Sermons from St. Martin-in-the-Fields:
Apr 10, 2022 |
Rollercoasters
| Anne Alexis Harra
Rollercoasters
Listen to this week’s sermon from LIFT Worship from Anne Alexis Harra for Palm Sunday, April 10, 2022
Learn more about LIFT, Living in Faith Together, at stmartinec.org/lift
Today’s Readings:
Readings were taken from God’s Word, My Voice: A Children’s Lectionary
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Permission to podcast/stream music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-701187 and CCLI with license #21234241 and #21234234. All rights reserved.
Video, photographs, and graphics by the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. 215.247.7466. https://www.stmartinec.org
Who here likes to ride rollercoasters? I used to be really afraid of rollercoasters. I didn’t like that I wasn’t in control. When we ride rollercoasters, the experience is almost always entirely out of our control: how fast we’re going in the car, if we’re going up or down or even upside down, how many hills there are. I don’t feel so afraid of them anymore, though. Riding a rollercoaster usually means we have to be brave enough to let go of control for just a few moments so we can come off the ride feeling exhilarated, free, and maybe a little nauseous. :)
Holy Week is a special kind of rollercoaster: it is an emotional rollercoaster. In these days leading up to Jesus’ death and glorious resurrection, we will feel all the emotions. We will not be in a whole lot of control. We will truly feel like we’re on a rollercoaster!
Today is the first part of this ride: today is Palm Sunday. Today we are climbing up the big hill in the rollercoaster car. We are excited today because Jesus has made a triumphant entry into the big city of Jerusalem. We are excited with the disciples and the people who wave their palms to welcome Jesus. We feel Jesus with us.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was crucial to completing God’s work for Jesus. Can someone refresh my memory – what kind of animal did Jesus ride into Jerusalem? A donkey, that’s right! Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilled a prophecy in the Hebrew Bible (Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey, Zech. 9:9.). The people of Israel were excited to welcome Jesus! But sadly, that excitement didn’t last forever. Jesus knew that he was going to Jerusalem to die for our sins, and then God would raise him to new life.
Now friends, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but I need to be honest with you: we are climbing up the hill. We eventually will begin to descend, or come down, the hill, quite fast. We will feel sad when our friend Jesus dies on Good Friday. We will feel unsettled on Holy Saturday, as we wait with the disciples. We will feel safe, exhilarated, free, full of joy on Easter Sunday, when we come to the conclusion of our ride.
If you’re like me, and you need some reassurance before we really get going on our adventure, I have some good news. Throughout our Holy Week rollercoaster, we will always be safe and loved by God. We can bring all our feelings and prayers to our friend, Jesus. And lastly, nobody is ever alone on one of these rides. We have one another, and we have God. And we will remember that Jesus is our eternal king of peace. Thank you for joining me on our Holy Week ride, friends. Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
Learn more about LIFT, Living in Faith Together, at stmartinec.org/lift
Today’s Readings:
Readings were taken from God’s Word, My Voice: A Children’s Lectionary
- - - - -
Permission to podcast/stream music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-701187 and CCLI with license #21234241 and #21234234. All rights reserved.
Video, photographs, and graphics by the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Episcopal Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118. 215.247.7466. https://www.stmartinec.org
Who here likes to ride rollercoasters? I used to be really afraid of rollercoasters. I didn’t like that I wasn’t in control. When we ride rollercoasters, the experience is almost always entirely out of our control: how fast we’re going in the car, if we’re going up or down or even upside down, how many hills there are. I don’t feel so afraid of them anymore, though. Riding a rollercoaster usually means we have to be brave enough to let go of control for just a few moments so we can come off the ride feeling exhilarated, free, and maybe a little nauseous. :)
Holy Week is a special kind of rollercoaster: it is an emotional rollercoaster. In these days leading up to Jesus’ death and glorious resurrection, we will feel all the emotions. We will not be in a whole lot of control. We will truly feel like we’re on a rollercoaster!
Today is the first part of this ride: today is Palm Sunday. Today we are climbing up the big hill in the rollercoaster car. We are excited today because Jesus has made a triumphant entry into the big city of Jerusalem. We are excited with the disciples and the people who wave their palms to welcome Jesus. We feel Jesus with us.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was crucial to completing God’s work for Jesus. Can someone refresh my memory – what kind of animal did Jesus ride into Jerusalem? A donkey, that’s right! Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilled a prophecy in the Hebrew Bible (Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey, Zech. 9:9.). The people of Israel were excited to welcome Jesus! But sadly, that excitement didn’t last forever. Jesus knew that he was going to Jerusalem to die for our sins, and then God would raise him to new life.
Now friends, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but I need to be honest with you: we are climbing up the hill. We eventually will begin to descend, or come down, the hill, quite fast. We will feel sad when our friend Jesus dies on Good Friday. We will feel unsettled on Holy Saturday, as we wait with the disciples. We will feel safe, exhilarated, free, full of joy on Easter Sunday, when we come to the conclusion of our ride.
If you’re like me, and you need some reassurance before we really get going on our adventure, I have some good news. Throughout our Holy Week rollercoaster, we will always be safe and loved by God. We can bring all our feelings and prayers to our friend, Jesus. And lastly, nobody is ever alone on one of these rides. We have one another, and we have God. And we will remember that Jesus is our eternal king of peace. Thank you for joining me on our Holy Week ride, friends. Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
