The Wounds of Coveting Power: John 12:12-19 - Sunday of the Passion

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,
   “Hosanna!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—
   the King of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:
   “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.
   Look, your king is coming,
   sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!” (NRSV)

We don’t have palms for Palm Sunday… Again…

Last year, the palms were moldy, and we had to throw them away. This year, we decided to order from a local florist—but they’re shut down. I’m not sure if we’ll have Easter flowers next week. But even if we do, they’ll be decorating an empty church.

These are the realities of Holy Week and Easter under quarantine.

There are a few pastors in this country who continue to gather their flocks, in defiance of the quarantine, convinced that God will protect them when they do. They believe they are doing God’s will. But I’m reminded of when the devil tempts Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple—quoting Psalm 91 as proof that God would “save him.” Jesus answers, “you must not put God to the test!”

It makes you wonder why they do this: is it for God’s glory—or for theirs? I see this these pastors as prime examples of coveting power. So far, it’s worked great for them—their congregations showed up, and they’ve become folk heroes in the process. I just pray their flocks will not suffer the wounds of their coveting power—by getting sick.

You can’t defeat Covid-19 by sheer force of will, by denying its existence, or minimizing its dangers. The only power the average person has against it, outside of a hospital or a research lab, is social distancing and handwashing. Otherwise, we are powerless—and we hate that. We want to feel powerful. We don’t want to be told what to do—especially by government officials we despise. We want to believe that we can control everything.

Closer to home, there isn’t a person anywhere who doesn’t covet safety; security; normalcy. We’re not coveting our neighbors’ riches; all we want is to go to work, to go to school, to go to the supermarket without the fear getting sick. And we Christians covet the freedom to worship God, right here in church, and celebrate Holy Communion, like we’ve always done. That’s not sinful. But it sure is painful—and scary.

We are presented with something so powerful and dangerous that we cannot do what we want

But we are not the first Christians to suffer such powerlessness. All over the world and all throughout history, adherence to the Christian faith or any faith has had the potential to be fatal.  It was only last year that Christians were killed by terrorists in their churches on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka.

Yet I believe this to be an ideal time to learn from Jesus about what power and powerlessness truly are.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem to a hero’s welcome. With that much energy and enthusiasm in the city, Jesus had the power to do what everyone hoped he would do: lead an uprising to drive the Roman occupiers out. He could’ve eliminated all opposition against him and become the most powerful ruler the world had over known. But he doesn’t do that. He empties all his power out—as his blood spilled on the ground beneath the cross. His enemies exercised their power to stir up these same crowds against him—and manipulate Pontius Pilate into putting him to death.

Jesus’ enemies believed their power was secure when Jesus breathed his last. That is—until the sky went dark, the earth shook, and the Temple curtain was torn in two. The Roman Centurion knew: truly this man was God’s Son.

Jesus, on the other hand, exercised true power was when he said of his persecutors, “Father, forgive them—for they know not what they do;” and to the criminal on the cross: “Truly, you will be with me today in paradise.”

True power sets others free. Coveted power uses fear, violence, and death to build up those who wield it, at the expense of others. Those who covet and exercise power in this way set themselves against God’s righteousness, at the peril of their souls.

The power we celebrate today is the power of the cross. In Christ, you are free from the power and control of sin and death. That’s not freedom to disregard warnings about the coronavirus, any more than it is freedom to jump off of tall buildings for God to save you. Your freedom in Christ is exercised for the sake of others. The power of Christ is in you to ease the suffering and pain of others and affirm to them their value as children of God. The power of Christ is in you to stop sin’s destructiveness by forgiveness. You can’t covet power that you already have!

God’s power is not being limited by Coronavirus or quarantine. God’s power is being magnified—because God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Over the last three weeks, we’ve connected meaningfully with more people than we have in decades. Never before have your works of faith and love been needed this much—and never before have they been so life-sustaining and life-saving. There is no act of kindness or generosity too small to put death on the run. That is real power!

Do you remember anything special about Holy Week in 2010? 2015? Probably not. But you will remember this one! But not just for the Coronavirus. I pray that you will remember this Palm Sunday, this Holy Week, and this Easter, for God’s love touching your heart and your life in very powerful ways. I pray that you will remember this Holy Week and Easter as the one when Christ’s power worked in you to free others from hunger, loneliness, hopelessness, and despair.

God’s power is made perfect in powerlessness. If there is anything to covet, it is God’s power of God’s love to put death on the run.