One of my favorite hymns is the old American folk hymn, “What Wondrous Love is This?” “What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul? What wondrous love is this, O my soul? What wondrous love is this, that caused the Lord of bliss to lay aside his crown for my soul, for my soul, to lay aside his crown for my soul?”
Why do we go to all of this trouble during Holy Week? The processions with palms, the reading of the passion; the foot washing and stripping of the altars on Maundy Thursday; the watch before the Altar of Repose; Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday; the lighting of the Paschal Candle on Easter Eve; and so on, are things we do every year. We all know the story, so why all the fuss? Why not simply say, “Men and women are sinners, and God is loving and forgiving,” and leave it at that?
The reason is twofold: First of all, that’s not how God chose to deal with us. Instead of simply giving us a divine message through a prophet, he came to us himself in Jesus of Nazareth, and showed the depth of his love in dying on a cross for us. And so, rather than just speak of the truth, we re-present the Event itself.
Second, it isn’t just Jesus’ story; it’s our story. We are the ones who crucify him anew with every act of dishonesty, every word of bitterness and jealousy, every decision to go it on our own without him.
Yet, we have a different vantage point from those who witnessed the crucifixion, for we are on the other side of the resurrection. We are members of Christ’s Body, and so we are not only the crucifiers, but also the crucified. Through our baptism we have been buried with Christ and raised to new life in him. We are the ones who now have the cross as the symbol for our life, who know that the real meaning in life comes from giving and not receiving, from forgiving and not holding a grudge, from serving and not from being served. Through our baptism, we have taken on a way of life that dies to self, that the risen Christ may live in us.
What does it really mean, though, to die to self? Dr. Kent M. Keith wrote what he called the The Paradoxical Commandments. They provide an excellent practical way to die to self. Here are the paradoxical commandments:
1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
And so we tell the story, not just because it is Jesus’ story, but because it is our story. We tell the story to remind us of that wondrous love that caused the Lord of bliss to lay aside his crown for our souls, and that we are called to walk in his footsteps.
Sermon preached by the Very Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
Palm Sunday
9 April 2017