do just happen when things are going well, in fact, we need to celebrate when things are difficult because it is in those moments that we need to remember and give thanks.

When we celebrate Palm Sunday, we are remembering that Jesus is still King, and that God’s kingdom still reigns in heaven and even on earth as we allow it to.  We celebrate Jesus as king because when he rode into Jerusalem he was proclaiming himself to be the King, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  The donkey didn’t just happen to be there for Jesus to ride, Jesus made plans for the donkey to be provided to him, and he made the choice to ride it into the city on that day.  Jesus knew that the people gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover would understand the royal implications of this parade because people knew the scriptures and they looked forward to these words of Zechariah being fulfilled.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Jesus riding on a donkey into the city of Zion - Jerusalem - was Jesus' way of saying that he was this king who came with humility but also with victory.  He was not only filled with grace but also power.  And the kingdom Jesus was bringing was not an earthly kingdom but God’s kingdom, and it was going to reign over all and for all time.  Jesus was clearly coming as the king and today we still celebrate Jesus as king.  We remember that Jesus' life of humble love and life changing grace gave hope to everyone then and it gives hope to us now.  We also remember that just as Jesus was in control of all the events of holy week from this parade to the resurrection - so is God in control of all the events we are going through today.

As out of control as things seem right now, we celebrate that God is in control.  As uncertain as our future is, we celebrate that God holds our future as firmly as he holds us today.  As unsettled as we are, we celebrate that the kingdom of God is firmly established in Jesus and nothing can prevail against it.  Palm Sunday is a day to celebrate that Jesus is still king and God’s kingdom shall never end.

Palm Sunday is also a day to celebrate that God still loves us.  That was part of Jesus’ message to the people as he taught in the temple.  In the days between Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem and their celebration of the Passover, which began the process of Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion, Jesus spent most of his time in the Temple teaching.

One of the parables Jesus told was the story of a wedding banquet where a King set out a feast for his son and invited people to attend.  When some refused to come, the king opened up the table and invited others.  Everyone who wanted to come was welcome.  Everyone who wanted to experience God’s love was included.

Today we still celebrate God’s love for us and for all people.  In a world that grows fearful of what is going to happen during the next month or more, we need to remember that the disciple John said, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.  When we are able to remember God’s love for us, and experience that love in the midst of this storm, it drives all fear away.

And God truly does love all of us.  The love that Jesus poured out during his life touched everyone from Pharisees like Nicodemus to unnamed outcasts and notorious sinners.  Jesus' love welcomed the rich like Zacchaeus and the poor like a widow who gave her only two pennies to God.  Jesus' entry into Jerusalem wasn’t just for some people, it was for all people, and today we celebrate that the love of God still reaches out to all people.  We may not feel worthy of God’s love, our fear and anxiety might lead us to think that we don’t love God enough or trust him at all, but none of that matters because God loves us.

At the very beginning of his ministry, long before any parade with donkeys, crowds, or palms Jesus said, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him might not perish but have everlasting life.  Think about it, God loved the world.  Not his people, not the faithful, not the righteous, not those who were good, but the world.

It’s God’s love for the world which is why Jesus entered into Jerusalem in the first place, because it was going to be in Jerusalem, at the time of the Passover, that Jesus was going to offer himself as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.  God’s love for the world is seen most powerfully in Jesus who died to set us free and that love stands as strong today as it did then.  Today we remember and give thanks for that love, but we also need to receive.  God’s love is for us and if we can embrace it then it will not only cast out fear but it will fill us with everlasting life.

So today we don’t need palms or crowds to celebrate that Jesus is still King, God is still in control, and God’s love for us remains strong.  But there is one more truth we need to celebrate today, and it is the truth that God’s kingdom calls us to walk in love.  Another teaching we hear from Jesus during this time between his arrival in Jerusalem and his crucifixion a few days later, was when one of the religious leaders asked Jesus this question: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  And Jesus replied, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

With these few words, Jesus has summed up the entirety of what life in the kingdom of God is all about.  We love God and we love others.  That’s the kingdom mentality, that’s the kingdom of lifestyle, that’s the kingdom Jesus rode into Jerusalem to establish, and that’s the kingdom we still celebrate today.  But celebrating this kingdom doesn’t mean we just remember it and give thanks for it, celebrating also means living it out day by day.  Celebrating Jesus means making this way of love for God, and love for others our own personal way of living.

Love God.  All of our lives and schedules have been turned upside down these past few weeks and we are looking at several more weeks of new routines, so maybe now is the time to work in an intentional time for expressing our love for God.  Can we add in a prayer in the morning before our Zoom meetings?  Can we give thanks during an afternoon walk?  Maybe we need to read a psalm in the evening to give us hope, strength, or peace.  The key is to find some time right now to simply love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.

And I would invite you to love God as a family.  If you have young children, pull out a children’s Bible, or your Bible, and read together.  Pray together.  As you walk and play together, give thanks to God and invite your children to do the same.  I also hope one of the blessings of this stay at home order is that families are eating more meals together.  If you are, pray before you eat.

Remembering and giving thanks to God during a meal was the celebration that brought Jesus and the crowds to Jerusalem.  They came for the Passover and the Passover was a meal where the family gathered at a table and remembered all the ways God had blessed them in the past.  It also reminded them that God was still with them and loved them and always would.  Each meal we share together can be that kind of celebration and an opportunity for us to love God together.

Love your neighbor.  With all that is going on around us, we have opportunities right now to do this.  There are people facing real fear and anxiety about their future and we can love them through words of support and encouragement.  We can love our neighbor by giving to the food bank, both financially and with donations of food.  While we can’t visit people, we can call them, send notes, texts, and emails to say that we are thinking of them.  And if there are people with a need that we can meet, we should allow God to show us what to do and how to do it during this time of social distancing.

Love doesn’t stop just because we can’t gather together or be close to each other, the Bible says that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.  Love never ends.  So the love God has for us doesn’t end, and the love God gives us to share with others doesn’t end, we just have to be creative and find new ways to share it.

Palm Sunday is a day to celebrate, and yes we can do this without crowds and palm branches, because what we celebrate is that Jesus is still King, God’s love still reigns, and the call to love God and love others is still the foundation of our lives and faith.  I’m thankful for this very strange Palm Sunday because, in a very odd way, it has focused our minds not on the palms but the person of Jesus, and it has set the eyes of our hearts not on the movement of the crowds but the love of Jesus Christ, the blessed one who comes in the name of the Lord.