Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I prepared for the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church for Sunday, 4/5/20. The text is Matthew 21:1-11 . I loved living in the Holy Land during Palm Sunday. There was a procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. All the churches of all languages along with visiting pilgrims participated in this. Throngs of people walked the way of Jesus into the city. This year we celebrate a Palm Sunday, unlike any we have ever experienced. Where are the palms? Where is the parade from the fellowship hall into the sanctuary? Can we celebrate the Palm Sunday procession without these elements? Open your hands and look at them. What do you see? You have palms on your hands. We may not have palm branches, but we certainly have our palms with us that can be lifted high in cries of praise and pleas for help, as well as being used to help those around us. Everything in this gospel story illuminates the identity of Jesus Christ. We see various aspects of Christ’s cha...

The text I’m preaching from is Matthew chapter 21 which was read in the processional liturgy.             Jesus is coming into Jerusalem. Something new is in the air. This could really change everything. How many of us have experienced an event like that in our lives—whether it be a new job, graduating from school, getting married, having a child, retiring…the list goes on. I don’t know about you, but when there’s something exciting on the horizon in my life, I fantasize about it. I imagine just how it will be. I can’t wait for the occasion to take place.             Let me give you an example. When Ray and I first got married, I thought when he retired; we’d just ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after. That just sounded great. I couldn’t imagine anything much better than that.             Those were...