{"id":613162,"date":"2022-03-10T10:48:19","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T15:48:19","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:02:53","slug":"signs-passion-and-glory-monday-in-holy-week-april-11-2022","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/signs-passion-and-glory-monday-in-holy-week-april-11-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Signs, Passion, and Glory, Monday in Holy Week \u2013 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>[RCL] Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-red-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-red-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=DFMS4366908441&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-red-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-red-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MiHW-2022-Cover-FB-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-263183\" style=\"width:512px;height:268px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our Gospel lesson is a hinge text. It concludes the first half of John\u2019s Gospel, which scholars name \u201cthe Book of Signs.\u201d It also prepares for the second half of the Gospel, which scholars call either \u201cthe Book of Glory\u201d or \u201cthe Book of the Passion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two names for the second half are telling. Both are correct. Beginning in chapter twelve, the remainder of the Gospel deals with the last week of Jesus\u2019 life. It is the story of his passion. It is the story of his glorification. Both are accurate characterizations of Jesus\u2019 death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we begin our observation of Holy Week \u2013 as we liturgically experience the events in the last week of Jesus\u2019 earthly life \u2013 we probably bring with us a variety of convictions, questions, aversions, and fears about Jesus\u2019 death. It probably doesn\u2019t help that some of the most unedifying squabbles in church history have been over the meaning of Christ\u2019s death. These debates filter down in our assumptions and in the ways we try to police others\u2019 views of Jesus\u2019 death:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus\u2019 death is sacrifice, a reconciliation of everything in heaven and earth through the blood of the cross. <em>Isn\u2019t the whole idea of sacrifice primitive and noxious?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus\u2019 death on the cross is a victory over the forces of sin, death, and the devil. <em>Why would an all-powerful God have to deal with the devil in the first place?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus\u2019 death makes satisfaction for our sins. <em>What kind of God would demand the death of his innocent Son in order to forgive human sins?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus\u2019 death is an example of self-giving love that inspires us to participate in his self-offering. <em>Are you saying that we can save ourselves?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus\u2019 death is an atonement for the elect. <em>Didn\u2019t Jesus die for the sins of the whole world?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesus was executed by a corrupt empire. Period. <em>Is there no theological meaning to be found in Jesus\u2019 death whatsoever?<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Explicitly or implicitly, these ideas and debates shape our perceptions of Jesus\u2019 death during Holy Week. Sacrifice? Victory? Satisfaction? Example? Execution? The Book of Glory or the Book of the Passion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our Gospel lesson, the characters in the story each represent a different perspective on Jesus\u2019 death. At the home of Lazarus, a dinner is given for Jesus. The theme for the evening is clearly his impending death. The Gospel of John places the crucifixion on the day before Passover so that Jesus dies at the same time the lambs for the Passover meal would have been slaughtered. The mention of the time of the dinner \u201csix days before the Passover\u201d already frames Jesus\u2019 death in light of the occasion. Early in the Gospel, John the Baptist declared, \u201cBehold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.\u201d Jesus\u2019 death is interpreted in light of the Passover, but in Jesus\u2019 case, his death will deliver us from the power of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lazarus was at the dinner. He says and does nothing. Yet, his silent presence says a lot about how we should understand Jesus\u2019 death. Earlier in the Gospel, Lazarus had died, but Jesus raised him from the dead. This was a sign of the resurrection, an assurance that when Jesus said, \u201cI am the resurrection and the life,\u201d he was speaking the truth. All Lazarus has to do is sit there. His presence is testimony enough that Jesus\u2019 death will not be the end of the story. The end of the story will have to do with life, and, in Jesus\u2019 case, eternal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the dinner, Martha served the guests. This picture of Martha serving is consistent with what we know of Martha from the Gospel of Luke. But in our passage from John, where the theme of the evening is Jesus\u2019 death, we also see another faithful approach. One thing faithful people do at the time of death is feed people. It is a tangible sign of care in the presence of death, when grief often causes us to forget to take care. In the face of Jesus\u2019 impending death, Martha offers the sacred service of providing a meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mary anoints Jesus\u2019 feet with a pound of costly nard and wipes them with her hair. The whole house is filled with the fragrance of the perfume. This is Mary\u2019s approach to Jesus\u2019 death, which Jesus interprets for us as a preparation for his burial. It is a love offering that fills the whole house. Mary\u2019s action points to an interpretation of Jesus\u2019 death that sees it as a love offering that will fill the whole world. When Jesus is lifted up on the cross, he will draw the whole world to himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Judas\u2019 response to Mary\u2019s love offering reveals his character as a betrayer and a thief. He raises an objection: Why waste the perfume anointing Jesus when it could have been sold and the money given to the poor? The narrator makes clear that Judas didn\u2019t really care for the poor. He only wanted to steal from the common purse. Yet, Jesus\u2019 response to Judas, \u201cYou always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me,\u201d strikes many as callous. In historical context, however, it is part of Jewish wisdom on how to balance the two goods of almsgiving and care for the dead. Both are good things to do. But when you can\u2019t do both, Jewish teachers have said, priority ought to be given to caring for the dead. It\u2019s kind of like if one of my neighbors had a death in the family and I brought a casserole over to their house. If someone criticized me for not giving that casserole to the poor, we would think them pastorally tone-deaf. It would be great to makes casseroles for the poor <em>and<\/em> for my grieving neighbors. But sometimes, we need to make a choice and care for the dying and the grieving. Judas misses this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are also told that many Judeans were believing in Jesus because he raised Lazarus from the dead. This positive response of many Jewish people to Jesus is important to remember, especially in John\u2019s Gospel. Many believed in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of the religious authorities, however, sought to kill not only Jesus but Lazarus as well. Their approach to Jesus\u2019 death was that it is better for one person to die for the sake of the whole nation. In the irony of John\u2019s Gospel, these religious authorities are both wrong and right. They are wrong in their intentions to kill Jesus. They are, despite themselves, right that Jesus\u2019 death will save not only the whole nation but the whole world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we follow Jesus on the way of the cross during Holy Week, it may be helpful to remember the variety of approaches to Jesus\u2019 death that we see in the Gospel. In addition to the approaches to Jesus\u2019 death that we find in our lesson, John\u2019s Gospel portrays Jesus\u2019 death as the accomplishment of the Father\u2019s work, the glorification of Jesus, the defeat of the ruler of this world, a drawing of all people to himself, and a propitiation for sin. Perhaps we can see this variety as a gift, rather than something to squabble over. Maybe different people need to hear and experience different aspects of Jesus\u2019 death during Holy Week. Maybe we need to hear and experience a different aspect of Jesus\u2019 death during this Holy Week than we have in the past. Maybe, if Jesus draws all people to himself when he is lifted on the cross, we should honor the variety of ways people find healing, forgiveness, deliverance, encouragement, and salvation in his death and resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>the Rev. Joseph S. Pagano<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-911c1e54-44ea-4090-b3eb-4a1349ca9c0a\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Sermon-Monday-in-Holy-Week-English.docx\">Word \u2013 Monday in Holy Week Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Sermon-Monday-in-Holy-Week-English.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-911c1e54-44ea-4090-b3eb-4a1349ca9c0a\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-edab351a-2579-4a58-b3aa-ca7f1b4d4940\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Sermon-Monday-in-Holy-Week-English.pdf\">Word \u2013 Monday in Holy Week Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Sermon-Monday-in-Holy-Week-English.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-edab351a-2579-4a58-b3aa-ca7f1b4d4940\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 36:5-11; Hebrews 9:11-15; John 12:1-11 Our Gospel lesson is a hinge text. It concludes the first half of John\u2019s Gospel, which scholars name \u201cthe Book of Signs.\u201d It also prepares for the second half of the Gospel, which scholars call either \u201cthe Book of Glory\u201d or \u201cthe Book of the Passion.\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[36,43,52,1953],"tags":[133],"class_list":["post-613162","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-week","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-monday-in-holy-week"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":36,"label":"Holy Week"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":1953,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":133,"label":"Monday in Holy Week"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/613162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/613162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477458,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/613162\/revisions\/3477458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}