Bridging the Distance

Read: Luke 22:14--23:56

Palm Sunday - March 24, 2013

The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin

Do you remember the stories we were hearing some weeks back about the crowds that were pressing in on Jesus, wanting to be close to him?

They were hanging on his every word.

One woman just wanted to touch the hem of his robe in order to be healed...that was enough.

The crowds, oh, the crowds!

They run after him from town to town, out in the country, hardle giving him a moment alone.

He goes by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and some apparently run around by land to meet him there.

But that was then, back in the sun-shining days in Galilee.

Now they have been in the gloomy confusion of the city of Jerusalem.

The palm-waving crowd around Jesus has been swallowed up by the sheer size of the city.

What looked so impressive out in the villages does not have the same impact here.

And as this story has been read today, we have been sensing how the disciples who were at one point so bold have begun to distance themselves from Jesus.

Not only Judas, who dipped his hand in the bowl,  and not only Peter who denied him, but the other disciples as well begin to fade away.

The scripture uses a word to describe that distance, distance both physical and spiritual.[macrothen]

As Jesus is led away into the darkness to die, Peter is following “at a distance.”(22:54)

Not too close where he might be seen and questioned himself, but only close enough that he could follow along behind without losing track of them in the twists and turns of the city streets.

When Jesus is crucified, the women stood “at a distance.” (23:49)

And there is another kind of distance as well.

In the story of the two sons and the father's love (15:1-32) which we have been exploring on Wednesdays throughout this Lenten season, Jesus said that the waiting father saw his son while he was still “far off” (15:20).

The father came running and embraced him, even though the filthy son was quite undeserving.

He was determined to bridge the gap, to re-make a son, even though the miscreant had other plans afoot.

It is the story of unmerited grace played out a second time with the older son, who, although he remains physically present at home, is emotionally as distant as his brother.

The father goes out to him as well, and we are left with the question of whether he will come to his senses and recognize the bridge that the father has built to him and to his brother, or if he will continue to stew in his own anger and resentment forever.

In this Holy Week we will hear two more examples of how the gap is bridged between our fear and God's perfect love for us.

1.  At the table in the Upper Room, Jesus offers the bread and wine of his very presence.

Each time we gather at the Holy Communion we can hear him say “for you, for you.”

Time, space, and distance make no difference here; his word and promise bridge them all.

2. And then on the cross he reaches out to gather us in a costly embrace.

He is determined to bring close all those who are at a distance.

How shall we respond to this word, this promise, these actions?

– With the silence of embarrassment and sorrow.

– With the word of confession and reconciliation.

– With the meal of renewal and hope.

-                  With the song anticipation and joy.

Why?

Because our ears and mouth, and heart, mind and stomach have all accepted the fact that Jesus has bridged the distance to us.   

This day we recognize it, and profoundly celebrate it.