Things Are Not as They Seem to Be

A couple of months ago I woke up thinking, “That was a really important dream!” At the same time, I had no idea what my dream meant. In the dream, I had rented the whole inside of an orca whale. Inside the Orca was a very nice hotel room. I had rented it for an over-the-top, 60th birthday celebration for my friend, Tamie. At first everything was amazing! There was food and drink piled all over, and the opulent space was even two stories high. But the more we prepared for the party, the more distressing it all became.

First off, I was notified that the food and wine was all extra—on top of what I was already paying for the hotel rental. I had also just found out that, although I thought the room was $2,500 for the night, it was actually $25,000! I couldn’t imagine how I was going to come up with that kind of money, but it was too late to cancel.

To make matters worse, Tamie had discovered a closet full of brand-new clothes upstairs. When she came down dressed in a fancy outfit, complemented by a supple leather jacket, I warned her, “Yeah, it’s cute, but don’t plan on keeping it!” Worst of all, I was beginning to realize that this whale could swim wherever it wanted to. There was no navigator, and absolutely no assurance we’d be returned to our launching spot. Nothing was as it seemed to be.

So, the other day, when I read the chapter called “Fish” in a book I’ve been enjoying, I said, “A-ha! That’s what was going on in this dream!” The book is titled A is for Alabaster and was written by Anna Carter Florence. It’s a really easy, yet thought-provoking read. A is for Alabaster includes a story for every letter of the alphabet, featuring the Hebrew scriptures, and then another story for each letter featuring our Christian scriptures. As you might’ve guessed, the chapter called “Fish” was all about Jonah in the belly of the whale.

Now, I realize that Jonah is not featured in today's readings, but bear with me; I’ll get there. Before I move forward, however, I think it’s important to acknowledge the smooshed together feeling of our readings this morning. In the Liturgy of the Palms, we have the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem. Then, we leap ahead, in the Liturgy of the Word, straight into Jesus’s death. 

I’ve mentioned this on previous Palm Sundays: to get the full picture, leading up to Easter, we need both the Palm Sunday and Good Friday stories. But because the creators of the lectionary—that is the readings we’re assigned each week—because the creators understand that many of you won’t make it to the Good Friday liturgy this coming week, they smoosh that reading into Palm Sunday. It’s the reminder, for those of us who can’t participate during Holy Week, that we can’t have the resurrection without Jesus’s death. At the same time, it’s important to sink into the Palm Sunday gospel, so that’s where we’re going to focus our attention this morning. 

Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, as if he’s making a triumphant entrance. But, just like my dream, things are not as they seem. Jesus has been trying to prepare his disciples for his leave-taking, but they’ll have nothing to do with that info. As they continue denying that Jesus’s revolutionary activities are causing problems with the Roman Empire, they get caught up in this parade. You can just imagine them blocking out any worry, and, instead, helping get the crowd stirred up. You can hear them shouting, “Wave those palm branches! Hail to our King!”

Which is why I mentioned Jonah. Jonah, like those disciples, was in complete denial about the hold God had on him. The way the author of A is for Alabaster talks about it, is that God is calling Jonah to help the people of his country change their ways. But Jonah thinks he can escape this responsibility by running away. He journeys to the edges of the coast, where he finally leaps into the water and is swallowed by a whale.

Things are not as they seem, in more ways than one. First off, while Jonah thinks he is escaping God, that’s just not possible. And secondly, as the author suggests, it might seem like Jonah’s trapped in an awful place, but if it were not for the whale, Jonah would be out there with dangerous waves crashing over him. God has actually given Jonah respite from his untethered running.

The author describes how in these messy times of our lives—when we think we’ve taken control, but things are completely out of control—in those times, it might be true that we’re  essentially surrounded in the muck of what looks and smells like fish guts. But, we’re also protected, and even though it’s dark, and the way out is not yet clear, we are forced to sit and think. Maybe, even pray.

I’m still not quite sure exactly what my dream was telling me, but considered alongside the “Fish” story, it’s clear I was feeling out of control, and that some things were in need of reprioritizing. That’s where the disciples find themselves as this Palm Sunday parade wraps-up. Each day of this coming week, they’ll move closer to Jesus being crucified, and with every step, they’ll each have to reconsider and reprioritize their commitment to the ministry Jesus has called them into. 

They aren’t in control, but denying the power of the structures that they’re operating within will not change things. They’ll have to adjust their thinking and their actions. It won’t happen overnight. But they will not have been abandoned. Even in Jesus’s death, the risen Christ is with them.

So, that’s the message of Palm Sunday: “Things are not as they seem.” As we contemplate our own lives, and the places to which God is calling each of us, we’re invited to wonder how we’re denying the reality of the situation and the powers that be. And we’re called to ask, in what ways are we being protected by God, even though it might feel like we’re being constricted? In this place, where you realize you are not in control, what might need reprioritizing? 

Even though things are not as they seem, God is with you—with all of us. May your Holy Week be blessed with such insights.

-AMEN