St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

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The Best "Palm Pilot" Ever!

Matthew 21:1-11

Palm Sunday (March 20), 2005 

1. The comics section of the newspaper last Palm Sunday showed the perpetual 15-year-old Jeremy frantically getting dressed. As he ties the tie around his neck, he yells to his parents to hurry up! This was unusual behavior for Jeremy, to say the least. Jeremy never does anything very fast. In the last frame, he waves his arms around and says, "It’s Palm Sunday. If we don’t get to church early, they will have given away all the Palm Pilots!"

2. For those of you (including me) who don’t have a Palm Pilot, this is what it looks like. Gary let me borrow his. The people who have them rely on them to organize their lives. It’s really a miniature computer that fits in the palm of your hand, and it keeps you going in the right direction – in much the same way the pilot of a plane or boat does. Hence the name "Palm Pilot." You can load big thick books on this little thing. Gary has the whole Bible on his Palm Pilot. You can also create calendars and lists of things you need to do and put your favorite pictures on it to show people. It’s always with you; you can pull up what you need at a moment’s notice. It is powered by a small battery, which can be recharged while you’re sleeping. There’s not much this little jewel cannot do. And the beauty of it all is you always have it with you, close at hand, to pull up what you need at a moments’ notice.

3. What better way is there to "pilot" our lives, to keep us going in the right direction, than having a Palm Pilot? That’s not a rhetorical question – it’s real. What better way is there to "pilot" our lives, to keep us going in the right direction, than carrying around a Palm Pilot? The answer to that question is the same answer one particular pastor got on Easter Sunday. He was talking with the Children during the Children’s Time, and asked "What is white and furry, with long ears and a puffy round tail?" One little kid had been involved in too many children’s sermons. He said, "Well, that sounds like a bunny rabbit, but I bet you’re going to tell me it’s Jesus!" While "Jesus" was not the answer to that pastor’s question, "Jesus" is the answer to this pastor’s question! What better way is there to "pilot" your life, to keep you going in the right direction? Keep your eye on Jesus.

4. We’ve been "keeping our eyes on Jesus" all through Lent. Jesus "piloted" us by the Beatitudes, his teachings about "the good life," the "blessed life," the "bliss-filled life." We could have ended our journey last Sunday, with being happy about being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, but we had a little farther to go. It’s one thing to be persecuted for moral reasons, for doing the right thing, as we saw last Sunday. But it’s another thing altogether to be persecuted for being a Christian. Keeping our eye on Jesus can get us into big trouble. The last Beatitude in Matthew reads like this: "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11) We need to remember that. But not to worry!

5. When people we don’t even know tease us, or change the subject on us after we let them know we’re Christian, we don’t have to despair! We’re in good company! People have rejected Christians for centuries, but they have only made us stronger!

6. When co-workers snicker at Bible studies during lunch time, or don’t invite us to their parties, or coaches won’t let our children or grandchildren be on the team if we don’t want them playing on Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings, we don’t have to give up! We’re in good company! People have tried side-lining Christians for centuries, but they’ve not stopped God from winning the victory over death.

7. When someone in our family -- mate, parent, child or brother or sister -- pushes us out of the family because we’re keeping our eye on Jesus, we don’t have to lose our identity! We’re in good company! Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and [your] foes will be members of [your] own household. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:46-50). Members of our "family" are not always related to us by blood lines or the fact that we live at the same address.

8. If we were to find ourselves tortured in prison, or standing before a firing squad, or nailed to a cross, we will not denounce our Lord! We’re in good company! Our faith is filled with reminders of those who have been killed because they dared to keep their eyes on Jesus. When we let Jesus be our "pilot," we’re not going to blend in with the rest of the world. We can expect resistance.

9. But there’s something in us that makes us want to run away from all that trouble, isn’t there? We want to flee from situations where we might be persecuted for Jesus’ sake. Even Peter, whom we now call "St. Peter," lied when he was asked if he knew Jesus. I’m so much like Peter! When I’m talking to someone I’ve never met before, perhaps the person next to me on an airplane, I’m as much of a coward as Peter. I don’t tell people I’m a minister right away. I wait until we’ve become a little better acquainted before I "confess." I wait until I’m pretty sure they won’t unlock the door of the plane and push me out!

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