The Long Week

Palm Sunday: April 5, 2020

Matthew 27:11-54

Here we are, Palm Sunday, and we are coming to the end of a Lenten season like none of us have ever seen before.

What we have been through, gives us some insight into what it might have been like for Jesus and his disciples, living with constant uncertainty and anxiety, not being sure where their journey was leading them.

Today, in terms of our Lenten journey at least, we pausing to remember the triumph of Jesus’ arrival in the Jerusalem, knowing full-well that this is only a moment of joy, that darker days are to follow.

Knowing what is come, it would be nice to be able to celebrate the day; instead, our Gospel skips over this event and takes us to Jesus’ last three days: the worst part of Holy Week, but also the most significant.

These were days when hope must have appeared to be out of reach for Jesus and his disciples.

It was a long week for them…and it makes me wonder if Jesus looked back on his Palm Sunday triumph during the darkest times at the end of that week.

We know about long weeks, unfortunately, for some of us it has been longer than for others…with worries about family, health, jobs and finances…

To tell the truth, we have known too many of these ‘long weeks’ recently, and I am probably not the only one nostalgic for February.

And it is not fair…we did nothing to deserve all this, we were just living our lives as best we could, when the virus came and threw everything off course!

But when has life ever been ‘fair’?

Life certainly wasn’t fair to Jesus…

All his life, Jesus had tried to do what was right, to be a “Mensch”, a good person. He sought to follow God’s Will, no matter where it took him…and this, appears to be his reward: to be betrayed by a close friend, arrested, mocked, tortured and then rejected by the very people he had dedicated his life to helping.

And then he was executed as a subversive, an enemy of Rome, put to death in one of the most horrific ways possible!

With everyone watching.

Sometimes our only reward for doing the right thing is the knowledge that we have done what is right…and by doing so, we have made a difference in the lives of others.

Even if the results do not seem to be so great, at first…even if it sometimes feels like all our efforts were for nothing.

Back at beginning of the last century, there were Bridge Tenders, people who managed the opening and closing of drawbridges along the rivers surrounding New York City.

On one warm day in June, about 1930, one of these Bridge Tenders, up on the Harlem river, was enjoying a breeze outside of his small shelter, when he saw two girls fall into the water, where they were taken by the current.

Without hesitation, the Bridge Tender dove into the river in an attempt to save the girls. Though he caught up to one, the river was too strong for him, and all three died.

However, his sacrifice was not in vain. As a result, he won a Carnegie award for public service, with his widow and children receiving a modest prize which helped them to make ends meet. They also had the honor of seeing his name on a plaque in Grand Central Station.

And, his act inspired others to service, to show compassion for others.

The fact that I am sharing it today, proves that the Bridge Tender’s story did not end with his death…

Just as Jesus’ story did not end at the cross, but in the triumph of Easter morning, when he walked out of the dark of the tomb and into the soft light of dawn.

Giving us all hope.

Yet, as that long week turned toward the cross, that hope must have seemed very distant for Jesus.

In the midst of our long weeks, hope can seem far away from us as well…when will it end, why are we doing this, at the cost of jobs and relationships, the price of our freedom?

Where is our reward?

When we find ourselves thinking like this, we can instead think of the doctors, nurses and other people helping to fight this virus…it must feel like an uphill battle, with no end in sight, and instead, a lot of frustration, fear, and loss.

They are putting their lives on hold and at risk, in order to help us…and many of them are getting sick themselves.

It would not be surprising if they also found themselves asking “Where is our reward?”

Here, we can stop and once again look to Jesus, and so many who have followed in his footsteps…as the reward is not necessarily just for us as individuals, but for ALL of us, as a community!

What we are doing now will help to keep the people we share this world with safe and healthy, to slow the spread of the disease, and to save lives.

In this case, our reward will be knowing that we acted with compassion.

It will not be an easy journey for us, but at least we do not have to travel this road alone…

Even if we have to keep our distance, we will still have each other to help us through these dark days, and into our own Easter, and what comes beyond, as we step into our new lives.

We will get through this…together.