St. Christopher's Episcopal Church: Sermons

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A Sermon Preached at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, Oak Park, IL
on Palm Sunday: the Sunday of the Passion, March 16, 2008 (Year A)
by the Rev. Paris Coffey

"Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." - Matthew 27: 50-51a

There are some sad characters in today's Passion; some sad stories of people who don't know their own hearts, or who know them, but can't follow them. Judas, for example, doesn't know his - betraying Jesus one minute and the next, hanging himself in despair over the part he has played in condemning Jesus to death. Second, there's Peter, who knows his heart - knows that he loves Jesus and believes him to be the Messiah - but in the face of danger is too afraid to admit it. Third, there's Pilate, who sees and believes in the innocence of Jesus but has not the courage of his convictions. And finally there's the forceful but fickle crowd shouting in one breath, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," and in the next, "Let him be crucified."

It's a pitiful cast - of believers and nonbelievers alike - or perhaps better said, a cast of questioners, since believer may be too strong a word even for Peter. Oh, I don't mean Peter questions the holiness of Jesus or even that he's the Messiah. Surely, though, he questions his own understanding of things, wondering if this turn of events - Jesus' arrest and threat of death - can possibly be God's Messianic promise, when they'd all had such high hopes for something different. Just four days earlier Jesus had descended on a colt from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem - an act long identified with the Messiah; but they surely never imagined Messiah meant THIS. They'd imagined peace and prosperity, good health and long life, order, stability and a religion they could count on, but THIS was quite the opposite.

No wonder things start to fall apart. Judas breaks, Peter lies, Pilate backs down and the crowds vacillate. Earlier Jesus had tried to warn them - had tried to tell his followers that the Kingdom he heralded was not what they expected. It was not a political or economic movement, or even a promise of peace, but the disciples had never fully grasped what Jesus meant. They'd preferred to hear what they wanted to hear as all of us are wont to do, and so they waver, believer and questioner alike, wondering in light of the cross if any of this makes sense. Indeed, they wonder for quite some time, for contrary to popular belief, members of the early church took years to understand who Jesus was and who they were because of Jesus.

We see this struggle in part in Paul's letters, our earliest recorded accounts of the life and death of Jesus, but we see it in other non-canonical Gospels as well. Such writings don't have the same authority as Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, but they offer valuable insight into what members of the early church believed in particular times and places. And what they believed (which likely will not shock you) was as diverse as the people and places themselves. In some traditions, for example, notably in the Gospel of Judas (released in English just two years ago) Judas was part of God's plan and so was innocent of betraying Jesus. This would certainly have pleased my father who always felt sorry for Judas and thought he got a raw deal. Likewise it would have pleased him that in this non-canonical Gospel Judas does not commit suicide. Sadly, in other traditions Pilate does, suggesting that the early Church struggled with Pilate's weakness just as it did with that of Judas. That said, the Ethiopian Church deemed Pilate a saint, while the Eastern Orthodox, deeming him a sinner, declared Pilate's wife a saint . . . and on and on it goes.

You'd think such struggles would help us see how diverse and fascinating the early Christian movement really was, helping us understand and accept our diversity now. You'd think it would help us see the fine line between saint and sinner, opening doors between those who are "right" and those who are "wrong," those on the inside and those on the out. The reality is, though, that such radical inclusivity is hard for humans, despite the fact that radical inclusivity is part of what Jesus' death reveals. As we read in today's Passion, "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. (And) at that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."

The death of Jesus destroyed the division between God and humankind. It tore in two the curtain separating the Tabernacle - the dwelling place of God - from the rest of the Temple. What's more, Jesus' life and death destroyed the wall between the Court of the Gentiles, the outermost precinct of the temple where anyone could go, and the more sacred inner court where only Jews were allowed. "God is accessible to all people," Jesus' death reveals, calling us likewise to dismantle barriers built by human hands and hearts to separate ourselves or others from God.

This truth is not readily apparent in the architecture of our church - where Altar and Tabernacle are separated by a rail from the chancel (where the choir sits), and the chancel is separated by height and steps from the nave (where the people sit). Some churches have removed altar rails for this reason and have repositioned the Altar in the center of church, symbolizing God's accessibility and centrality in all things. We've not yet made this declaration architecturally at St. Christopher's but pray that God is no less visible at our center and no less accessible to all people.

Indeed, we make this declaration each week in our service leaflet, emphasizing that we are all in this together - married and single; young and old; secure in our beliefs and brimming with questions; straight gay, rich, poor, red, yellow, black and white - all of us belong to God and are welcome at God's Table. For this we give thanks, praying that by coming to God's Table today - by sharing in the life and death of Jesus Christ - we will be strengthened to go out into the world living God's message of welcome to all people.

Amen.