It struck me that Mark says nothing about palm branches, and neither does Matthew or Luke's account of this event. The crowd may have waved oak, willow, or cedar branches. Cedar Sunday has a nice ring!

Whatever is used: a coat flourished, a branch thrown, a banner lifted up, we, like the people of Jesus' day, love a parade. To be excited, encouraged, uplifted by palms as a symbol of our faith is not a bad thing. Jesus, who has earlier silenced his disciples about his Messiahship, now creates an enacted prophecy. For the sake of his disciples who will soon watch him suffer and die, Jesus strengthens them for the journey by living out the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, which proclaims: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion ! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem ! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey.. .”

It is the suffering servant Messiah who says “Yes, celebrate my arrival; celebrate this servant who humbles himself in obedience to God becoming in the words of the apostle Paul this morning a slave,” the exact opposite of a king.

But some in the crowd hope for a messiah who will energize the masses to rebel against their Roman occupiers. Many shouting “Hosanna, Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!” cheer for a Messiah who is not a slave, but a conquering king who takes control from the oppressors and then enforces peace.

For many years I tried to enforce peace in my home between my two daughters. All of you who have ever lived with a sister or brother know how futile it is for a parent to enforce peace where there is a genuine source of conflict. Peace cannot be commanded. The Messiah whom we strive to honor today calls us to peace, shows us how love breaks open our hearts, demonstrates how generosity unleashes our bounty, and stoops to clean dirty feet. Jesus makes no effort to coerce obedience or command peace.

And once the crowd realizes this, that Jesus is not going to deliver them from Roman control, that Jesus is not the kind of Messiah they hope for today, then the cheers of Hosanna will turn to screams of crucify him! as the crowd plays out their dashed hopes.

As was the case my first Sunday with you all, the gospel lesson appointed for this day speaks pointedly to our journey together through this interim time, and gives us guidance for our today's first congregational gathering.

The old pastor told us pastor wanna-be's that being a pastor in a congregation was like living Holy Week in slow motion. On your arrival people greet you with warm and friendly Hosanna's and cheers. High hopes, expectations, illusions about who you are and what you are going to do, are rampant. You, the new pastor, are going to be their Savior who's going to fix whatever they feel is wrong with their church.

But then as you begin your ministry, living and preaching the gospel however imperfectly folks become dis—illusioned. The pastor, like Jesus, isn't turning out to be the kind of person they thought they were getting—expectations are not met.

So then folks begin to both murmur behind the pastor's back and confront them to their face, and we all move closer and closer to Good Friday. Finally, around year four or five, the relationship between pastor and congregation is severed, there's a time in the tomb for the congregation without a called pastor, and then the cycle repeats itself. A new Palm Sunday for the congregation with a new called pastor, —so said the old pastor to us pastor wanna-be's.

I remembered this story when reviewing First Moravian's 98 year history of pastors. Because recent research into the health and vitality of congregations indicates that pastors and congregations will inevitably hit rough spots in years 2 to 3 , then again around years 5 to 6, and it is only after year 7 of a pastor's ministry that really effective and long lasting ministry partnership between pastor and congregation can occur. Anyone want to guess how many of the 21 pastors have stayed here at First Moravian past 7 years? Two

The longest pastorate here at First Moravian is Brother Ernest Stockton from Oct 1920 to June 1929. The next longest is Carl Southerland who left after 7 and a half years. Four to Five year pastorates have been the norm here, with fully one third, 7 out of 21 pastors, being here three years or less, not surviving the first rough patch of ministry.

We here at First Moravian have not journeyed successfully through the inevitable tough patches of ministry that we will face with whoever is called as the next pastor.

Now please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying this is your fault. I am not saying you run pastor's off—and I know some pastors see Greensboro as a stepping stone to a church back in their hometown of Winston-Salem . However, there are pastors who can very easily be convinced Greensboro is a better place to live than Winston-Salem , and we will address this in the process of calling a pastor.

But what I am saying is this—we do not have a congregational environment in place that will help and support you weather these inevitable rough patches of ministry so that with the pastor you all can journey through them to a higher level of effective and satisfying mutual ministry. There are some things that are within your control.

So today we begin taking the first steps on a journey to change the congregational dynamics and environment that's been in place for nearly a 100 years. So you know transformation won't occur overnight, and that it will not be easy to change long established patterns, but we can begin now to take steps in a new direction towards a more supportive environment. A direction that allows your eyes to see and your ears to hear how God has blessed and been present in this congregation. How we can remain faithful through these rough patches that will come. For in seeing where God has been with us in the past, we can more easily see the direction God would have us move in the future. And when we have our eyes fixed on who God is and what God is doing in this community of faith, then rough patches of ministry become just speed bumps we slow down and move over with intention, but not deterring us from the journey of ministry with the pastor.

In fact let's begin right now. I'm going to hold up something that I want everyone to look at, and make a mental note to yourself of what you see. Now I'm not going to embarrass anyone by asking you to tell me what you see, but just make a mental note of how you would answer if I asked you what you see. OK Everybody understand?? Ready???

Here goes….

Everyone gotten a good look???

The powers of this world teach us that what we see here is a black circle and that's it. What the powers of this world tell us, is to focus on what doesn't belong in the picture. What sticks out? What is drawing our attention so that's all we focus on. Or said another way, the powers of this world teach us to look for the anomaly what doesn't belong, THE PROBLEM . Because once we identify the problem, we can work on solutions. When we use a problem solving approach towards our lives and our relationships, discussions are about problems and inadequacies—what's wrong. Our former pastor wasn't this, and this, and this, and we need a pastor who will do, this and this and this.

In the problem solving approach taught by the powers of this world, what we lack is what we need—we need more members involved, we need more money, we need more children, we need, we need, we need. Our consumer culture encourages us to think this way—what do we lack?? What problems do we have that can be fixed by Getting??? Having???? Buying?????

Our eyes and ears become focused on the negative—problems and what we lack. We are immersed 24/7 in a culture that bombards us with messages about what need, pointing out what we lack, the power of God, the new heart God has given us in our baptism, invites us to look at this and see a large, a humongous expanse of white, with a small black circle to left of center. Wow!! Look at all this empty white space!! How are you, God calling me, inviting me to fill it with something beautiful beyond my power and imagination that embodies your love for me and mine for you and your creation??

And this small black circle, how can we transform it? How, O God, can we make it apart of something blessed and wonderful, part of the abundant life you came on earth to give me and all your creation?

To transform our 100 year old environment to a more supportive environment for partnership between you and the next pastor, we must practice seeing and hearing about the gifts God has blessed this congregation with over the years. Despite all our short Holy Week like tenures, there are a myriad of ways God has blessed and gifted this congregation, and will continue to bless you in the future—whether you deserve it or not, because God is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love.

The more we practice looking for and appreciating these blessings and gifts, the easier it will be to create a positive and supportive environment for mutual ministry with the next pastor. An environment that will help you journey through the rough spots instead of ending the relationship.

The truth is what we focus on becomes our reality. The reality of a congregation is defined by whatever the members think about, talk about, work on, dream about or plan. When we come together in committees or church parking lot and we focus on our reasons for discouragement or our disagreements, then the reality we live is a reality of discouragement and conflict. By refocusing our attention on the gifts and blessings God has given this congregation, we do not deny or ignore the present challenges but rather by redirecting our energy and focus to the positive, our reality and perception is altered to one of blessing.

There is another reason for remembering and appreciating how God has blessed and gifted us in the past. Imagine with me for a moment, you have to pull up roots and move away from Greensboro , and you have the option of taking your furniture and clothes with you, or having that stuff provided for you—which will you chose? Fear is natural in unknown situations. Resistance is a natural consequence of this fear generated by the unknown. So confidence and trust in the future can be fostered when direct links are made to our best and most appreciated memories and stories. The future becomes less strange when we can envision our own individual role in that future, when we see how it links positively to our past.

Every one of us, from the oldest to the youngest, from our newest members to the long timers, all of us, have an important and vital role to play in this community of faith where Jesus Our Chief Elder has placed us. Let us go and share a meal together discovering anew the blessings and gifts of God, having eyes that see and ears that hear.

Let us pray: God of abundant blessings and steadfast love, help us today to rediscover how you have been with us in the past, so that we may better discern where you are leading us now. Help us to believe in this good news. Amen

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