Socially Aware (Pastor Cheryl Lavornia)

Okay, we're going to start with a question today.

Have you ever wondered if you'd do the right thing?

In the midst of turmoil or crisis,

even if it meant the outcome for you would most likely cost you something really big.

It could be your freedom, your financial status, a job.

It might take a great investment of your time.

It might even cost you your life.

Would you still do the right thing?

If you were Mahatma Gandhi in 1930,

would you lead a protest that would lead to your arrest?

If you were a woman in the women's suffrage parade in 1913,

would you still march if you faced hostile crowds?

If you were to march and protest during the civil rights movement,

would you do it even if you faced violence, beatings, threats, or bombings?

In these examples, we've seen how people can do the right thing

by protesting against power in the name of justice,

even when it doesn't go well.

Maybe you were part of the estimated 5 million people

who marched last Saturday and the hands-off parade

over 1200 locations around the US as a way to speak against injustice.

Even the Old Testament contains numerous examples of protest against injustice and authority.

The iconic story of Moses pleading for his people's freedom,

leading an estimated 2 million people out of slavery.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, their refusals bowed down

to the golden statue of King Nebuchadnezzar

with a bold act of protest against forced religious conformity

and a plea for religious freedom.

The prophets Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah

served as a voice of protest against the social and political injustices of their time,

challenging the ruling class and calling for reform.

So it makes total sense that around the year 30 AD,

and now what we refer to as Palm Sunday,

another peaceful protest marched into Jerusalem

to challenge the religious and political powers.

It was a carefully planned act of protest meant to confront injustice.

It was on this day that Jesus led a peace march into Jerusalem,

a public demonstration that included joyful celebration

as well as public lamentation.

And this most likely hastened his crucifixion.

Jesus must have known what it would be like

to see those Romans against him.

He would have known what it would have cost him.

This is the most out loud declaration of God's kingdom,

one of peace, justice, and freedom.

And it was so drastically opposed to the oppressive and violent empire

Jesus challenged on Palm Sunday.

So we are nearly at the end of our sermon series, Revitalization,

the process of reimagining what it means to be a compassionate Christian community.

And we've spent time defining what it means to be Christian

and what it means to community.

And today we'll be finishing up by reimagining compassion

with a sermon I'm calling, Socially Aware.

Being socially aware means that we as a church have been called

to demonstrate God's call to love our neighbors.

So let's look at deeper at Jesus's protest parade.

Would you stand with me as we read from the Gospel of Matthew?

Chapter 21, 1 through 11.

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Beth Viej

at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples saying with them,

Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied

and a colt with her.

Untie them and bring them to me.

If anyone says anything to you, just say this, the Lord needs them.

And he will send them immediately.

This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet saying,

Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you humble

and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

They brought the donkey and the colt and they put their clothes on them

and he sat on them.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road

and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

The crowds that went ahead of him and that were following were shouting,

Hosanna to the son of David.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest heaven.

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil asking,

Who is this?

The crowds were saying, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.

Lord, we put ourselves right now in this procession.

We're watching Jesus walk by.

We're hearing the shouts of Hosanna.

We're seeing the palm branches and the cloaks.

We're realizing a lot is going on.

And the question before us is still,

What will I do here?

Will I do the right thing?

Will I face difficult times?

What are you calling me to do today?

Holy Spirit, we ask you to work in our hearts, in our minds

so that we may see your path forward.

We may see the thing that you're calling us to transform us.

Help us to see your way.

Amen.

You may be seated.

So you may be a bit surprised to hear me refer to Jesus's procession

on Palm Sunday as a protest parade.

But that year, as Jerusalem was prepared for Passover,

two very different processions entered Jerusalem

to proclaim two contrasting visions of how this world can and should be.

As the two disciples retrieved the donkey on the eastern side of Jerusalem,

you might be surprised to hear that on the western side,

Roman imperial troops also entered Jerusalem.

It had been happening for years as the Roman governor of Judea,

Pontius Pilate, rode into Jerusalem with legions of soldiers behind him

to be present in the city in case there were riots during Passover.

Now, the Jewish festival of Passover increased Jerusalem's population

from about 50,000 to about 200,000.

And if you remember, Passover is a celebration of another type of protest

against the bondage of slavery in Egypt some 1,500 years prior.

This celebration fueled various protests against Roman imperial rule.

So the governor was there to demonstrate that Rome was in charge

and that there was only one Caesar, one Lord, one Son of God,

and that was Caesar.

This show of might and power also came with this violence, if necessary,

to quell any other rival protests.

With soldiers on every street corner and the threat of crucifixion

for any political upstarts for the Romans, this was their idea of justice and peace.

But Jesus would have known about the arrival of Pilate in the additional troops

because it had happened throughout his lifetime.

This made his entry into the city in this way at this time even more significant.

This was no coincidence or casual decision on Jesus' part

and said it was a purposeful move to enter on a donkey, on a baby donkey,

not on a war horse like Pontius Pilate or his generals and the rest of the armies,

but on a baby donkey.

This was a declaration of peace and a prophetic act as the Messiah.

Remember the prophet Zechariah wrote this about the coming Messiah,

rejoice greatly daughter Zion, shout daughter Jerusalem,

see your king comes to you righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey and a colt the full of a donkey.

Jesus was claiming that God's way was very different than Rome's.

God's way was peace through justice, not power and intimidation.

So Jesus rode into Jerusalem despite the likely consequences of his act

to demonstrate that there was a new and better way.

He rode in faith that even if God's people didn't understand,

it was the right thing to do because the injustice of the time

were so wrong that he said even the stones would cry out

and he rode on the full of a donkey to the cries of the lowliest

who cried Hosanna who hoped that this new kingdom of justice and peace would come soon.

You might also be surprised of who was part of Jesus' protest parade.

This is a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road

and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

Now the crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting Hosanna

to the son of David.

But when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil asking who is this?

Then the crowds were saying this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.

Notice it's not the people of Jerusalem that cry out to Jesus as he enters,

but those following Jesus from Galilee and all the surrounding areas.

Tax collectors, fishermen, the blind who could now see,

the lame who could now walk, the healed lepers,

others those who had been healed and those who had been brought back to life.

This was the parade of the humble and the meek.

They were the ones that were saying Hosanna.

Now Hosanna lots of times we think of Hosanna is often understood as a cry of praise

in its original Hebrew meaning it means save us.

But in the context of Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem,

it's possible that the crowds shouts of Hosanna included this political dimension.

As they were hoping for Jesus to establish God's kingdom

and deliver them from this Roman rule.

Hosanna is this cry of rescue.

It's this deep cry out of desperation, hardship and weariness

for someone to come and please save us, help us,

quickly come to our aid, rescue us.

Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on that day and in that way

was in fact a carefully prepared political demonstration of rescue.

Holy Week began with this peace protest that had severe consequences for Jesus.

Jesus literally put his body in harm's way

and rode in declaring himself as the rescuer,

the Messiah who would bring real peace and real justice.

Now in Hebrew the word for real justice is mishpat.

And when we think about real justice

we tend to think about it as declaring all humans equal before God

and having the right to be treated with dignity and fairness.

But mishpat means so much more.

Mishpat goes beyond that retributive justice

like if you steal something you will pay the consequences

to the concept of restorative justice.

Mishpat is restorative justice

and it aims to repair the damage and heal broken relationships,

not just punish.

It involves actively identifying and helping those who have been taken advantage of

such as the poor, the widows, the orphans and the immigrants.

Mishpat calls for addressing systemic injustice

and changing structures that perpetuate oppression.

It emphasizes treating all individuals fairly and equitably

regardless of their status, their citizenship, their background,

their race, their economic abilities.

While retributive justice may be appropriate in some cases,

mishpat also encourages forgiveness and reconciliation

and righteousness and compassion.

Mishpat means that you take steps to advocate for the vulnerable

and the weak by working towards preventing injustice in the first place.

Now Proverbs 31-8 says,

open your mouth for those who can't speak for themselves.

In Jeremiah 22 it says,

rescue the disadvantaged and don't tolerate oppression

or violence against the immigrant, the orphan and the widow.

Psalm 146-7 says,

the Lord God upholds justice for the oppressed,

gives food to the hungry and sets the prisoner free

but thwarts the way of the wicked.

See, Palm Sunday was a challenge to two different crowds

to make a very public choice between two processions,

two kingdoms, Rome's or God's.

Sometimes when we talk about Palm Sunday,

we do refer to it as Passion Sunday,

emphasizes Jesus' suffering

because he literally put himself in harm's way,

but it can also refer to the passion Jesus had for his kingdom.

Now this kingdom was one of justice and mercy and the end of violence,

and it was directly opposed to the kingdoms and the powers of this world

that emphasizes dominion and exploitation and violence.

Jesus' peaceful protest most likely hastened his crucifixion.

He must have known what it would cost him,

but he knew it was the right and just thing to do.

For Jesus and his disciples, their protest parade into Jerusalem

was the moment their passion was challenged

with the risk that became all too real.

It's easy to sit in a room cheering for Jesus

and being super excited until you're marching by Roman soldiers

with Golgotha, the hill, with the crosses already ready.

It was a moment that their passion took a public stand against the empire

against violence, oppressive power, and religious hypocrisy

because five days later this passion led Jesus to be unlawfully tried

tortured and crucified.

But he set his foot forward.

He kept going forward.

Isaiah 51-7 says,

Because the sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.

Therefore I've set my face like flint

and I know I will not be put to shame.

Now we still live in a two-percession world.

Our history is full of Caesar like leaders who,

in contrast to the peace and mercy of God's kingdom,

establish empires with their own power and violence,

often claiming God's blessing and authority.

The question is, which one will you choose?

Will you choose to follow the people of Jerusalem

who cried, crucify him five days later?

Or you join the crowd of disciples, tax collectors, beggars,

lepers, outcasts, those healed and those raised from the dead

who were yelling Hosanna, knowing where you're headed.

Pomsani is not just a parade of palm branches, cloaks in celebration,

but a path toward self-sacrifice,

a love that empties itself in service, calling for obedience,

even unto death.

It heads us straight for the cross.

Jesus said, and it tells us in Luke 9,

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves

and take up their cross daily and follow me.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,

but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world

yet lose or forfeit their very self?

Whoever is ashamed of me in my words,

the Son of Man will be ashamed of them

when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father

and of his holy angels.

Truly I tell you, some who are standing here

will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.

When we talk about reimagining about being compassionate,

Mishpat plays an important role

because justice is so much more than just compassion.

Justice is compassion's result.

Dan Collusion in his book,

Church in the Translation says,

when we see injustice, we are moved by compassion

and act to bring justice to an individual

or a group of people who are underserved, undervalued,

disenfranchised, powerless, and poor.

It echoes the words in Amos that says,

let justice roll on like a river,

righteousness like a never-failing stream.

Now Christ's Church actually began its ministry in E.G.

with this strong call to compassion, to Mishpat.

In its ministries and in its outreaches

as a bedrock of the followers of Jesus.

Being socially aware means that our mission has to choose

to engage in Mishpat.

God's justice's work must be aware of the people around us

to seek to stop injustices by changing culture

and laws and practices and policies

that discriminate, intimidate, and oppress.

And we need to become more socially aware

and engage in the multiple ways Jesus leads us to protest.

One example of this is furniture connection.

For years, the furniture connection has been joining Jesus'

protest parade by meeting the needs of people

in our community with furniture, prayer, and presence.

By delivering two beds, two dressers, kitchen table,

and chairs to a single mom and her son on the third floor.

By delivering three beds, that's mattresses and box springs,

for a single mom and her three young girls

who had been sleeping on the floor.

By providing chairs, end tables, bookcases, bedding,

toaster, and pots to a mom and her three daughters from the Ukraine.

Delivering a mattress, that's again box spring and frame,

bureau chair, end table, flatware set,

coffee maker, toaster oven, bedding, and pillows

to a previously homeless lady who had nothing.

By delivering three complete beds,

that's frames, box springs, and mattresses

to a single mom with two children

who were previously homeless but now in an apartment.

By delivering a queen-size mattress, a dresser,

two upholstered chairs, and two kitchen chairs

to a woman who had lost her husband last October,

had cancer surgery herself

and had moved into that apartment with nothing.

The furniture connection has been serving

an average of 100 families per year,

and 2025 is their 23rd year.

Dave Sawyer said that while God is present in every delivery,

he is really obvious when we receive a donated item

the same day we have someone who needs that specific item,

and we have the blessing to deliver it.

This is part of joining Jesus' protest parade.

Again, for another over the last 20 years as well,

the Care Center has also joined Jesus' protest parade

as they've offered assistance to those who have been marginalized

due to injustice, violence, poverty, and misfortune.

By working with local agencies,

they have walked alongside struggling people

who have faced eviction due to injustices

and economic downturn.

By standing in the financial gap where a woman

and her children needed to move immediately

because she had seen a murder occur

and her life was being threatened.

From losing jobs, slash tires, serious domestic abuse,

illness, and abandonment,

it's all met with prayer, comfort,

and a sense of relief that someone is walking

and standing with them in this crisis.

Even those they serve are challenging

because there's deep poverty, dysfunction, addiction issues,

mental illness, poor decision-making,

and often it's just that the things that they've owned

are so old that they break.

It seems like many just can't get a break.

These fearless and compassionate volunteers

continue to lend a helping hand.

These are our main compassion ministries

here at Christchurch.

Many of the people marching with Jesus

for justice and peace sometimes do this,

and they face great hardship, heart-ship,

meaning their hearts hurt for the people,

and it costs them something, their time,

their backs, their muscles, and everything else.

Now for a long time I've had this dream

that this church would be called to launch something

I'm calling micro-missions,

where people who have this passion

to engage in the needs of the community around us

join Jesus' protest parade against the injustices they see.

So you don't have to march in a parade

to actually engage with what Jesus is calling us to do.

Ken Bell has done this

as he goes and leads a Bible study at the ACI.

Pat Rotako and Mary Mook and others have done this

as she and a small group have worked with a refugee family.

The amazing grays just started going to the Steer House

to lead a Bible study in an assisted living facility

once a month.

This is Mishpat.

Remember, justice is more than just compassion,

it's compassion's result.

These micro-missions could be creative ways

that God uses each one of us to protest and speak

for the vulnerable, the wounded, and the lost.

Just going on our website today

and signing up for a time

and engaging in the prayer vigil

is another way we join God

in protest against the enemies of God.

We can do that.

So today, we get to answer this question.

Will we, as a compassionate Christian community,

live our lives in such a way that the world knows

which procession we are following to do the right thing?

Will we pick God's way or Caesar's way?

Will we pick the way of mercy and compassion

or the way of judgment and bitterness?

Will we pick the way of generosity

or the way of scarcity?

On this Palm Sunday,

join me together.

Let's be the church that joins Jesus' protest parade

and be part of his kingdom's work

of bringing justice and peace

to do the right thing,

to do the Jesus thing.

Amen.