Houston, We've Had a Problem

 Palm Sunday, Year C; Luke 22:24-23:53; St. Paul’s Smithfield, NC 3/20/2016 Jim Melnyk: “Houston, We’ve had a Problem”

As most of you already know, there are certain movies that when I come across them while channel surfing, all but demand that I stop and watch.  I’m willing to bet that each of you have a few of those types of movies, as well.  They could be just starting or more than half way through – I just feel compelled to watch – they carry that much power and meaning for me. 

Apollo 13 is one of those movies.  It came to mind the other day as I watched on the NASA web feed the launch of a rocket carrying three astronauts to the Space Station.  Those of us who are of a certain age actually remember living through that dramatic story of three astronauts and their terrifying journey through outer space and back.  Those of us who lived through the actual event, and those of us who have seen the movie or read the story, remember the intense drama and the electrifying fear that held a nation captive as three men struggled to find their way safely back home.

           

Many of us recall hearing those chilling words from astronaut Jim Lovell, “Err, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”  An oxygen tank explodes and suddenly the whole trip looks different.  The quiet confidence of crew and support team – the dreams of moon walks and tickertape parades at mission’s end – turn into the stuff of nightmares as the crew of the Apollo 13, with the support folks on the ground, fight for their very lives. 

The story of Apollo 13 is a story of triumph, to tragedy, and back again.  Its impact on those who lived through or watched the experience was powerful.

But this week the Church throughout the world turns to another story – another story of triumph and tragedy known as Holy Week.  It’s a story that speaks to us about “the way of the cross.”  And though it begins with the dizzying excitement of parades and joyous, hopeful crowds shouting out their hosannas, by the week’s end there is only the darkened silence of the grave.

Where the Apollo 13 story deals with the lives of three men, their families, coworkers, and an anxious nation, Holy Week speaks to us about the reconciling work of God in the world through Jesus Christ.  Holy Week is a story of humanity’s struggle with God, and with God’s overwhelming desire to love and save humankind from itself.  The way of the cross is real life drama, whose focus is the very life and hope of the world.  Holy Week is a story wherein we participate in both the suffering and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we might participate in his resurrection. 

Instead of the turn beginning with “Houston, we’ve had a problem,” we hear our Lord asking Judas, “Must you betray me with a kiss?”

Today, on Palm Sunday, we experience in one hour the whiplash of triumph to tragedy that is the whole of Holy Week.  We began the morning with shouts of “Hosanna!” and waved our palm branches as we recalled hearts leaping with joy at the coming of Christ to the holy city, Jerusalem.  In that portion of our liturgy we are able to sense the expectation and the hope as a world in pain turns to Jesus – and then, in just a few moments from now, we will listen as everything goes wrong.  We will hear the harsh reality of the unexpected turn as shouts of “Hosanna!” become our own cries of “Crucify! Crucify!”

I submit to you that the meaning and power of Easter becomes much more real for those who walk with Christ through the week before his death.  How can we fully understand the triumph of Easter Day without knowing the harsh reality – the fear, the anxiety, and the cruelty, of betrayal and the cross?  How can we fully understand the depth of resurrection power and joy without first experiencing love so deep that our Lord would even wash the feet of the one who sits waiting to betray?

We hear the stories of our faith and listen as crowds become mobs crying out for violence – and realize the same thing happens today – is happening today.  We humans all too often demonize those who disagree with us in order to assuage our fears – but it doesn’t help.  As the Dean of the Cathedral of All Souls writes, “The Church has done great damage by a subtle removing of Jesus’ death from politics, economics and human sociology. We have sought to make the crucifixion about God needing blood to save our souls. It is really about human fear and the lengths we will go to calm or remove our fear. Jesus threatened religious and political folks and they let him know what is done to those who threaten their defined order” (The Very Rev. Todd Donatelli, Dean’s Blog, 3/17/2016).

Holy Week is supposed to be tough for us.  If we really pay attention to the stories of our faith as we move through this week, what we experience should be hard – should be depressing – should be disturbing.  But as theologian Megan McKenna writes, “This week profoundly disturbs the world and is meant to disturb us” (Synthesis Today, 3/17/2016).  Holy Week reminds us of how easy it is to allow our fears to become the rich soil that gives life to our woundedness – that allows us set love aside.  We should be concerned if the events of Holy Week don’t cause us to cringe on some level.

It’s mid-March on Tobacco Road and suddenly once again we’re being bombarded with the time, energy, and emotionally consuming reality of what we all call March Madness – I keep close tabs on my brackets.  Do you want to know what real March Madness is all about?  It’s taking the Lord of Life – it’s taking the One who is the embodiment of the Love of God – and nailing him to a tree!  That’s real March Madness!  Finding ways to twist our love for God, and our love for neighbor, into some form of theological pretzel, so that we can look the other way and ignore the mess our world is in – that’s March Madness – that’s madness in any month! 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and lived among us…”, and we nailed that love to the cross.  God, out of infinite love for the world, took on human flesh – put on human skin – embraced and experienced the full gamut of human life and emotion – and had the grace and the love to say “Follow me and I will transform your life.  Follow me and together we will change this world.”

Holy Week is the holy drama of triumph to tragedy – but with an underlying promise that it won’t end there – that God’s love for us holds fast, and that together this world can learn to walk in love.  Our story doesn’t end with a betraying kiss and the cross.  Our story points us to so much more – for our story is always told in the midst of the promise of Easter Day.

           

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke: