This sermon will be preached after the Epistle of the Day and prior to
reading the Passion of our Lord.
Sermon for Palm/Passion Sunday
A Beautiful Thing to Me
You are about to hear the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St.
Mark. This Gospel will begin "two days before the Passover." It will end
when the body of our Lord rests and Joseph rolls "a stone against the
entrance of the tomb."
At the onset of this Gospel, a woman comes to Jesus. She carries "an
alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly." People will
indignantly protest when she breaks the flask and pours its contents out
upon Jesus' head. This will seem a waste; the ointment "could have been
sold. and given to the poor."
Listen carefully when Jesus responds to this protest. He will say to all
critics and accusers, "She has done a beautiful thing to me."
The words that describe what the woman will do-breaking, pouring-these are
sacrificial words. When this woman breaks the flask and pours out its
contents, she will act out for you that which Jesus likewise does for you in
this Gospel. "It was the will of LORD to crush Him" (Isaiah 53:10),
shattering His precious Son in the same way that the woman will shatter the
alabaster flask. The Son "poured out His soul to death" (Isaiah 53:12) in
the same way that this woman will pour out "the ointment of pure nard, very
costly." To the human eye, the crucifixion and death of this Man will seem
like the waste of a man, especially One so generous with healing for the
afflicted and bread for the poor.
"She has done a beautiful thing to me." Look at your Lord Jesus in the same
way that He looks at this woman. Keep His Words at the forefront of your
mind as you listen to this Gospel of Hi suffering and death. Repeat them
under your breath each step along the way. Many criticize this as a useless
history and a powerless death. Your own conscience might protest at this
breaking and pouring out of your Lord. Give answer to doubt and to
disparagement with these Words, "My Lord Jesus has done a beautiful thing to
me." As you listen to this dark history, use your Lord's Words both as
condemnation of your sin and as praise for your forgiveness, which is now
yours through this Gospel. The torture, the blood, the scourge, the
anguished cries, the gouged muscles, the thorns, the nails, the heaving
breath, the exhaustion, the tattered blue skin that barely clings to
stiffening limbs: with everything Jesus here suffers, make these Words your
persistent and unashamed confession of faith: "My Lord Jesus has done a
beautiful thing to me."
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Amen.
___________________________________________________________________________
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