Palm Sunday
“ … though he was in the form of God … he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave … he humbled himself.” Phil. 2:7-8
14th century German mystic and philosopher Meister Eckhart said the spiritual life has much more to do with subtraction than with addition. St. Paul couldn’t agree more.
In today’s excerpt from St. Paul’s shocking letter to the Philippians, he says it as boldly as ever stated by anyone:
“Though he was in the form of God … he emptied himself.”
Self-emptying is the keystone, the theme of this entire week – this “holy” week. It’s the week that ties the whole story of Jesus together into one final disclosure:
The God of Jesus is in full-blown, all-in, total solidarity with humankind – all humankind, all peoples everywhere.
From the birth of a special child in Bethlehem all the way to that same child ultimately nailed to a cross, God has shown how much our Creator, our God, identifies with and is ultimately connected to everyone – most especially with the poorest of the poor:
“He took the form of a slave.”
This week also paints the picture of how we, you and I, are to be.
We are asked to follow the way of Jesus, not the lead of the Roman emperor, nor the Pharisees, nor those who want more money, more fame, and more and more power.
Rather we are asked to follow the way of Jesus and be willing to empty ourselves of our egos; of our passions to dominate; of our desires to build towers of power into the skies.
Look at Jesus in today’s gospel from Luke:
Though in the “form of God,” Jesus rides on a donkey, as did his mother on the road to Bethlehem.
As one scholar puts it: “His humble entry into Jerusalem becomes a satire and mockery of the triumphal processions organized by the Romans to take possession of conquered cities. As a public act proclaiming a nonviolent anti-kingdom, it would have been enough to lead to a decree of execution.”
And Jesus takes his message even further.
He carries out the most dangerous public act of his life:
Driving out those who were selling and buying in the sacred Temple of Jerusalem, the heart of the Jewish people and the center of all their Jewish religion held sacred. That holiest of spaces had become overrun by money changers who had thoroughly desecrated it.
Subtraction.
Instead of a statement of triumph, instead of glory and majesty, instead of more and more worldly grandeur, instead of addition, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and his raging against the misuse of the holy Temple speaks of one thing only:
Subtraction.
Watch this theme being carried out throughout this entire “holy” week.
Watch, too, where you fit into this story of betrayal and deception, abandonment and horrific cruelty.
Where do you see yourself?
Are you Peter who denies and lies? Are you Judas who wants addition not subtraction? Are you one of those closest to Jesus who remains silent when the powerful scare them? Are you one of those who “says” you’re a follower of Jesus but scatters out of fear of being mocked? Are you one of the soldiers who just does what they’re told and asks no questions?
Or are you one of the women, the nobodies, who alone stood loyally and courageously at the foot of the Cross, and who then took the risk of burying Jesus and visiting his tomb?
“Though he was in the form of God … he emptied himself.”
Palm Sunday is all about our joining Jesus in emptying ourselves so we can make room for his arrival in our hearts and in our souls.
It’s about subtraction, not addition.
Ted Wolgamot, Psy.D.
