From the Pastor |
Psalm 118 is a psalm of procession. It was traditionally used during the Sukkot (su KOT)… the festival of the Tabernacle.
Sukkot is considered a season of joy because it is a memorial of how God – the good shepherd of Israel – chose to live among the people… dwelling in the lowly tabernacle – guiding, protecting and providing for the people as they wandered through the wilderness. This psalm reflects the joy and remembrance associated with the festival. Much like the joy and remembrance we feel today… on Palm Sunday. This is the day when, with joy, we remember how Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph just days before his crucifixion. As we look at Psalm 118, we are also reminded that it is not only the prophecies that point us to Jesus, but many of the images and practices from the Hebrew Scriptures actually draw our eyes to Jesus now. While the procession travels to the Temple, the psalm begins with the call for not just the individual… but for all of Israel to give thanks to the Lord whose love and loyalty are never ending. It then moves on to offer the assurance that God’s protection is with them. Then it recalls God’s deliverance with resounding praise. And this is where we pick up the psalm today… with verses 19-29: Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. As the procession would reach the gates of the Temple courts, they would call out for the gates to be opened so that the righteous… the faithful Jews could enter the place where the Lord dwells. This is the same imagery Jesus used when he declared: “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep… I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture” [John 10: 7, 9] But he also warned that “the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:14] The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. For Israel, this stone the builders rejected was a reminder of King David. David was the youngest and smallest of Jesse’s Sons… not someone people envisioned becoming King of Israel. I mean… Jesse did not even bring him in when Samuel arrived. David was overlooked by all… except God. He was the one chosen by God to lead Israel and become its greatest king. For Christians, we are reminded of Jesus… who was rejected, not only by those in power, but by the people… rejected and crucified… yet he was the anointed one… sent by God… and he rose to become the very foundation of our faith. Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord… The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. The people cry out… Lord, Save us… Hosanna… then they offer blessing on the one who comes in the name of the Lord. This often referred to the leader of the procession but also included all the righteous who entered. They carried with them clusters of branches, traditionally made up of palm, willow and myrtle and these were then placed on the altar with great thanksgiving and praise… For You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. We can truly see the parallel of this with the events we celebrate today. As Jesus came near the gates of Jerusalem… crowds of people gathered… they waved their palms in the air, they laid them before Jesus on the road and cried out Hosanna… Save us Lord… “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” This psalm was used as the people processed to the Temple… they would build simple shelters were they would live throughout the sukkot… as a reminder of the tents in the wilderness. Also, during Sukkot there were two other very important ceremonies that took place. Each day, water is drawn from the pool of Siloam with great ceremony and carried to the Temple where it was poured into a basin beside the altar. The priest would then call on the Lord to provide heavenly water. There was also a celebration of Light. Torches and oil lamps would illuminate the candelabrum along the walls of the temple… The light that shone throughout the Temple was a reminder of how God would guide the people as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And since the Temple stood at the highest point in Jerusalem, the light illuminated the city below and could be seen from a great distance… it was a light to the nations. The Temple was destroyed… it is not more… but we have Jesus who is the “living water” and it was on the final day of the Sukkot that Jesus said “cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.” [John 7:37-38] Jesus also said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” [John 8:12] It seems that Palm Sunday has become the Christian “Sukkot”… our time of joyful remembrance of how God chose to dwell among us in the lowly form of a human being… God lived among us in Jesus… the one who has become the living water and the light of the world. The one who is the gate and the stone the builders rejected… OUR cornerstone. Jesus is the one to whom we cry out “Hosanna… Lord, Save us!” as we wave our palms and lay them on the altar with praise and thanksgiving. For blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord… So “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Amen!
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Yeon Shin
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