Freedom
Sermon given on October 3, 2010 by The Rev. Jon Roberts
Good Shepherd Episcopal, Venice, Florida
Title
THE LIGHT
BLACK & WHITE XP Ministries
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Wave On
Luke 23:1-49
The Rev. Jon Roberts
14 April
2019
Calvary Episcopal Church
Indian Rocks Beach, FL
1 Then the whole company of them arose, and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no crime in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” 6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length; but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then, arraying him in gorgeous apparel, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. 13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him; 15 neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him; 16 I will therefore chastise him and release him.” 18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barab′bas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus; 21 but they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will. 26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”[b] And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,[c] “This is the King of the Jews.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into[d] your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land[e] until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed;[f] and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance and saw these things.
The Procession in the Streets of Jerusalem, James Tissot, 1886–1894
Wave on, wave on to majesty,
Hark all the trees hosanna cry!
Thy humble palm bears its stone
With roots thou planted from thy throne.
Long, long ago there was a young palm tree who lived in the desert. She loved life, and looked forward to experiencing everything that came her way. She felt joy in each sunrise as the first rays of sunlight touched her branches, she was happy when birds came to rest in her shade as the day grew hotter, she danced in the desert winds that blew through her leaves, and she listened with a grateful heart to the silence of the night. She thanked God for the gift of being alive.
One day a man passed by. He had run away from a nearby town where people had cheated him, and now he boiled with anger as he crossed the pitiless heat of the desert without food or water. In his fury he resented the youth and happiness of the palm tree, and shouted at her; "Hey, you, palm tree, why should you be so happy when I am so miserable? If I must suffer, then you will suffer, too". On saying that, he picked up a big, heavy stone and slammed it down on top of the tree's trunk.
The palm tree could hardly breathe as she watched the man running away, still grumbling about his life. For a moment she was completely still, feeling nothing other than numb, confused and deeply shocked. But then the pain started; it began to fill her heart, spreading from top of her trunk to the smallest twig at the tip of her longest branch. It was an overwhelming pain that left her unable to feel anything else. She felt her heart break and in her desperation, she cried long and loud but there was nobody to hear her; the desert was silent, and the dark night was the only witness to her suffering.
For a long time, she did nothing, hoping every minute, every hour, every day that the pain would finally stop. She was both sad and angry; her life had been so beautiful, so full of promise, and it had been twisted into this painful and unjust existence. She did not want to suffer any more, and after some time she decided to try and do something to end the agony. If she could only move the stone ... She took a long, deep breath and tried to push it away, but it wouldn't move.
She kept trying, over and over again, her strength ebbing away as she grew more and more tired, until she finally realized that she was incapable of pushing the stone away and she gave up. That sense of hopelessness grew within her, and for a long time she couldn't see any way of fighting the pain.
She no longer felt pleasure in the sunlight, the birdsong, the evening breeze; she began to hate life, and wanted to die. "If life is only pain", she cried to the desert silence, "then I don't want to live any more".
Overwhelmed by these feelings of helplessness, she drifted off into sleep. But when she woke up the next morning, she knew that something had changed. At first she didn't know what it was, but then she realized she could feel cold, nourishing water coming up through her roots into her trunk, soothing her and easing the pain. She tried to understand what was happening, and then she realized - the weight of the stone, as it had been crushing her, had also pushed her deeper into the earth, until finally she had reached an underground stream. Its restoring powers gave her a moment of renewed hope, and she felt strength coming back into her branches. Although she could still feel the stone, as heavy as before, she was once again able to feel the power to grow pulsing inside her. After a time of grief that had seemed endless, this was the first moment of joy she had known and it filled her heart until it felt as if it would burst.
The water continued to nourish the palm tree, and enabled her to grow until she became one of the biggest trees in the desert. All the while she carried the stone, it's weight always there, sometimes hurting more and sometimes less, until she learned to accept it as a part of herself, and embrace the stone with her leaves as if she were protecting her most vulnerable, most painful part. Despite the stone, she learnt to feel joy again, and to feel happiness when birds came to rest in her lush, inviting branches, and people sheltered beneath her from the sandstorms that ravaged the desert. Once again, she felt deeply grateful for the gift of her life.
Wave on, wave on in majesty,
Hark all the trees hosanna cry!
Thy humble palm bears its stone
With roots thou planted from thy throne.
This is an adaptation of the lyrics of a popular Palm Sunday hymn written by Henry Milman in 1860, which goes,…
“Ride on, ride on in majesty,
Hark! All the tribes Hosanna cry.
Thy humble beast pursues his road
With palms and scattered garments strowed.”
The scene is of course, our Lord Jesus who is entering Jerusalem during his final days of life on Earth in the flesh, riding in on a donkey, the humble beast. And we are the palms that wave gently to his throne.
Why do we wave palms on this day? The understanding is found in the word “Hosanna.” It simply means, “Save.” It is an emphatic, cry for salvation. When we wave our palms, we are doing it as a prayer. We are praying for those who we know need deliverance.
“Save Ann. Save Carol. Save Bob. Save Emma. Save Me!”
We wave it towards our priest, deacons and bishops, so that God will protect and preserve them in all goodness.
We wave it over our family asking for protection and safety. Some may want to take the folded palm cross as a symbol to remind you of just how God intends to save you.
No doubt, you have been pushed down on occasion. Your life has been hindered by wrongdoing and wrong sayings, but can you wave your palms towards those who hurt you?
There are moments when we catch ourselves sharing comforting words to those who are carrying heavy loads, such as, “Have faith. God will take this burden away. He will take away what weighs you down.”
The stones that have been thrown and weighted down upon you are not to keep you down; they are to help you go deep; deep into the mystery of salvation through God’s son, Jesus Christ. This is why he rode that colt into Jerusalem that day, and how He continues to enter our lives each day.
So when the gentle wind blows, wave on!
When the rocks seem to crush you, wave on!
Wave on, wave on to majesty,
Hark all the trees hosanna cry!
Thy humble palm bears its stone
With roots thou planted from thy throne.
[1] The Rev. Jon Roberts, adaptation to first line of “Ride on, ride on in Majesty” by Henry Milman, 1820; 1980 Hymnal #156.
[2] Author unknown, https://www.medicamondiale.org/en/nc/latest/the-story-of-the-palm-tree.html, April 4, 2014.
[3] Luke 23:1-49