…so I wonder if Thomas’ reaction is less one of a contrarian skeptic, and more one of someone who’s so upset he missed out on the experience of a lifetime, he has kind of knee-jerk reaction, out of some anger, some jealousy that he missed out. Instead of being able to celebrate with his friends, he’s so upset he missed seeing his risen savior, that he stubbornly insists, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ Sort of an ancient Biblical version of the modern-day internet saying, “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

…Mary is chosen to announce to the world, I have seen the Lord. Yes, Mary saw the Lord, but the Lord also saw her. The Lord saw her in her time of need and revealed himself. The Lord saw her in her time of isolation and confusion and said her name…

It’s fitting, Church, that for this Palm Sunday the scripture reading is the Marcan version of Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. It’s fitting, I think, because Mark’s version of this story, as compared to the other three is much more subdued, much more subtle—it’s overall, not especially triumphant…

Church, when Jesus says “…when I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all people to myself.’ That all there is from a genderless Greek word. When Jesus says all, he means all. Every single person. We are all saved, we are all going be okay. But in this world, even after everything Jesus went through to overcome hatred, violence, and death, in this world, things are too broken for Jesus’ death and resurrection to have the meaning it’s supposed to….

We’re right in the middle of Lent, Church. It really is a perfect time, as we lead up to Jesus’ death and resurrection that took place out of God’s unconditional love for us to know that we deserve that love…

I know we’re all aching to be back in the sanctuary together, and surely we will be soon. But as the pandemic drags on just a little bit longer, as we remain stuck in our homes, as we grow more impatient, (and I say we, because trust me, I am right there with you all) let us take some real lessons from this scripture passage. Let us remember that the church isn’t just a building…

In Peter’s time, the idea that the messiah would be someone who would deign to stoop to our level was unthinkable. In Peter’s time, the messiah certainly wasn’t someone who would suffer and die a very human death. I can imagine that the disciples were, after dropping everything to follow Jesus, hoping for a relatively comfortable life as compensation for their sacrifices. But here was Jesus not only saying he would suffer and die, but that followers of Jesus should be prepared to do the same. I think, church, that when we hear information and facts that aren’t to our liking, we try to deny those facts, or twist them in a way that better suits us, that’s more comfortable for us. But Jesus isn’t all about comforting all the time. Jesus is about making some people uncomfortable to get to the point that no people are uncomfortable…

So church, the hard swallow pill is this: it’s all on us. It’s all our doing. We’ve taken advantage of this earth and driven temperatures to new extremes. We’ve taken advantage of God’s love; we’ve taken advantage of God’s promise, and we’ve taken too much too fast, and now, here we are. My friend Dan brought a quote to my attention recently—a quote by Jewish rabbi and theologian Abraham Heschel: “…morally speaking…in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible…”

…we need to look at the whole picture. We need to figure out how we got here, to a place where millions teeter on the brink of homelessness. We need to figure out how we got to a place that leaves the most vulnerable forgotten and disregarded. This did not happen overnight. This pandemic sped things up, sure, but the gap between the haves and the have-nots has been growing for decades. And we won’t fix the problem by building monuments or harvesting outrage on social media. Jesus guided his friends to find the right time to spread the word and do the work, so we have to listen for what Jesus is telling us today—to listen to others so we can understand how we got here, and so we can understand where we go from here…

…today, it’s more necessary than ever to embrace our insignificance, to embrace our inner grasshopper. This may initially be a tough pill to swallow. Embracing our insignificance can sound a little nihilistic, but I assure you it’s not. Church, recognizing that we’re but little scurrying grasshoppers—it’s freeing!