"One of Brad's former commanding officers wrote to me recently and said he had been so disappointed when Brad left the Navy. He was sure Brad would have become an admiral. 'And then I came to St. Margaret's and saw what kind of preacher he had become,' he wrote. 'And I knew he was where he needed to be. His contribution was far greater than it would have been otherwise.' After Brad left the Navy, I'd tease him, saying, 'Now I'll never be an admiral's wife,' and he'd laugh and say, 'You're the admiral's lady to a bigger admiral than we ever expected!'" (Carol Hall)
Around the turn of the century, a little boy lived far out in the back country. He had reached the age of twelve and never in all his life seen a circus. You can imagine his excitement one day when a poster went up at school announcing that on the next Saturday a traveling circus was coming to town. He ran home with the glad news. "Dad, can I go?" The family was poor, but the father sensed how important this was to the boy, so he said, "If you will do your Saturday chores ahead of time, I'll see to it that you have the money to go."
Come Saturday morning, the chores were done and the young boy stood dressed in his Sunday best by the breakfast table. His father reached down in his overalls and pulled out a dollar bill--the most money the boy had ever seen at one time in all his life. The father cautioned him to be careful and then sent him on his way to town. He was so excited his feet hardly seemed to touch the ground all the way. When he got to the village, he noticed people were lining the streets and he worked his way through the crowd until he could see what was coming. There in the distance approached the spectacle of a circus parade. It was the grandest thing this boy had ever seen. There were exotic animals in cages and bands and all that goes into making up such a phenomenon.
After everything had passed by, the traditional circus clown, with floppy shoes and baggy pants and brightly-painted face, came bringing up the rear. As the clown passed where he was standing, the boy reached into his pocket and got out that precious dollar bill. Handing the money to the clown, the boy said, "Thank you," then turned around and went home, thinking that he had been to the circus. But all that he had seen was a preview, a glimpse of the wonderful performance that was to come under the big top.
I find in this story a great metaphor about life. It is also a wonderfully helpful parable to understanding the whole story of Holy Week; the relationship between the beginning and the end; Jesus' triumphal parade into Jerusalem and the rest of the story--the passion of Good Friday and the Resurrection of Easter.
Like the young lad who paid his dollar and yet missed the main show, we have a tendency to simplify Easter and celebrate this most holy season one-dimensionally. My message to you this Palm Sunday is to recommend that you participate as best you can in the fullness of Holy Week, to see the whole show. And if you cannot be here physically, please be here spiritually; take a few moments each day to remember what is happening and pray with us.
A detailed schedule is in your bulletin. We will begin each morning, Monday through Thursday, with a communion service in the chapel. On Thursday evening we celebrate the traditional Maundy Thursday service which remembers Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples on Passover--a supper which would soon become our service of Holy Communion. Following that service, we will strip the altar in preparation for Good Friday, that most holy day of passion when Jesus was condemned and crucified.
Good Friday services begin at noon with a powerful yet subdued liturgy of prayer. The church will then remain open all afternoon for you to come by and keep your vigil with Jesus. Good Friday culminates with the Stations of the Cross at 5:30 p.m. Just as many of our St. Margaret's pilgrims did a couple of weeks ago in Jerusalem, we will walk the Via Dolorosa. Carrying a wooden cross, we will move through the church, remembering each step of Jesus' passion. At the last station Jesus is placed in the tomb, and this completes Good Friday.
On Holy Saturday the church will remain open and yet silent as we remember the past two days and prepare for the great day ahead. Most of us will go about our daily tasks while John and Betty Lee decorate this church with flowers for Easter. And on Sunday morning next, we will complete our journey through Holy Week, joining with millions of Christians around the world as we awake to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
In Jerusalem, that celebration will begin ten hours earlier when the Orthodox Archbishop emerges from the empty tomb of Jesus, which has been sealed with him inside all day Saturday. Carrying a handful of flaming candles, he will shout to the thousands of pilgrims gathered in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre: "ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN!"
The people will respond with one great voice: "HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA!" and then the bishop will light the candles held by those gathered around him, and that holy flame of resurrection will quickly spread throughout all Jerusalem and indeed around the world.
I have one of the candles from the empty tomb of Jesus which we will light next Sunday as a gesture of solidarity with Christians in the Holy Land. And with that holy fire our festive Easter services will complete the total experience of Holy Week at St. Margaret's.
Now I close as I opened, reminding us that today is only the beginning, the opening parade which ushers in a wonderful week ahead. Join us physically or spiritually and make your Easter journey with Jesus a complete one.
Amen.
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