A Sermon for Passion / Palm Sunday
The Rev. Patricia Gillespie
There was once a cowboy who listened attentively to the story of the first Palm Sunday. After hearing it, he had only one small response to make to the story. In his own straightforward way, the cowboy said simply, "Jesus must have had wonderful hands."
But his words only confused the others around him. Out of curiosity they asked, "What do you mean by that?" "Well," the cowboy replied, "if Jesus could sit on a colt on which nobody ever sat, an untried, unbroken animal; if he could soothe it and control it and guide it while people were shrieking hosannas in its ears, waving the branches of palm trees in front of its eyes, and throwing down clothes in front of its feet, Jesus must have had wonderful hands!"
Wonderful hands.... That image offers a key to today's readings. It can help us understand something about the kind of power that leads to glory. In the Hebrew tradition in which our gospels were written, hands, particularly the right one, symbolized power. Recall Jesus's statement that the high priest called blasphemy: "... you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power ..." This implies that Jesus is the Messiah, the savior, the one who comes with God's own power. And that statement is deserving of death, and of slapping with all-too-human hands.
Our savior has wonderful hands. Hands with the power to calm young frightened animals Hands with the power to save us. "Hosanna!" the crowd shouts. It means "O save." "Jesus" -- "Yeshua" they call him. It means "He saves."
Our savior has wonderful hands. Powerful hands. Hands, we are reminded at Gethsemane, that could call forth twelve legions of angels. Yet instead, when it comes to the power play: when the soldiers "lay hands" on Jesus, and one of Jesus's followers "puts his hand" to his sword, Jesus does not raise a hand, but says "All this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled."
He is deserted by his friends, slapped, spit upon, stripped, and mocked. Along with the crown of thorns on his head, they even put a reed in his right hand ... a mockery of kingly power.
Jesus must have had wonderful hands. Hands that calm frightened animals and comfort children. Hands that bless and heal and cast out demons. Hands that accept a mocking scepter. And finally, limp, broken hands, nailed to a cross.
All the power in the world and more in those wonderful hands. We cry out "Hosanna!" "Jesus, save us!" Jesus opens his hands to save the world and we nail those hands to a cross. We cry out "Crucify him" and instead of calling twelve legions of angels, our savior lets his hands go limp.
Jesus must have had wonderful hands. Powerful hands that could force anything to do whatever he wanted. But Jesus doesn't use his powerful hands to force or oppress others. Neither does he wash his hands to deny the power and responsibility. Jesus's wonderful hands are gentle and he opens them to us, giving us freedom to choose, and empowering our hands.
"Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself."
Where is that Godly power now? Where are the hands that can save and heal, comfort and bless? Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." Paul is writing about power and how it is used. Paul tells us that Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited. Jesus's power was in becoming a servant, in refusing to use his power over others. Paul might also write "Let the same hands be yours that were Jesus's hands."
In our baptism we are baptized into Christ. We become Christ's hands in our world. Let us not regard that as something to be exploited. Christ's hands, Christian hands, are not for controlling others but a power to be used in service of others – for comforting and blessing, perhaps even for saving and healing -- wonderful hands for reaching out in love to those who cry out to us, whether that cry is "Hosanna, O save!" or even sometimes "Crucify!"
Jesus must have had wonderful hands. You have them now. Don't be afraid to use them.
Thanks for the cowboy story to: Gary Lee Baldwin, The Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Pulaski, Tennessee