SERMON TITLE: For God’s Will to Be Done

Preached by the Rev. John Young-Jung Lee on April 1, 2007 at DPUC

SCRIPTURE READING: Mark 14:32-42

14:32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

14:33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated.

14:34 And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.”

14:35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

14:36 He said, “Abba,a Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”

For God’s Will to Be Done

The churches all around the world celebrate this day as Palm or Passion Sunday. Worship planners find it difficult to celebrate both Palm and Passion Sunday. It is simply because this Sunday has both the exciting emotions of the triumphal entry to the City of Jerusalem and the deep agony of the passion of Jesus. Palm Sunday tends to be a day of waving palm branches, of joy, of singing "Hosannas."

Passion Sunday has made the day more like the prelude to Good Friday – a day of somber reflection on the suffering, the passion of Jesus Christ. The fact is that both names for the day are appropriate. This is above all a day of contrasts, a day of opposites. It is a day of opposite moods - joy and pathos. It is a day of opposite motifs - a "theology of the Cross," and a "theology of glory."

When we think of why Jesus came to Jerusalem, we can tell the spirit of Palm and Passion Sunday that points to the same journey of Jesus. It is Jesus’ obedience to God’s will: to build the community that overflows love and justice that leads the whole world into peace. The spirit of Palm and Passion Sunday is that the world is not controlled by worldly power but by God’s will for peace, love and justice.    

During these Sundays of Lent, we have been thinking of what the Christian message and mission is really all about. We thought of Jesus’ crucifixion as his becoming one with us and with God; or as Jesus’ saving act for us humankind. What does all this mean to us? In what sense IS Jesus’ ministry of healing and reconciliation related to the cross of Jesus? In what sense was Jesus’ ministry that of fighting against oppression, hatred and rejection by the people who have the power?

These questions lead us to another question. What did Jesus realize in his life with the powerless and rejected people in Galilee? While he was with the people in Galilee,

in his proclamation of the kingdom of God, Jesus found that the causes of injustice, oppression, rejection, and hatred were from the city of Jerusalem. Jesus found that all the acts of injustice were deeply rooted right in the social and religious system of the Holy City of Jerusalem. In this city, the power groups judge the powerless and reject them to outside Jerusalem, like the town of Galilee.

Jesus recognized their physical pain and suffering they experienced from the rejection from their home community, and they were judged as sinners. This is why Jesus declared that Jesus came not for righteous people but for sinners. While Jesus healed these people physically, he also helped them to recover their status at their home community, as legitimate citizens of the City of Jerusalem. In his journey with marginal people, what Jesus found out was that the City of Jerusalem is the society that is the axiom of evil.

So Jesus made his final journey into the city of Jerusalem. It is his action that teaches us that without justice there is no true love that brings healing and reconciliation. So Jesus talked about his journey towards Jerusalem and finally he made his final journey into the city of Jerusalem. It was on "Palm Sunday" that Jesus went through the cheering crowd, straight to the temple where he proceeded           to drive out the established temple business people who were profaned. (Luke 19:45-46) It was the final destiny of Jesus to fight against the axiom of the sinful system who judged the powerless and the poor as the sinner, and rejected them as sinners from the City of Jerusalem.

Jesus, who prayed “not my will but thy will be done” teaches us two sides of life in faith:  love, mercy and compassion by being with the powerless and poor; and justice by fighting against evil as he journey towards Jerusalem. Without entering into the profaned Holy City of Jerusalem, Jesus could not proclaim justice. Without this justice action, Jesus’ love, mercy and compassion becomes an emotional and temporal.

Love without justice action is far away from Jesus and the eternal life of the kingdom of God. This is why Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is the triumphal entry for salvation. This led Jesus to be judged as political criminal and was crucified. What then is the message of the crucifixion? The message on the cross is, “This brutal, injustice should not happen again. Please end the injustice on powerless people forever.”

This is the salvation. This is not the ritual of final human sacrifice in the Old Testament. This is the proclamation of God’s will for eternal peace to be done in the world. It is God’s proclamation to end war, to end violence, injustice, oppression, and deprivation. This is the way to freedom from selfish desire, self centredness and greedy minds. This is the way to salvation.

When the crowd welcomed Jesus, they expected the new king of Jews who will free them from the governance of Roman Empire. They misunderstood that worldly power will solve the problem. They were hoping that worldly power will save them somehow. Even some of his disciples wanted a high position when Jesus sits on the thrown. They were thinking of Jesus’ final journey as the worldly success that will bring them a fortune.

What about us?

We nowadays have so many good things around us: TVs, computers, good cars, cellular phones. But these are not the answer to global peace. The answer is through God’s will that is lived out by Jesus Christ. Jesus’ life teaches us two aspects of God’s will to be done in the world: to be with the powerless and poor with love; and act with justice against evil. As Christians, our responsibility is to strive for living justice with the compassion to the pains of the world.

It is hard work to do by oneself. Sometimes people will reject us because of our different value system. Sometimes there will be temptations that we use to justify our laziness and cowardice. This is why we gather as church, to share and to support each other. And in this our gathering, God is with us with the Spirit of Creation, with the Spirit of Jesus, the Christ. This Spirit will help us to remember Jesus’ passion and the cross. And this Spirit will empower us to live the life of resurrection.

On this final Sunday of Lenten journey, Jesus invites us to the new life of God’s peace through God’s justice and love. This is the Holy Passion that invites us to God’s eternal kingdom. On this Passion/Palm Sunday, through the life-giving Spirit of Christ, we hear his prayer, “Abba Father, not my will but your will be done.” This is Jesus’ invitation  for God’s will to be done, for peace on earth and glory to God in heaven. It is God’s promise to be with us always.

It is God’s love, God’s grace. And it is God’s bountiful blessings for all of us! Thanks be to God.

 This site is prepared by the Rev. John Young-Jung Lee,

a minister of The United Church of Canada

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Acknowledgement:

Web planning team: Marion Current, Hannah Lee

Technical support & web designer: David Nam-Joong Kim

 Art design team: Raymond NamKi Jung, Johnny Jong Hyun Jeong

Updated April 1, 2007