Introduction:

Some years ago at a Lenten luncheon a fellow pastor asked me what services we planned to have during holy week. When I told him we were celebrating Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Sunrise and Easter Day Celebration, he was delighted. Then he wanted to know if many persons came to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services. I told him the cadre came; he quickly understood, because as he said: "Most protestants jump from Palm Sunday to Easter Day without much concern for what went on in between." We jump from Palm Fronds to Flowers, without thinking about the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Hence, my topic today "From Fronds to Flowers."

Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

It is important that we look first at what we have traditionally called Palm Sunday. Read Matthew 21:1-11 in your devotions this week. It is the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. You will recall that early on in Jesus’ journeys about, that he "set his face to go to Jerusa1em." For it was there that all the forces for and against him would clash. Here in the Holy City would be the cosmic conflict between the forces of good and evil. Until early Easter morning, it seemed that the forces of evil won hands down. But God came off the battlefield triumphant and we will celebrate that with our flower bedecked cross next Sunday morning. Hallelujah, for the Lord God, the omnipotent reigns! But we are getting ahead of the story. First, he enters Jerusalem. Jesus had borrowed a donkey to ride in on. Why on a donkey? So as to fulfill scripture from Zechariah 9:9:

"Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, 0 daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a jackass, on a colt the foal of an ass."

Now, we might imagine a giant parade in the order of the Macy’s parade with balloons and bands, and floats and clowns and all the trimmings, but this was small in comparison. A motley crew really, they put down their coats in the lane and cut down tree branches (traditionally palm. fronds: hence, Palm Sunday) to garland the way for this entrance of the so- called "King of the Jews." They hyped it up as much as possible for such an inauspicious occasion, shouting:

"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

And Matthew accurately reports, when they arrived in the city, the people said, "who is this?" They had to ask; they didn’t even know who he was. And the motley crew said: "This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee!"

The stir that was caused by this little announcement was that these people were claiming that this carpenter's son was a king. That immediately upset not only the Roman authorities but also the chief priests and elders of the church. Jesus was not anything like what they were looking for in a Messiah. They would have much preferred a Macy's parade and a colossal coup d'etat, taking over the government and slaying the foreign suppressor. Now that would have been a real parade, one they would all have enjoyed, but this, this couldn't hold a candle to what they had in mind. A donkey? Ha, ha, ha! What kind of joke is this? What this did accomplish, however, was that the issues were joined as to who he was and what he was about. It provided an occasion for Jesus to go public -- to take on the Pharisees and the chief priests and the elders of the temple who didn't have a clue as to who he was and what he intended to accomplish by entering the great city to do battle with the forces of evil.

I I. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

These events, these events of holy week or the passion narrative, or what you wish to call them, take us to the upper room on Thursday night behind closed doors away from the temple leaders, away from the public authorities, away from the crowds, and for Jesus to have an opportunity to explain to his close associates what was about to happen and, of course, to introduce them to the meal which was to be the focus of the Christian church for all times and places. And we will remember that on Thursday.

Then comes Friday, ah, that fateful Friday where the events of the week climaxed with the betrayal, the denials, the accusations, the trial, the crucifixion and the death of Jesus. It’s understandable that under normal circumstances, we always, if given a choice, would rather attend a parade than a funeral. One is a happy occasion; the other a sad, somber event. But, my friends, it is impossible for us to jump from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem with singing and parade and palm branches and cheers, to the flowers of Easter, without stopping Upper Room and Calvary on the way to the Easter service and the shouts of "Christ is risen from the dead."

One thoughtful soul has said that the two most frequented services of the Christian year should be Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, for here is the heart of the Gospel. Here is where the battles were fought; here is where the victory was won. Jumping from fronds to flowers is a huge leap; one which should be a quadruple jump from palms, to Eucharist, to Calvary and landing at the open tomb on Easter morning. "It is not possible to move from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday without passing through Good Friday."¹

Matthew focuses on Judas in the events of Thursday and Friday. Judas has taken a bad rap from most Christians throughout the century, if we are going to blame the whole problem on one individual, it will most likely be Judas. He makes the most convenient scapegoat for the whole affair. This, however, is the most tragic story of all of holy week. Judas, one of the Twelve, one of the inner circle, one who is in the know, privy to all that is going on, turns coat. Why? The commentators and prognosticators have speculated over and over again about why Judas betrayed his friend. We could understand Caiaphas or Pilate, or the chief priests and even the elders. They all would have profited from Jesus passing from the scene but why Judas, one of the Twelve? Don’t write him off so easily. He was "one of the twelve"; he was the treasurer for 12 Jews; he was a trusted friend; he knew as much as Peter, the hothead. He was just as privy as Thomas, the perennial doubter. He was as close as James and John, he drank from the same cup; ate from the: same bowl. Why, Judas?

When Jesus told that one of them would betray him, they all asked: "Is it I, Lord?" They were shocked, but not willing to blame each other. They all understood that it could have been any of them. After all they were simple folk. How were they expected to understand the events which would change the whole world? It could have been any. You should not be so hard on Judas even though it was him. It could have just as easily been you. Have we always stood up and been counted when Jesus was challenged? Have we been the faithful inner circle of trusted disciples who could be counted on when the going got tough? Judas, I think, is the most tragic person of holy week. Peter? Three times he denied he ever knew him. And the others turned tail and ran. The women were the real heroes and Joseph of Arimathea or Black Simon who bore the cross to Calvary. But Judas, one of the Twelve, sold him out for 30 pieces of silver. Not so much for the money. More likely because Jesus wouldn’t step up and be the kind of Messiah/King Judas thought he ought to be. Matthew is less interested in why. He just said: "Satan entered into the heart of Judas."

Conclusion:

That’s why we cannot go from fronds to flowers. We have to go by Golgotha. For there is where Jesus took on Satan who entered Judas’ heart and won. There is where Jesus took on Satan and won. He had to take it to the cross and to the grave to win, but he won. Stop by the garbage dump outside the city wall this week however necessary it might be, so that you can be reminded of how Easter celebrations are possible. It is the heart of the gospel; it is the stone of our faith. It is the ground of what Jesus is all about. Don’t miss it; don’t jump from fronds to flowers and miss the gore and pain and suffering of Thursday and Friday for that makes Sunday all the more ce1ebrative - - all the more meaningful -- when we stop by the upper room and eat and drink -- when we stop by the cross and hear him in all his pain say: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do."