A sermon for Palm Sunday Matthew 21:1-11
Fr. Mike Paraniuk
HCP columnist
There is a story about a King who decided to visit a little village in his kingdom. No King had ever visited them before. The townsfolk were ecstatic with joy.
They decided to throw a big celebration upon the King's arrival. But they were a poor village.
What is the best gift we can give him? The villagers were known for their good wine. Every one in the village was called upon to bring a large cup of their finest wine and bring it to the town square. There they would pour their cups of fine wine into a large vat. When the King draws wine from the vat to drink it will be the finest wine he ever tasted.
The big day finally arrived. The vat was full of their gift of wine to honor the King. They gave him a silver chalice to draw their choicest wine from the vat. He placed the cup under the spigot, turned the handle, filled his cup and then drank the wine. Everyone looked at the King intently to see if he was pleased.
He exclaimed, "Is this a joke? This is not wine. You have served me water!" How could this be?
A villager told a friend, "I kept my best wine for myself. I filled my cup with water to pour into the vat. With so many cups of wine in the vat, no one will notice the difference."
The friend told other villagers who proceeded to do the same thing. They all substituted wine with water. The King felt dishonored, angrily leaving the town vowing never to return.
We celebrate Palm Sunday because God gave us His answer to our prayers - Jesus. The people of Jerusalem all shouted out, 'Hosanna"! Hosanna is a prayer that means "Save us now."
God answered that prayer by offering to us His very best – Jesus. The name "Jesus" means "God is salvation."
Jesus can change the water of ordinary life into the wine of an extraordinary divine blessing of salvation.
The children of God still cry out today, "Hosanna." God save us from sickness. God save us from sadness. God save us from hunger and thirst. God save us from war. God save us from loneliness. God save us from despair. God save us from death. Jesus wants to offer you God's Peace now just as He did when He rode that donkey into Jerusalem. If a King rode on a horse it meant war. If he road on a donkey it meant peace.
You can find peace knowing that God is personaIly involved in your life in good times and in bad. Jesus can transform your hardships into blessings. We call these "blessings in disguise". I recently saw the beauty of such a blessing.
I visited a young man in his 30s. He is severely mentally disabled. He cannot communicate by speech but his happy face spoke volumes. I witnessed the source of his joy. He loves his father so much he could not stop hugging his dad.
They were standing during my entire visit facing each other. He busted out a big grin every time he looked at his dad's face. Then he would put his arm around dad's neck and bury his head into dad's shoulder. This "hug of love" from son to father was repeated many times. What touched me was seeing dad's face.
I could tell he was very proud of his son just the way he is. Dad beamed a big smile while looking up to his son's face. He exuded joy with every hug from his son. One could look at the son and feel bad about his disability. All I could see was the blessing of deepest love between father and son. It was love flowing upon love.
The lyrics in the song "Blessings" written by Laura Story describes God's hidden blessings:
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet your love is way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?