Lent

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The promise of a fifth covenant brings to a conclusion the sequence of covenants that has occupied the First Testament readings for (most of) the Sundays in Lent. The most important feature of the covenant foreseen by Jeremiah is that it will be written among the people “on their hearts”: it will be an element in the internal self-constitution of the people’s experience, not an external factor felt as imposed upon them from without.

Focal theme:

Focal theme:
Paul’s treatment of Abraham’s story (Romans 4) shows that the basis on which both Jews and all non-Jews will be “justified” and the “righteousness” required of Jews and all non-Jews alike are the same: namely, “the righteousness of faith.” This “righteousness of faith” is trusting belief in God’s faithfulness to do whatever God promises to do. Trusting belief is beautifully expressed in Psalm 121. It is also at the heart of today’s Gospel reading (John 3:1-17).

Let’s be honest. Many progressive and moderate pastors don’t like to preach Good Friday sermons. Good Friday is the low point in Holy Week, especially if you’re not a cross-centered evangelical or have problems with the violence inherent in many traditional atonement theories. There’s nothing to celebrate, the story is predictable (we’ve heard it so many times and seldom discover anything new in it), and we struggle to find alternatives to the popular belief that Jesus was predestined to physically die for our sins, stand in our place, and suffer on our behalf.

This being Palm Sunday, it is hardly surprising that thetexts have quite evidently been chosen from those cited or suggested in the narration of the entry into Jerusalem the first day of that week, the last in the earthly life of Jesus. However, the ways in which they should be read are not all as straightforward as might at first appear to be the case.

Palm Sunday gets its name from the Gospel of John’s version of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (John 12:13), which is the only account that mentions palm branches. In Matthew (21:8) and Mark (11:8), the people in the crowds spread branches on the road before him, but they are not specified as palm. What is distinctive about Luke in this regard is that no branches are mentioned at all. Luke preserves Mark’s notation about people spreading their cloaks and even repeats it, but the reference to branches is missing altogether. How do we account for this?

If there is a common thread among the passages in the lectionary for this fifth Sunday of Lent it is thanksgiving, though the Philippians does not fit there. The two Old Testament texts are thanksgiving texts, and the story of Mary’s purchase of the precious ointment for Jesus means, among other things, her thanks for his friendship and the salvation he has brought to her family in restoring Lazarus to them.

The readings from the Hebrew Scriptures and Philippians have in common a theme dear to the heart of process thinkers—transformation. In describing his transition from his former faith to his new life in Christ in Philippians 3, Paul is able to look upon his past accomplishments and see them as “rubbish” (v. 8)—the NRSV’s polite translation of the Greek skubalon, a strong term that embraces such meanings as human excrement, filth, or dirt. The danger for preachers in stressing this point is that it might foster anti-Judaism.

Last Sunday’s theme is intensified in this week’s lessons. The open ended character of the Gospel’s lessons last week is replaced with the clear reference to the forgiving and loving nature of God.

The Jewish scriptures tell many stories about the sins of ancient Hebrews. The absence of the celebrative emphasis, so common in national histories, is truly remarkable. It also provides occasion for warning the early Christians, and us who are readers of the same Bible, not to fall into the sins that were common in the old days.