Who is the King of Glory?

WELCOME
Pastor Chris Paavola:
And then you guys can go ahead and have a seat. Good morning. Morning. It is good to be with you guys on this Palm Sunday and spring break. We were like, spring break is when? It’s this week? Okay. And we were kind of getting worried. We were like, are there going to be enough kids here? And there was enough kids here. But if you’re watching online, because you are on spring break somewhere warm, thanks for tuning in and watching this morning. We’re glad you guys are here as well joining us. Can’t wait to see you again soon. But yeah, so Palm Sunday, if you’re a guest with us today, if this is one of your first times at church in a while or maybe somebody invited you, we’re obviously very glad that you guys are here as well. I know it’s a little strange. You walk in and you get a palm branch and like, what is this?
You feel like an extra at the Super Bowl halftime show. What am I doing? No comment. So anyway, this Palm Sunday tradition, let me explain real quick. This goes back. About 1600 years is where we first see this happening, like around the fourth century, where people are waving Palm branches in a church service to kind of connect themselves to really the story and to kind of give just full weight to the importance of this day and the day’s following. And when I’m describing St. Mark at our newcomers lunch, or you can see it on our website as well, three ways to describe what makes us distinct or different. I’ll say that we’re biblically based, so we place ourselves under the authority of scripture. We’re culturally relevant, meaning we try to connect to your needs and the questions that you have in your life. And then the third one would be that we’re historically grounded. We’re not ashamed of that.
We didn’t just pop up in 1972. We stand on the shoulders of people who have gone before us and not just in a Lutheran church or whatever that might mean, but in saints and centuries gone by. And that’s why we do a lot of historic things every once in a while. We’ll do things like the creed in church or we have different things and in rhythms we go through in a service, but also in a calendar year. And the reason I say all that is because sometimes you’ll go, if you’ve ever been to a church before, it’s Easter and they talk about everything that morning and it kind of all gets conflated together. And they talk through all of the events from Palm Sunday to Thursday and the Passover and the temple confrontation and then Good Friday and all of these things. And they talk about all of them on Sunday morning.
And one of the reasons I love the history of Palm Sunday and doing this and having the tradition of doing this is that we weigh each moment fully. And we sit in each moment and allow it to have its way and we consider the importance of them as standalone events, but also the part of a bigger picture. So, I love that.

EASTER SCHEDULE
And so today is Palm Sunday, but then on Thursday we have our Monde Thursday service. I will explain what the word Monde means, but that’s when Jesus washes feet of his disciples. And that’s when he institutes what we call the Lord’s Supper. And then following that, we have what’s called a prayer vigil. And it’s spring break. And so a lot of people are gone. And so we have about eight slots left still in our prayer vigil if you haven’t signed up. And the reason I love it is you’re praying through the moments of the life of Christ, final hours as it’s happening in the wee hours of the morning or in the middle of the night.
And it’s an unbelievable experience. Just scan that QR code in your bulletin and grab one of the last few spots remaining because it’s a powerful way to go through just his suffering. And then that leads up to Good Friday. And we have one service guys that even we toyed with the idea of doing an evening service, but we thought, you know what, let’s just get cozy. So get here early for that one service for Good Friday. We’d love to see you guys here for that as we remember his sufferings and death. And again, it’s a service that allows us to just sit in that moment and the tension of that and not rush through it. And then that all leads up obviously to Easter on Sunday morning. We’ve got a 7:30 traditional sunrise service that morning that’ll be a traditional service with Oregon and all that kind of stuff.
And then we have new service times. I always get nervous when we have new service times because I’m like, people are going to show up at 9:30. Don’t be that guy. Don’t show up at 9:30 next week because he’ll be like really early for the 10 o’clock. Well, you could just come at 9:30, I guess it’d be a good time to get here. Actually, for our 11:15 crowd, we’re not going to tell them it’s 11:15 because that’s when they show up anyway. We’re just going to tell them it’s church. We’ll see you next Sunday. Hey, guilty, right? They are a different breed at that service, you guys. You guys are much more responsible than those people. I’m just saying. So anyway, we were kind of trying to get a show of hands and just like a straw pole. Anyone planning on going to the 7:30 service that morning?
Okay. And then anyone going to make it to the 8:45? Is that when you’re planning? Okay. We’re getting a headcount back there. Okay. And then anyone at 10 o’clock? Okay. I think. Okay, good. We wanted to split the 9:30 down the middle. I think we did a pretty good … Anyone come to 11:15? Yeah. Okay. Same thing. Hey, it’s at 11:00, you guys. It’s at 11:00. I promise you. That’s when the service is Johnson family. All right.

A QUESTION FOR PALM SUNDAY
So anyway, but that brings us back to Palm Sunday today and like what today is. And historically, people put a palm branch in our hands so we immerse ourself in the stories and we experience it. But today I don’t just want to put a palm branch in your hands. I want to put a question in your mind. And the question I want to put in your mind is the question that was rolling through the city that morning.
It’s the question we heard in our kid’s reading whereas one first century follower named Matthew wrote in his biography of this and his account of this event.

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked “Who is this?”
Matthew 21

He says, “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, who is this?” And it’s kind of a derivative of the prophetic Psalm that we read responsively earlier, where the Psalmist asks, who is this king of glory?
And if you think about it, when you look at this Psalm, it actually is kind of telling you, giving you a hint that the Messiah will be a savior who subverts all of our expectations of him. He won’t fit the box that we try to put him in. He is an untamed lion who keeps getting out of the pen. And we can try to make Jesus who we expect him to be, but he does the unexpected again and again. And that’s why you have to ask, who is the king of glory? Otherwise, why would you even have to ask? If he’s wearing opulent robes and a gold crown and people are throwing rose petals saying, “Hale, hell.” When he walks by, you don’t have to ask, who is this? It’s a king.

GLORY DEFINED
But Jesus is going to be the kind of king that you’re going to have to ask, who is this king of glory? And think about his life. He’s born not in a palace, in a barn, not in a capital city, in a backwoods town. And the people who welcome him are not dignitaries. They are illiterate shepherds. And the angels go to them and they say, “Glory has come down to earth.” They’re like, “Glory,” and they tell them where to go. And then they go and they find glory lying in an animal’s feed trough. And I guarantee you, the shepherds asked, “Who is this? ” King of glory?
And then his whole life, he keeps on subverting our expectations. There’s a prophet named Isaiah, and he says, “He has no form or beauty that we should desire him.” Jesus is unattractive. I know who’s the guy who plays Jesus in the passion, James, that guy, right? I know he’s good looking. And I know the guy in the chosen is kind of good looking, or so I’m told they’re good looking guys. Jesus was unattractive, guys, and so were the people around him. They were uneducated, unclean, unwelcome, uncouth. He never held an office, never wrote a book, never held a job, never owned a home.
Who is this? King of glory? And so he rides in on Palm Sunday on a borrowed donkey. Not a stallion. And he’s escorted by a disorderly mob of peasants, not an army. And there’s no fanfare and trumpets and choirs and poets reciting sonnets as he walks by. It’s a disorganized celebration, an impromptu parade of passerby who cut cheap makeshift props to celebrate. Who is this? A king of glory? Then think about how this question repeats all the way through the rest of the Holy Week. They’re standing in the temple and they ask him, “Who is this? ” When he’s arrested by a garrison, they ask, “Who is this? ” He stands in front of Caiaphas and he’s questioned, “Who is this? ” Ponchos Pilate stands next to him and asks the crowd, “Who is this? ” The Roman centurions, as they crucify him, they ask, “Who is this?
King of glory?” I love how in the book of Genesis, the very beginning of the Bible, actually it’s Exodus, Moses is having a conversation and God introduces himself to Moses and he tells him his name is Yahweh in Hebrew. And I love that it’s translated. “I am that I am. I am that I am. Not I am as I want him to be, not as I am as you want him to be, not I am as any nationality or culture or philosophical ideology wants him to be. He is as he is and no one can change that. He does not fit our expectations of him.
Martin Luther, he’s a reformer in the 1500s, our namesake and he calls this a theology of glory versus a theology of the cross. Theology of glory is what is natural to man. We want the bright and the beautiful and the insight and the wisdom and the revelation and the next thing and the greater and the better and Valhalla, Nirvana, Olympus. And we’re looking for that and what God has revealed is a cross. That’s where he wants to be found. That’s where he wants to be revealed. And we’re looking for something else from God, something more, a greater euphoric thing. And this pesky cross stands in our way. It’s the theology of the cross. That’s how he wants to be found. And before you shake your head thinking,” Well, I would’ve seen him. “Think of how you would’ve defined glory. Think of how you would define glory before we have this conversation on any other time.
And I said,” How would you define … “You’d say,” It’s accomplishment, it’s achievement, it’s success, it’s a trophy, it’s a medal, it’s cheers and chilled glasses with champagne, right? Champagne, Versace and Armani and Prada and leather interiors with low mileage and a big house up on the hill. That would be glory according to you, not him.

WHY THIS GLORY
And the question is, well, why? Why would God do this? It doesn’t make any sense. And that’s where I love the words of the Apostle Paul. He’s a follower of Jesus in the first century, and he writes this letter to a small group of Christians in a town called Corinth, and he’s trying to describe Jesus to them. And he begins his letter this way. And I’m just going to read it. It’s very straightforward.

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom and the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate”
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify things that are. 29 so that no one may boast before him.
1 Corinthians

I don’t need to explain it. I think you can just read it for yourselves and let the word speak, but take a look at what Paul says on why God would define glory this way. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written. “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. The intelligence of the intelligence I will frustrate. Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? “Jews demand signs. Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.
A stumbling block to Jews, foolishness to the Gentiles. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him.” That’s why. Nothing stands before him and steals a shred of his glory. No one can boast in front of him. Eternal life is not something you achieve. It’s something you receive. Eternal life is not something you can win. It’s something that he won alone. And this smacks against our independent Americana. Pull yourself up by your DIY bootstraps. I do it my way mindset. We don’t want anyone to help us. We don’t want to be helped. Sorry.
Unless we say that’s not fair, God goes first and he lowers himself lower than anyone to lead the way. We want exaltation. And he’s the God of humiliation.

A QUESTION FOR THE HOLY WEEK
Sometimes the thing is some of us have a hard time finding God because we’re looking in the wrong place. And when he shows up, we go, ” Who is this? King of glory? “Sorry. He’s not just the God of the wise. He’s the God of the uneducated. MIT professor and child with Down syndrome. He’s not just the God of the powerful. He’s also the God of the week.
LeBron James and the paralyzed patient, Ed Bronson. He’s not just the God of the wealthy. He’s also the God of the poor Elon Musk and the single parent buying groceries with an EBT card. That’s the king of glory. When it’s glory, as he defines it, when it’s king, as he defines it. So he rides a donkey. He’s arrested. He’s beaten. He’s cut. He’s bruised. He bleeds because he wants to be a king with a crown of thorns. He wants to reign on a throne of torture. And this question, who is this king of glory? Actually, if you think about it, you guys, you can ask this question all week long as he subverts our expectation of him. You can ask it on Thursday as he washes our feet and gives us his body and blood and comedian. And you can go, ” Who is this? King of glory?
“He can ask the question at the prayer of vigil as he’s unfairly tried and suffers. Who is this? King of glory? You can ask it at Good Friday. As you read the sign over his head that says King of the Jews, and you can say,” Who is this? King of glory? “And then, Sunday morning, as he steps out of a borrowed grave, you can ask,” Who is this? “King of glory. Because you dared to sit in the weight of each moment this holy week. And maybe, just maybe as you go through the beats of this story and you’d wrestle with that question, maybe just maybe his definition of love, his definition of power, and maybe his definition of glory will become yours because you took the time to ask,” Who is this? King of glory?

PRAYER
“Let me pray for you. Heavenly Father, I pray that this question for everyone who can hear the sound of my voice, everyone watching online, everyone in the room, I pray this question would be a question we wrestle with today, fully today. We don’t rush ahead to the next moment that we sit here and we just ask,” Who is this king of glory? “And then as we wrestle with the Monday Thursday account or the Good Friday accounts, as we sit through a prayer vigil, you would press this question on us again that we might learn who you are by asking who is this king of glory?
(22:11):
Show us who you are, that who you are, not as we want you to be, not as we expect you to be, but as you are, and that will be enough, Lord. And speaking of glory, we pray the prayer your son taught us that speaks of that glory as we say together.
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven,
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us,
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
And the power,
And the glory,
Forever and ever,
Amen.