Preacher: Sarah Haslam
Date: 05/04/2020
“HUMBLE HEROES”!
Good morning! Happy Palm Sunday! I’ve been reading Matthew 21 and Psalm 118 this morning, and I find it remarkable how on point their messages are for us today.
Matthew’s Gospel gives an account of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey as a very large crowd gathered, cheering, while Psalm 118 is one of thanksgiving: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!
I have found it deeply moving to see the way the nation is saying thank you, showing their appreciation for all the humble heroes: the doctors and hospital workers and those putting their lives at risk – to keep our services running and to keep us alive.
I was thinking of you all as the children and I were clapping and whistling and cheering the NHS on Thursday evening. I could hear others doing the same in the distance – I expect you were out there too.
Then, on Friday, before the last day of home-school began, we had breakfast news on TV and I was again stirred by the ‘hero half hour’ they were organising – where viewers could nominate someone
to show how much they appreciated them at this truly hard time.
We are genuinely thankful, and it has been humbling, hasn’t it?
In fact that was one of the words that caught my eye in my
reading. Matthew 21 verse 5 says: ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on
a donkey’.
It’s always remarkable to think that Jesus, the glorious
king of the world, has taught us what it is to be truly humble.
In this Easter season we are more than ever conscious that
His actions, his selfless giving, his ultimate sacrifice on the
cross are beyond humbling. And our whole country is now waking up to that very Christ-like characteristic, that model of servant love.
As we are brought to our knees by an invisible virus we are all becoming aware of just how much we are literally being carried by the actions of those around us – as though on a wave – by humble heroes. It’s quite incredible. Verse 8 tells us that a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and other cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
We might not feel as though we are being carried by a donkey or a tide of love – but Matthew reminds us that we are. It’s uncanny: the cloaks are very much being placed on the ground, and the branches are being cut, every time a neighbour offers to shop or pick up a prescription for us, every time a hospital floor is cleaned or our bins are collected.
I am sure you are part of that wave of love too – reaching out to a friend who might be lonely, serving others with love, however and wherever you can. This is indeed a humbling time.
This morning I feel like clapping and waving and cheering my
head off – worshipping and giving thanks for the humble, servant king who has taught us how to love – and whose love has already saved the lives of every man, woman and child who has professed Jesus as their king.
Verse 9 tells us: The crowds that went ahead of him and that
followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! Happy Palm Sunday!