A New Way

March 20, 2016

Stetson Memorial UMC

 Palm Sunday

“A New Way”

Adapted Sermon Series

 by Marcia McPhee

 “The Way”

All Scripture is from the AMP Bible

Luke 19:28-38

“A New Way…”

Prayer for the Spirit’s leading…

How many of you are set in your own ways…you have your way of doing things and you really don’t see the need in changing things up and learning a new way? We really do get set in our ways and really don’t like it when a “new thing” comes on the horizon. There is a certain way that things are supposed to be…that’s it…end of story.

The people in Jesus day felt very much the same way. They were looking for someone to save them from the Roman oppression that they were under. It would be someone like David who was a mighty warrior and conquered their enemies by his might. They were looking for someone who would help them reclaim their way of living and Jesus fit the bill…or did He? We find out at the end of the week how they felt about this man they were singing loud hosannas to today…

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. A day where palms were waived and they rejoiced in the messiah who would take Roman by storm. This is the day when Jesus would begin His last week of teaching and begin His assent to the top of a hill…for you and for me. Jesus was called to an”Other Way” of taking the world by storm…

We are continuing our Lenten pilgrimage to the cross. During this journey we will bring Marcia McPhee with us as we look at her sermon series “The Way”. We have looked at the different “ways” or paths that we take in life. My prayer is that as we journey together we will help each other and those in our lives find “the way”.

We began this pilgrimage on Ash Wednesday as we talked about “the way back”… taking a u-turn so to speak…back towards God…back to the relationship that God intended from the very beginning. We have talked about “the wandering way” when we walk through that maze trying to find the way to the right path instead of hitting those walls of a wrong turn. We talked about “the way around” when Erica told us that we need to follow God’s plan in our life. We also talked about “the high way” and realized we have a higher calling and that we are to think on a “higher ground”, so to speak, and not the lower ground of the world. I think one of the most important thing that we have learned is that there is always a way home to the heart of God…like the prodigal son(or daughter) we are always welcomed home… The last way…and even more important than the last…is the “Other Way” as Jesus now demonstrated when He came riding on a donkey.

How did Jesus show the first people who shouted hosanna and also shows us who shout hosanna today an”other way”?

1.  Kings ride on horses- Jesus…the Messiah…rode on a donkey…a lowly animal not fit for a king. Jesus was showing them and us that we are to be humble not all that showoffy stuff that so many like to do. He emptied Himself of all His deity and became a servant of all.

2.  Kings were tough and ready for the fight- Jesus showed loving kindness to all and was meek and mild in His way. He cared more for others than He did Himself…this is proven at the end of the week as He took on all the sin that you and I have…are…or will ever commit…

3.  Kings depend upon themselves and never show a sign of weakness- Jesus taught humanity to depend on Him and on God not on ourselves. He and God have our best interest at heart…This is shown by Jesus coming to earth as human even though He was divine to save us from ourselves. It was the only way for humanity at large to be saved and redeemed and that is what Jesus did…for you…for me…for all of humanity.

4.  Kings of earth…fill in the blank…you get the message…

Jesus showed a different way…the other way…the way of God not man.

So here is Jesus, getting ready to finish Love’s work. It must have been difficult for Jesus. Here He is, entering Jerusalem, on a donkey. It was the beginning of the end but a new way…an “other way”…was birthing. There would be no more sacrifices to appease God because at the end of His ministry Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the earth… In the end there was an “other way” to live our lives…where we come to an end of ourselves and begin the “other way” of life.

Beloved children of God, listen to the words of Marcia McPhee…”This moment on this road for Jesus feels both like the end and the beginning. Such are so many moments in our lives, a pilgrimage may reach its destination but the hope, the wisdom, the lessons learned along the way have offered a new starting point for us.”

Jesus offers us a new way…the other way…of living our lives.

Our pilgrimage that we walk…our journey of faith…may offer new starting points but my question is this…will you walk in it? Will we take what we have learned and apply it to the new way God is calling us to walk in? Are you ready for the new way or do you like the old way so much that the new way seems futile to you? What are we to do when God puts upon our hearts a new way that He wants to use us for His kingdom? What is our answer to Love’s call to our hearts?

Amen