Wellspring UMC; Palm/Passion Sunday: April 1, 2007: Introduction for Witness:

It has been a season of change. Changing hearts. Changing lives. Changing Wellspring. Changing Wellspringers. It has been a season of change.

Change can be good. Change can be hard. Change can bring hope. Change can bring chaos. One never knows how change will affect us, but we do know that there is something mysterious and at times disconcerting about change. And yet, it is said that “if there is no change, there is death.”

We Christians are an odd lot, for we proclaim that in death there is life, recognizing that death and life only come through the Journey to the cross. On this Palm/Passion Sunday, we set our eyes on the Cross, preparing with Christ to stare death in the face.

We started off this Lenten season, each receiving a little heart...an object which reminds us of the change of heart which can come through this season. On this journey it has become a constant for many of us, and yet when we first received it, it was just a trinket. Just a glass or plastic heart carried in our pockets or sat on our desk or the windowsill. But over time, through this season of transformation, it has become more than that. It has become a symbol, a reminder, even an embodiment of risking nurturing a relationship with the God who changes us. Yes, developing a relationship with the unchanging God moves us to see the world and ourselves in different light.

During this season we have been invited to listen for God and become a listening people. Invited to reach out to God and one another, as we try to navigate what it means that Christ gave himself for us. We were reminded that, no matter what the battle, no matter what destroys, Christ builds us up, and we can build our lives upon Christ. Then last week we began this lenten reflection a week early by focusing on the wounds of Christ...raw and open for us.

Today all that change is lived out. Today the invitation to rely fully on God is put to the test, for the Savior dies for us this week. The celebration has come, Christ has entered Jerusalem as a King, and the final leg to the journey begins. However, this King will not be received, instead, he will be killed. This King will be crowned with thorns, and his medals of honor will be open wounds and blood. His power and glory will be displayed on the side of a road, lifted high on a cross.

Throughout this season of Lent, we’ve been asking questions of ourselves and God. Some of them have been heart questions, inviting us to tune into where God is changing our hearts, and some have been more pointed, challenging us to dig into our faith and lean fully into God.

In praying about today’s message, God laid on my heart that what we need to hear is a witness to how that change has taken place among us and through us. So I’ve asked Chris Spence/Gina Thorne to share her Lenten experience with us.

Chris (9:00) / Gina (11:00)

(Respond to their story...)

The passage from Isaiah read earlier, is the traditional passage shared on this Palm/Passion Sunday. In its hearing it is easy to envision Christ having his beard pulled out, mocked, and soldiers spitting upon him. We can see him in our mind’s eye, setting his face upon the tree where he will die, and submitting to death for us. But did you notice that the focus of this whole passage, the focus on the week before us, is God.

This Holy Week, and in fact this whole Lenten season, the focus is on God; God in Christ who took upon Himself our sins, was brutally beaten and killed for our sake. The focus, our focus, is Christ, the God-man whose death we remember and celebrate.

It is crazy to celebrate this death. We cannot imagine such a gift. It’s crazy to celebrate this death. We cannot imagine how we will do it ourselves. And yet, we learn from the Prophet how. We hear the prophet’s words and understand that these are the Words of the One who died for us.

“The Lord has given me the tongue of a teacher...the Lord has opened my ear...the Lord helps me...It is the Lord who helps me at all times.” The Lord is the center. The Lord is the source of strength. The Lord is all we need, and all we must need. These are the words of the Prophet. These are the actions of Christ. This is the invitation to us as we enter this Holiest of weeks.

In hearing Chris’/Gina’s story, did you hear any similarities to your own? In hearing her story, did you receive any wisdom you need to hold onto in these final days?

In a few moments we’ll hear another story. It is one we’ve heard before, and it is hard to hear. It’s hard to experience it again, but experience it, we must. For this is Christ’s story for us. Right now, hear and believe. Hear and believe, for the change in us is that which sustains us. Right here and now, make God the focus. Not only do we need to, we have to...