Tunes (Palm / Passion Sunday)

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Over the past few weeks, I’ve often found that one of the hymns or songs we sing gets stuck in my head for the rest of the week.  It follows me around and sometimes reminds me of some of the messages from the scriptures and the mood of the season.

Maybe this is the way it is for you, too. And indeed, that’s one of the reasons we try to pick good, inspiring hymns and songs for church.  Sometimes, a good song that you hear will stick with you, remind you of what the day has been all about, and even walk with you for the rest of your week.  On Palm Sunday, “All Glory, Laud and Honor” always sticks with me throughout Holy Week.

But there’s another hymn that always shows up on Palm Sunday.  It’s an ancient hymn. In fact, it’s probably the earliest Christian hymn we know about.  And most of us don’t even realize it’s a hymn, because the words don’t rhyme, alliterate or even have rhythm in English the way they do in ancient Greek. We don’t even know what the tune was!

But the hymn is always there – Paul quotes it in his letter to the early Christians in Philippi.  It’s these words that make up the 7 verses in today’s second reading which begin, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus …”

It’s interesting that Paul chose to quote that hymn. I’m sure there must have been others.  And maybe they were songs that were more like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, or “Jesus Christ is Risen Today.”  You know, hymns that were full of happiness, victory and a sense of God’s power.

But instead, Paul chose to quote this hymn that speaks about Jesus not regarding his relationship with God as something to be “exploited.”  It speaks about Jesus emptying himself.  It speaks about Jesus being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  All of that comes before any language about exaltation.

It’s as though Paul is telling those early Christians that this tune – this tune of God emptying himself in Jesus and becoming a servant – is the tune that should stick in their heads.  It’s the tune that should follow them around as they live their daily lives.  It’s the tune that should color their actions.

And that’s the same reason that we lift up this “tune” today in our readings.  It’s great and it’s fun to sing about and to listen to songs that tell us how big and powerful God is.  But in my life, and in yours, the times when we most need God are the times when we feel not so big and powerful.  We need God in our lives when we feel empty.  We need God in our lives when we feel that we have to humble ourselves and serve whether we like it or not.  We need God in our lives when we feel like life is a pretty big burden – maybe even a burden that will kill us.

And it’s at those times in our lives – and in the lives of others – that the tune we most need in our hearts and our minds is the tune that reminds us that in Jesus, God meets us in our emptiness.  The tune that we most need in our hearts and our minds is the tune that reminds us that Jesus walks with us when the way is rough.  The tune that we most need in our hearts and our minds is the tune that promises us that God has a future for us in spite of it all, even beyond our own deaths.

And so especially as we journey through this Holy Week, and as we read the story of Jesus’ suffering and death, let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.  That is, let THIS tune be stuck in your head – that Jesus meets us and walks with us in our emptiness and our weakness, and journeys with us even beyond the crosses of our own lives.

And so with that tune in our hearts and minds, let’s read together the Passion of Our Lord according to Matthew …