NUCC
April 9, 2006
Palm/Passion Sunday
Psalm 31:9-16
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Mark 11:1-11
Mark 14:1-15:47
Each year we focus our readings on one of the four gospel books at the beginning of the New Testament. This year’s gospel is Mark. As you may know, the four gospels often include the same material. But they also give us different details and approach Jesus from a different angle, giving us new insights. Today we are reading about the Palm Sunday procession from Mark’s view point.
What does Mark describe? For much of the Palm Sunday narrative Mark describes two disciples in search of a donkey. Jesus has given them what I would call “donkey duty.” They are to go into the
Just think of it. No one knows exactly what the disciples were thinking as they trundled off to get that donkey, but I am quite sure that when they answered Jesus’ call to follow him they imagined something much grander and more significant than “donkey duty.”
These men who had been jockeying for position, trying to get the place next to Jesus, looking for glory, arguing about who was the greatest ----- these men now had to be mucking around in some stable instead of proclaiming a loud “Hosanna.”
For this they had left their fishing nets?
Such is the calling of a disciple. I remember back to my first year in the ministry. During seminary we had exciting times as we made wonderful discoveries about the Bible, developed counseling skills, visited innovate ministries, and dreamed dreams about creating a community of the faithful in a just and peaceful society.
But one of my first pastoral challenges was getting the mimeograph machine to work. That evening I had to sit in on a committee meeting where we mostly gossiped about some local scandal. The next day my major accomplishment was ordering new bulletin covers.
This is what it means to follow Jesus? Well….yes. The beginning of Mark’s gospel includes the bold pronouncement: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” But if you read through Mark you discover that the disciples spent a lot of time performing routine tasks, like making sure there was enough food for the multitude or securing a room for the Last Supper ---- and of course finding a donkey.
In Mark, the Twelve are sent out to proclaim the gospel, cast out demons, heal the sick and exercise authority. But Mark wants us to know that what this looks like is often a matter of speaking a quiet word in a committee meeting, spending time with someone who is incoherent, emptying a bedpan at the hospital, and making sure the bulletin doesn’t have too many typos.
In Mark’s world, “preparing the way of the Lord” usually looks like standing hip-deep in the mire of some stable trying to corral a donkey for Jesus. This reminds me that “donkey duty” isn’t so bad. It’s part of my calling ----- and yours. No, the devil isn’t in the details. God is.
