April 5, 2020 – Palm Sunday                                                          Text:  John 12:12-19

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Do you remember when you were young, especially those teenage years when you were sure that everyone was watching your every move?  You were always concerned about your image.  What do my friends think?  What does that cute boy or girl think of me?  My hair, my clothes, my body . . . oh my!

            Then what happens to most all of us?  We grow up.  We find out that people weren’t staring at us the whole time.  Some didn’t even care what we looked like.  The bubble was burst and that teen angst blew away.

            That doesn’t mean that vainglory doesn’t still continue.  For celebrities image is everything.  Whether they are the richest or the most beautiful or have the most talent doesn’t really matter.  What does matter is what the public thinks of them.  Can they get attention on the red carpet and on magazine covers and on late night talk shows?  Glory that’s purely vain.  Vainglory.  It is empty.  Why is it considered a deadly sin?  Because it is all about . . .

“MY GLORY”

            Who doesn’t want to be #1?  Who doesn’t want a little adoration?  You?  Me?  Of course we do.  We want to be recognized as the smartest, the political smarty-pants, the one with the most Facebook friends, the greatest kids.  We want adoration for praying the most often, being the busiest, having the best looking lawn, being a whizz at crossword puzzles or always being so darn nice to people.  Please give me a trophy for the best hair, the greatest body, our wonderful house or the way my charity outdoes your charity. 

            Who are you?  If you define yourself by what others think of you then you are in the throes of vainglory.  Don’t misunderstand please.  We should receive good feedback from others – appreciative words and encouragement – we all need that.  It is especially important to give this to our children.  Our approval and verbal uplifts give to young people love and security and confidence.

            The problem is when it becomes vain.  Something we deserve.  Many of you know the Carly Simon song with this line, “You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you.”  In an ironic twist many did think the song was about them.  She said in an interview it was a plethora of men she had known or dated.  When we start to think that everything is about us then it is a problem.  God gets pushed out of the picture or we leave Him hanging on some long forgotten wall.

            Now we come to Jesus on Palm Sunday?  A parade for Me?  Cloaks and palms and shouts of adoration – Hosanna!  Does Jesus look for the nearest camera so he can say, “Blessings you little ones, thanks for the parade, I have come here today to tell you that I am going to make Jerusalem great again.”  Is it about Him?

            If any had a reason for that line of thinking it was our precious Savior.  Gather the press I would like to tell them how I fed 5,000.  Can Time magazine do a cover story on my work with the demon-possessed man?  “Who does this guy think He is, He acts as if He can walk on water.”  “Oh, right, I do that too.  Come to the lake later and I’ll do a free demonstration.”

            Jesus didn’t do any of that.  In most of these situations, He just left.  He didn’t dance in the end zone.  He didn’t tweet about His exploits.  He didn’t even have his 12 press agents work on press releases. 

            Jesus could treat Palm Sunday like another shining moment, but He didn’t.  Why?  He knew that some of the very same people throwing a parade today would be screaming in unison for His death by Friday. 

            Jesus didn’t stop to do interviews or give some grand speech.  He rode on.  He rode on to die.  He didn’t care about vainglory.  He wasn’t about my glory – He cared about true glory.  True glory doesn’t come from a people lined street.  It comes from the Father in heaven.

            What Jesus sees ahead of Him is His heavenly Father on His throne waiting for Him.  He sees ahead of Him the giving of His life to save the world.  The glory Jesus seeks is the glory of God in heaven.  “Well done, My Son!’

            Now what about you?  Jesus paid for your sin of vainglory.  Instead of thinking about what others think of us in this world we should think on this question.   Almighty God and Father, maker of heaven and earth, “What does HE think of me?”  God has given Jesus for you and for me that we may believe in Him and be baptized into Him and may stand before our Father and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

            Is there any greater glory than that?  Remember when you receive praise for some talent that it all comes from the hand of God.  Is that how you share it with the world?  When complimented by someone, do you point to Jesus?  Do you put the glory into the proper hands?  Brothers and sisters won’t it be wonderful when the parade ends and we step into the glory of the world to come.  There He is, our Father on His throne – smiling in all His glory.

                                                                                    Amen.