Psalm 118
1O give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
2Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through
them and give thanks to the Lord.
20This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21I thank you that you have answered me and have become my
salvation.
22The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone.
23This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24This is the day that the Lord has
made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give
us success!
26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of
the Lord.
27The Lord is
God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to
the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I
will extol you.
29O give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
John 12:12-16
12The next day the great
crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13So
they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” 14Jesus
found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: 15“Do
not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a
donkey’s colt!” 16His
disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was
glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and
had been done to him.
I think it is safe to say that we have all heard a musical
piece that seemed to be coming to an end just before it turned into something
new and elaborate, sometimes tricking us several times before the conductor
finally cuts the orchestra off. These Half Cadences, or "False
cadences" as I call them, heighten the senses and move the listener to the
edge of the seat, only to pull them back in for a few more measures or minutes
as the story continues to develop. I remember sitting in the orchestra and wind
ensemble at UNCG and feeling as if I had just had just been renewed with a life-giving
breath every time one of these "false cadences" occurred. It can seem
that the music enters the body of the musicians and listeners and we become one
with it, and as the story develops and changes so do we. Every note, every
breath, every release, every false cadence brings renewal in one way or
another.
We have been listening to an incredible symphony during this
season of Lent. Key changes and tempo changes have occurred as Christ and his
disciples moved from town to town, the music swelled and pulled back during different
encounters and lessons. Now, as we near the end of the symphony, we hear things
picking up as the cymbals ring, trumpets blast, flutes flutter, and the
conductor uses their whole body to urge the ensemble forward. The vibrations
are felt in each body and the audience is sitting on the edge of their seats.
This morning, rather than trying to figure out what to make
of the scripture, I invite you to instead simply take a moment to listen as the Psalmist and John, our guest conductors, lead their orchestra in playing this
beautiful symphony for us...
As we sit back in our seats, the violins carry the thanks
and praise for the Lord God into the rafters as the low winds rejoice in the
strong, enduring, steadfast love of God.
Meanwhile, the flutes and the oboe wander through a melody
that has returned over and over throughout the symphony. The riffs and the
flits cause skips in the melody, as if it isn't complete yet and something is
still missing, as if they are the disciples still trying to understand.
A soprano sax has just finished a beautiful solo, exemplifying
Christ's most recent encounter when Mary knelt at his feet but the baritone sax
interjects-- Judas objecting to her actions.
Slowly, the instruments begin to come together, building
harmony one measure at a time until all at once, the trumpets carry a fanfare
over the orchestra and out the doors of the auditorium (because we all know
that trumpets are what were used to welcome Christ!).
The gates open and the orchestra sings its praise to the
Lord, rejoicing in the journey that they are bringing to completion, lifting up
Christ as he rides through the town on a donkey. The trumpets and the piccolos
carry shouts of "Hosanna!" as the rest of the orchestra continues to
build...
The audience moves closer to the edge of their seats, on the
verge of jumping up in applause....
"This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes." (Psalm 118: 23)
The conductor realizes that he should have taken an extra
Ibuprofen and will probably need a lot of ice for his shoulder after this...
The bass of the drum shakes the rafters and the ring of the
trumpets fills the ears of the person sitting in the farthest corner of the
auditorium...
Give thanks to the Lord! Christ is here! Shout Hosanna!
“Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is
coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” (John
12: 15)
The melody that has never seemed complete with its flits and
its skips is lifted up by the entire orchestra in its fullness as the disciples
come to understand...
The Lord is
God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to
the horns of the altar. (Psalm 118: 27)
Hosanna! The audience leaps to their feet in a standing
ovation, but they don't see the wink from the conductor...
As Christ passes through and the disciples help him maneuver
through the rest of the crowd, he turns a corner and just like that, the crowd
begins to slowly disperse...
The melody slowly disperses into the individual sections,
occasionally overlapping...
The tempo slows...
The dynamics soften...
The accents disappear and slurs take their place...
Together, the orchestra moves into a soft chord and they
hold it...
The audience, confused and entranced slowly takes their seat
again...
The conductor never drops his baton...
No one takes a breath as they wait to see what is going to
happen...
The sound of the tonic chord continues to push forward ever
so slightly as if it is reaching forward to where Christ just stood...
Today, we find ourselves at a false cadence. The symphony is
not yet over and we are filled with excitement, we are entranced and waiting on
the edge of our seat listening for what is next. Until this moment, we have
drifted in and out, hearing only bits and pieces because honestly who can
really listen to those hour long symphonies without zoning out at some point?
If we looked closely, we probably saw that the third trombone player was taking
a nap at some point, waiting for his neighbor to kick his foot and wake him up.
But now the whole orchestra and the audience have become one--
those who have heard only bits and pieces of what Christ has done and those who
have walked with him, not understanding fully until this moment.
We have entered the gates together with praise and
thanksgiving, with shouts of Hosanna and palms waving. We have been drawn in
and we can't stop listening now, we are waiting for the end of the story. What
will happen next?
This is the magic of the false cadence.
Are you listening?
Christ is here. Christ has entered the city.
Are you paying attention?
Something big is about to happen.
Don't close your eyes. Don't sit back in your seat and get
comfortable again. Don't leave to go to the bathroom.
Tune out all of the distractions. Quit worrying about that
load of laundry you didn't get to or the grocery shopping that needs to happen
before Easter lunch. That isn't important right now.
Listen.
Wait.
The conductor is ever so subtly marking a tempo...
The
musicians have all eyes on him...
The
clarinets just took a slow and deep breath together...
Something is about to happen...
Christ
is in the city. He is no longer wandering through the towns.
Pay attention...
The
symphony isn't over just yet.
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