The Sunday of the Passion, or as most of us know it, Palm Sunday, is quite a big day in the Church Year. It is a Sunday of movement, anticipation, excitement, and longing as we prepare for the most dramatic week of worship, Holy Week. We began with a processional into the sanctuary, recalling our Lord’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. We marched in singing, “All glory, laud, and honor to You Redeemer, King.” It is the celebration of a king who comes, not in power and might, but humble, lowly, and riding on a donkey. He arrives not to deliver His people from foreign occupation through military might, but to set free their hearts and minds from the bondage of sin and death by dying in their place. Therefore, we celebrated, marched, and rejoiced in the great working of our God.

We stand today as those who look out across a great vista, seeing the whole story unfold before us. Of course, we know where this is going. We have heard it before. You know about the supper in the upper room, the moment’s weight as Jesus takes bread and wine and gives His disciples the very gifts of salvation. You know about the night of terror in the Garden, the prayer that this cup may pass, but God’s will be done. You know about the betrayal, the kiss, and the thirty pieces of silver. You know about the arrest and the flimsy accusations which lead to the whipping, mocking, and beatings. You know about Pilate trying to get out of his assigned duty. You know about the subsequent suffering, crucifixion, and placement in the tomb. But you know as well about the third day, the joy and celebration of the empty tomb. You know about the heart of our faith, about the resurrection and the promise of life. All this will unfold throughout this week. We see all this here today as we marvel at a God who enters His creation to serve His creatures and redeem those He loves.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he also marvels at the actions of a God whose love for sinners causes him to carry out great acts of mercy. His love, his sacrifice, and his mercy are then laid before us all as an example of how we are now called to live. He says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant…” The only begotten Son of God takes the form of a servant. God humbles Himself, and as believers, we are to follow this example. We are to have a mind for acts of service, not living by rite and power, but through genuine love for one another.

So, we stand today knowing full well where this week will lead. We see the example of our Lord and we know we are called to take up our cross and follow Him. But our journey down into a life of service, down into the depths of sacrifice and humility, is far different than our Lord’s. It is fraught with excuses and limitations. It seeks an easy way out. You know full well that standing in the light of Christ your mind of humble service pales compared to His. Let us be honest, even your absolute best acts of service fall short of our Lord’s doing. But our celebration, our joy, our confidence are never rooted in how well we have made the journey to service. Rather, it remains rooted in His acts of service, in His works of love, in His completion of the task set before Him. We serve because He first served us. We love because He first loved us, and Jesus does not fail. He sees it all the way through to the end.

This week is not about how well we walk the line or how faithful we have been. Rather, from beginning to end, it is about the complete and perfect life of love and sacrifice Christ gives to each and every one of you. Listen again to what Saint Paul says. He tells us that Jesus, “Emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” He empties Himself. He is born of Mary so that God might die for the sins of the world. And die He does, a most brutal form of death. Obedience to death. Love to the very end. Forgiveness for you at any cost. This is the gift of the cross. This is the gift of our Lord. This is the celebration and confidence of Holy Week.

Christ, then, is the center, the focal point of everything, not just of our worship, not just of our life of faith, and not just the center of our Scriptures or our ritual acts. No, Christ is the center of everything, the whole story of human history, the grand narrative of sin and salvation, of mankind’s rebellion and repentance, of obedience and faith. Christ is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. His perfect sacrifice changes everything. So, Paul says, “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

His is a name above every name, a name which ties our fate to the sacrifice of God’s love. The man named Jesus born of Mary, the man who takes your sins in Himself, the man who bears the totality of human rebellion, is the Christ, the anointed one, the long-awaited Messiah who has come to give restoration and life eternal to all who believe in Him. This Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the King of Heaven and Earth. He is the divine Creator. He is the author and perfector of your faith. And on the last day, every tongue will confess Him to be so. There will be no denying Him, no turning away, and every knee will bow in Heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth.

So, this week we marvel. This week we are taken along in our meditation and devotion through the Word of God to witness again why it is we confess Jesus Christ is Lord. For this is the name of our hope, the name of our forgiveness, the name of our joy.