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<v SPEAKER_00>Father, all those words and thoughts that come from thee, wilt thou bless them and make them fruitful?

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<v SPEAKER_00>And all those words and thoughts that come not from thee, but from our own vanity, wilt thou forgive?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Amen.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Beloved, let this mind be in you, as it was also in Christ Jesus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So we begin the most intense phase of our journey to Easter and to the new life.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And how should we travel?

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<v SPEAKER_00>How should we accompany Jesus Christ?

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<v SPEAKER_00>Paul, in his letter to the Christians of Philippi, has some advice.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Paul was very fond of his church, which he had founded in Philippi, but they seemed to exhibit the competitive spirit and the capacity for conflict that has so often disfigured the church.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And so his advice was and is simple: imitate Jesus Christ, imitate his humility.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And he offers us what was probably an early Christian hymn, which has a pattern that we shall see replicated again on Maundy Thursday.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And the pattern is this he divests himself and he takes the form of a servant.

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<v SPEAKER_00>For Jesus, God-likeness means giving oneself and sending oneself out.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And this is one of the preliminary profound counsels in Holy Week.

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<v SPEAKER_00>To be a mature human being means to refuse to be a little tin god.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Humility, close to the humus, not assuming any airs, which are so often just a bid for power, and not self-abnegation, not trying to pretend that we're worse than we are, which is one of the signs of unhealthy self-absorption.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And of course, humility is so far from the posture described by the humorist Peter Cook when he said, Consider the vastness of the universe.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Look at the moon, the stars, and just reflect how insignificant they are.

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<v SPEAKER_00>So humility and our gospel for Palm Sunday.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Jesus' entry in this spirit to the holy city of Jerusalem, prophecy fulfilled, crowds crying, Hosanna, which in Hebrew means save now.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And all the city was moved, and out of his followers who came from out of town, they were shouting, Jesus the prophet, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Somehow have you noticed that salvation always comes from the provinces, not from the metropolitan centers.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He comes from the provinces, again and again, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee, and he enters Jerusalem like a king.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But we know what follows only too soon.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Those who are cheering turn to crying, crucify him.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Having entered as a king, immediately afterwards, he purged the temple as a prophet.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Whatever his humility was, it certainly shouldn't be confused with meekness or feebleness.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He purged the temple, he cast out those who bought and sold there.

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<v SPEAKER_00>The fourteenth-century German mystic, Maester Eckhart, has a sermon on this scene in the temple.

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<v SPEAKER_00>I think it's very profound and very simple.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He said, You mustn't think the merchants were wicked people.

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<v SPEAKER_00>They were good people, but they were attempting to make a deal with God, to barter with God.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And he said, the merchants must go when truth is revealed.

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<v SPEAKER_00>For truth needs no merchandising.

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<v SPEAKER_00>There were great expectations at the time that Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, would be the one to liberate the Israelites from the oppression of the Roman occupying powers.

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<v SPEAKER_00>We know that that was their expectation because we've heard a snatch of conversation on the road to Emmaus, which says just that.

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<v SPEAKER_00>But Jesus, and this is another simple and profound truth about Holy Week, Jesus is never a hero for our pause.

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<v SPEAKER_00>God is not an aspect, God is not just blessing our favorite philosophies or ideologies.

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<v SPEAKER_00>In Jesus Christ we see, we hear the truth which needs no merchandising.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And this holy week we are to watch, and we are to pray, to see what godlike humility and godlikeness is.

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<v SPEAKER_00>We see that in Jesus Christ, risen and glorified, and to him be the glory in this church, now and forever.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Amen.