After he had said this, [Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Luke 19:28-40
My sermon from Palm/Passion Sunday (April 13, 2025) on Luke 19:28-40.
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A few weeks ago, I described in my sermon a leak in the church office. Water had poured down the wall with the window overlooking the door into the church and made quite a mess. The water eventually stopped dripping and Tom, Brian, Jim, Martin, and the rest of our property team did an amazing job drying everything out. The leak, though, was a big problem because we didn’t know what caused it. Our first theory was that there was something wrong with the roof or maybe the gutter since the water came in during a storm. But when several more storms blew through and the office stayed dry, the mystery deepened. What we needed to do was anxiously wait for the leak to reappear so our property team could keep doing what they do well – making sure this place stays welcoming, warm, and safe so God’s love can keep making an impact here in Woodcliff Lake. So we waited. And we waited. And then waited some more, not quite sure when the water would return. But roughly 2 weeks ago, the director of Meals on Wheels sent me a picture early one morning showing how water was flowing on the outside – and the inside – of the church office wall. This was the big moment we were waiting for and I’m entirely grateful for how all the time, energy, and effort our team put in to fix what was impacting this community. But when they found out what had caused this big, disruptive, expensive, and exhausting moment here at the church, it was from a tiny hole I could barely see.
And that hole was in this – a piece of copper pipe from the rooms above our church office. This pipe is pretty solid, thick, and often filled with hot water radiating the heat keeping our rooms warm and comfortable. The process of warming the water and moving it through the building can cause these pipes to vibrate and shake, making a noise we can sometimes hear. And it’s that noise that might have been why someone used a metal screw to keep this pipe firmly in place. But when the screw was installed, it either dented the metal or rubbed against it. Every time the pipe would vibrate with warm water, it rubbed against the sharp metal edge of the screw. It took years but, eventually, a very tiny hole appeared and water began to drip out. The hole, though, never stopped the heat upstairs from working and the water remained mostly unseen, hiding inside walls and insulation. Yet its impact was very real since the tiny drips dug out a three foot hole in the rock and concrete foundation underneath the church office wall. The water would also travel along different beams from one side of the building to the other, dripping along one of the walls in our Opsal fellowship hall. This pipe was so corroded, it’s obvious the leak has been for longer than I’ve even been here. And while the big moment of water pouring out of the wall led to its discovery, it was the little everyday drips that made a deeper impact.
Today is, in its own way, a very big day. It’s the beginning of the holiest week of the church year and a day when we publically welcome little Emma (at the 10:30 am worship) into the body of Christ. We started this day waving palm branches in the air and we’ll close while sitting in the very full silence of Jesus’ tomb. Life in this place is very busy and a bunch of folks have traveled – or will travel – to spend some very holy moments together. Holy Week is extremely big – but it’s a week when this bigness isn’t, I think, only meant for itself. All the music, the singing, the baptismal party, and the fun some of our kids will have over Spring break – these are the kinds of moments we live for. Yet I’ve often found it’s the little moments – the everyday moments – that actually reveal who our God truly is. When we choose kindness rather than anger; when we pray rather than act as if our lives only depend on ourselves; and when we commit ourselves to being for each other as much as God is already committed to you – it’s the drip-drip-drip of God’s holy love that changes our lives and our world. That doesn’t mean the big stuff doesn’t matter or that these big moments won’t end up taking up all our time, energy, and effort. But when we act as if chasing after big moments is what life with our God is all about, we forget how the big thing Jesus did is why we can make all our little moments full of care, mercy, welcome, and love. The fullness of Jesus’ life – his birth, his teaching, his care, his entrance into Jerusalem, his death on the Cross, and his rising from the tomb – what God has already done is why we can do the big thing of not only welcoming little Emma but also the little things of listening, supporting, and being together. It’s knowing, and trusting, that God has written a new chapter of hope for you that holds all our big moments and little moments together. And while the drip-drip-drip of all kinds things can become a large nuisance we wish we didn’t have to live through, the drip-drip-drip of the water poured over us during our baptism is what propels us into a new future where every little moment is a holy moment revealing God’s love for us and for the world.
Amen.