Cornerstone

Robert E. Hall
Tarrytown United Methodist Church

Palm Sunday
April 1, 2007

Luke 19: 28-40 and Philippians 2: 5-11

A CRISIS OF LEADERSHIP

How we long for leaders who are faithful and just, strong, loving and wise--- leaders in every area of our lives: families, schools, churches, businesses, and governments at all levels. Over the past 20 years, I have been to at least 20 seminars and workshops on clergy leadership. The section concerning clergy leadership in my library has grown faster than all the others. What’s happening?

The wisest people I have consulted tells me that our usual model of leadership was of a person who could keep things running smoothly and come up with solutions to problems when they arise. “Smoothly” usually means that the business of the institution functions on a day to day basis, fulfilling the purposes which are assumed. “Problems” are those disruptions or conflicts which detract from smoothness. Management of the current practices can become the only desire of the leader. Doing things right is the motto.

The shifts in our world in the past 50 years are so fundamental that such a managerial leader gets overwhelmed. Leading any institution requires more than management and conflict resolution. Basic questions regarding mission have to be asked. For example, when we begin to ask what the mission of the church is, we may discover many different views from the membership. Worship, Sunday School, Small Groups, Mission and outreach efforts, pastoral care-----all of these may be brought up. But, we may find ourselves asking, toward what end? It is the “so that” question that sometimes stumps us: we are doing these things “so that” what might be the result?

Edwin Friedman, a rabbi and psychologist, wrote that every organization needs a strong and wise leader in order to be healthy ----or even to survive. Without such leadership, any organism is filled with anxiety----every member of the body is stressed. By strong leadership, Friedman does not mean dictatorial leadership. A wise leader is one who has the good of the whole organism in mind, empathetically stays in touch with the followers---listening and teaching----and then shepherds the community in meeting the challenges before it---- and wisely guides the body through the stresses and conflicts that are inevitable. Too much stress and the body flies apart; too little stress and the body stalls in the status quo. Leaders are in the crucial position of regulating the stress and acting wisely. (Edwin Friedman, Generation to Generation)

Most of the time, our first impulse is to follow leaders who promise to take us forward, to protect us and to guide us---but without our costly participation in finding solutions. When we find out that leaders cannot deliver on the promises all by themselves, we tend to scapegoat them, assassinate them or their character, and look for different leaders who promise to fix problems while keeping us secure and happy. (Ronald Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers.)

Leaders can fall off the track on both sides: by isolating themselves, refusing to listen to anyone with whom they disagree, thus losing touch with their followers; or, they will refuse to make any decisions and just go with the flow. In either case, confidence in the leader wanes and people become more anxious and frustrated by the month.

Our economic, religious, and political institutions, not only in this country, but everywhere, struggle with conditions which defy quick fixes. We begin to feel powerless. And we become cynical and despairing. We retreat into our own little worlds, neighborhoods, communities, families and churches. We become skeptical about everything. We suspect the worst in everyone, that those with power are only concerned about themselves, even with they use inspiring words.

We become nostalgic for the glory days. We look for our heroes in the previous generations. Or we simply narcoticize ourselves: with amusements, pastimes, or addictions of various kinds. Many decide to stop hoping for anything different.

How we long for someone to show us they way FORWARD!

JESUS ENTERING JERUSALEM AS LEADER

This leadership problem is descriptive of the situation with the Jewish people in the first century AD. True believers among the Jewish people had tried revolution, to throw out the Roman rulers and re-establish the Temple---only to be crushed. Insurgents, called Zealots, were still around, hoping for a new revolution. The Pharisees and Sadducees, ruling religious parties, had accommodated themselves to their situation and retreated into their own institutions and customs. Some of the faithful had gone off into the desert (like the Essenses) to live strict lives apart from corrupting influences.

Who can lead God’s people in a time like their’s?

In Galilee, an itinerant Jewish rabbi named Jesus created a stir. He “teaches with authority, not as the scribes,” they said. He seemed to be able to bring people back to health in body and mind. He proclaimed, and even pronounced, forgiveness of sins. He told of a new day, a new order, which God would bring to pass, the “kingdom of God,” which is, even now, he said, breaking into the world. A few close disciples followed him everywhere; crowds gathered wherever he went.

Jesus was a leader, that’s for sure. But he was not like other leaders. He talked about servant leadership; he asked his followers to serve those around them, not to lord it over them.

Jesus inspired hope in people, and gave them new energy for dreaming of a new creation. “Perhaps he is the long-awaited leader, the Messiah, the anointed one,” they would say.  Yes, he did speak about going to Jerusalem and dying there, and being raised on the third day. But even his closest friends did not know what to make of this plan. So, when Jesus approached Jerusalem, the inner circle of followers became euphoric! “Perhaps this kingdom will come now!” They could see a new day dawning.

The Roman rulers and some of the religious leaders, however, did not welcome another someone who was as magnetic as Jesus. The relative peace imposed by the Romans was better than stirring things up. They had known the dangers of chaos; they did not want to risk a new order. Someday, the religious leaders believed, God would come and fix everything himself. Better to wait and keep the faith intact.

DONKEY RIDER?

Approaching Jerusalem, Jesus did something puzzling. He sent for a mount, a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will ride it into the city.  Some thought, “This is hardly the mode of transportation that a king would choose. A stallion or a chariot would be more fitting.” Others remembered the prophet Zechariah, who foresaw that the Messiah would ride in triumph on a donkey. (9:9) This donkey also was one which had not been broken---that is, not used before, a role reserved for royalty since ancient times. What could Jesus be intending by this action?

Not deterred by ambiguity, the disciples treat the event as a triumphant entry. They created quite a stir when they waved palm leaves and threw their cloaks down for Jesus and the donkey, as for a conquering hero. And they certainly called attention to themselves and to Jesus by shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” When the religious leaders told Jesus to silence his followers, he said, “If they were silent, the very rocks on the ground would cry out,” he says.

The disciples have followed their leader. They have been shaped by him, some of them, for three years. They love him, trust him, and have placed their hopes on him. They believed that he could lead God’s people into a new era of God’s Shalom. Can you imagine such devotion, such expectations?

We know what happens next.

THE WEEK AHEAD

We cannot fully understand how devastated the disciples were when Jesus was arrested, subjected to a mock trial, beaten, and tortured until he died. The men, at least, desert him, so shocked that all their dreams of victory died with Jesus. The triumphant entry seems like a parody in retrospect. Jesus’ healings, his parables, his stories, his encounters with the least and lost----all of these would be remembered, but what’s the use: Jesus has died. No king, no kingdom now.

We know that Jesus was raised from the dead---that there is a sequel to his story. And there is redemption in Jesus’ death that the disciples at the time could not see. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “It is a wicked and cruel act to hand over an innocent man to torment and death against his will. Yet God the Father did not so deliver up Christ., but inspired him with the will to suffer for us.” “Christ is not a scapegoat, dragged to the Temple for sacrifice, but a volunteer in the battle against evil.” (William Placher, “Christ Takes Our Place,” Interpretation, January, 1999)

What we remember is that Jesus was more than a leader; he is a Savior.  Do we look to him as the one who had bridged the gap we have created by our sin?. Do our knees bow in his presence? Is he the faithful, just, strong, loving and wise leader whom we long for? Will we place our hope in others?

In our jaded, cynical and dangerous time, it seems awfully naïve to believe that the way of the Suffering Servant is truly powerful. It seems too romantic to trust that a God of infinite love will win in the end; and that the way through the deathly forces of retribution is through forgiveness.

But this is the challenge that the Apostle Paul leaves us with: “Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be exploited [used for his own purposes], but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”(Philippians 5)

The Psalmist sang, “God is our hope and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea.” (Psalm 46)

Let this mind be in you. Jesus is not the leader with easy answers. Jesus does not tell us that he will renew the world while we watch on the sidelines, critiquing. Jesus does not tell us that the road to lasting justice and peace in our world will be plopped down someday from on high and we can merely wait and make predictions as to when he will come again. Jesus called his disciples to the same road he traveled. We can only travel this road if we believe that this One who became obedient unto death---as a culmination of a life of liberating service---is the deepest truth about God and about lasting peace of mind and community. If we are able to trust that Jesus is the name above every name, every other leader’s name, then we will know that such a costly path is the only way to abundant life.

As for leadership in our current institutions, smallest to largest: Maybe we who count ourselves as Jesus’ followers can be servant-leadersafter Jesus’ example.. We are not all called to die in obedience to God’s vision of the world; but we are all called to take up our daily crosses and follow. The Risen Crucified One lives on in us. The kingdom of God is in our midst and is coming. Will we put our hope in the one who rode the donkey?