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LINKS TO THE SERMONS |
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| “Blue Monday?” A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with one of the local pastors of another denomination; it occurred to me that there seems to be a standardized list of data that is exchanged whenever ministers get acquainted: size of church, years in ministry, length of time at this appointment. And then, down the line will come this question, “What day do you take off.” Over the years, I have observed that the likely answer to the question has changed from Monday to Friday. It used to be that ministers took Monday off, because Sunday is exhausting, the end of a week long process of preparation and you need a break before you start again. Monday you have to deal with mundane stuff and the fallout from what you said on Sunday that offended somebody – so preachers used to take Monday off. But, we discovered that to do so is merely to postpone all that. Tuesday becomes the defacto Monday and the whole week gets messed up. So we work Monday even though we know it’s going to be a lousy day. I guess there is no reason why it should be different for us than anyone else –most of society knows and concurs with the sentiment behind the phrase, “Blue Monday” Fat Domino wrote the song; “Blue Monday, how I hate blue Monday, got to work like a slave all day.” The Carpenters sang, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.” The Mommas and the Papas sang, “Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day.” One of the most popular blues songs of all time was written back in 1948 and recorded by everybody, it’s called, “Stormy Monday.” The only song that has anything good to say about Monday was written by Jimmy Buffet; he sang, “Come Monday, it will be alright.” Of course he can find fun in everything from a rum hangover to a volcanic eruption. Maybe it’s because of this universal disdain for Mondays that there is the dearth of religious holidays that fall on Monday, We get Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and of course, every Sunday is resurrection Sunday – then Monday. Jesus also had to deal with Mondays. So, since you all know what happens on Palm Sunday, I thought I would tell you about Monday and why Jesus should have taken Monday off. Sunday was a high – singing and chanting and a parade that looked like a royal coronation. Sort of like when a presidential campaign peeks, wins a bunch of primaries in a row. But, it ain’t over and you know you can’t match that performance again. Might be best just to take some time off – but the drama goes on whether you are ready or not and after Sunday comes Monday, Blue Monday. So, since you won’t be coming to worship tomorrow and since you already know about today, let me tell you how Jesus’ Monday went. It started off with an unfortunate incident involving a fig tree while he was on his way to the temple. Did you ever have something happen on the way to work that soured your attitude before you even got to your office. I take Emily to school before I go to the office. A few days ago I was slowing to pull into the church driveway. I had my turn signal on in plenty of time. The guy behind me flashed his lights and beeped his horn, then accelerated down to the stop signal, obviously annoyed that I had impeded his progress. I was pulling into the driveway of my house. Horn honking is the automotive equivalent of swearing – which I was tempted to do at him while he was waiting up at the light. I restrained myself for fear that he might be a church member. I remember a story a guy told me once about why he didn’t go to church. Said he went to church once and when he was driving out of the church parking lot this guy cut him off. He thought that church people should at least wait till they get out of the church parking lot before the start driving aggressively. So, he got out of his car, went up to the guy’s window and said, “You better watch it Reverend.” The point is, you didn’t want to be the first person to come and see me in my office a day like that. That was the mood Jesus was in after the fig tree incident. And the first people in the door were the Chief Priests of the temple whom he had offended the day before. That’s what you get on Mondays. They came to question his authority – not his experience or his judgment but his authority. He wasn’t in the mood; he said, “I’m not interested in your stupid question.” But, they didn’t leave so he told them a parable about a farmer who had two sons who he told to go work in the field. One said he would go but did nothing; the other said, “No” but later went to work. They still didn’t leave so he told them another parable about another farmer who left his farm with caretakers but when he sent a servant for his share of the harvest, they beat him and threw him out. About then the Pharisees figured out that the stories were about them. Duh! They wanted to have him arrested but were afraid the crowd would turn on them. Not his best day. Since Jesus’ Monday was going nowhere what with that fig tree incident on the way to the temple, he went ahead with a few more stories that offended the Chief Priests and the Pharisees, so they called in some reinforcements, the Herodians. The Herodians were another group whom Jesus had offended the day before because they were firm supporters of the dynasty of King Herod. They believed that Herod was the rightful heir to the throne, so Jesus coming in as if he were the heir didn’t sit very well. They tried to trick him with some questions about his tax returns; just what you need on Monday, an IRS audit, especially after having an unfortunate encounter involving a fig tree. So when he stumped them they called in the next group of questioners, the Sadducees. They asked him a trick question about what happens in heaven after the resurrection. It was obviously a belligerent question because the Sadducees, as a group, didn’t believe in an afterlife. Everyone knew that; the Sadducees don’t believe there is a resurrection, that’s why they are so sad, you see. So, when he has successfully outwitted the Sadducees the Pharisees come back for another run. By now Jesus has had it, especially after how his day got started with that fig tree thing. So he does a whole chapter (chapter 23) of curses. Every paragraph in chapter 23 begins with the phrase, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” “I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." This is the point in the story where I always count my blessings; I have a church staff that has the good sense to know when to leave me alone. When it’s Monday and I’ve just had a run in with a Pharisee, Herodian or Sadducee (or a fig tree) and have gone into my office and closed the door, leave me alone. Jesus’ staff followed him and bothered him with more questions, which he patiently answers – albeit the answers were a bit colored by the fig tree incident and the realities of Blue Monday. Obviously the fig tree thing is still on his mind because he uses it as an illustration in his teaching. (Matt 24: 32) “Take a lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.”
Let’s go back to that time first thing Monday morning. Jesus is on his way to the temple, hasn’t had breakfast, sees a fig tree in full leaf. When he gets to the tree, saliva is dripping from his lips but there are no figs, just leaves. So he curses the fig tree and it withers. The disciples are amazed that he can kill a tree with his words, but I am amazed that one who knows that when the fig tree leafs out it’s a sign of spring, wouldn’t also know that fig trees don’t have leaves and fruit at the same time. Everybody knows that. You know that. Isn’t it a little weird for Jesus to get all bent when he could tell from a distance that the tree wouldn’t have fruit? It wasn’t fig season. So, what was that about – I’ll tell you. Let me call your attention to a line from last Sunday’s lesson. Jesus says to his disciples, “Do you not say, ‘There are four more months, then comes the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and see how the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4: 35) It doesn’t matter how the cycle goes normally, when the Lord of the harvest comes, it’s harvest time. It doesn’t matter if fig trees don’t normally have figs and leaves at the same time; the Lord of all creation is here; the one who spoke that fig tree into existence at the moment of creation is here and present with us. We dare not go on ‘business as usual.’ The day before he was sure he could get the rocks to cry out, but on Monday he can’t even get a fig for breakfast – because it’s not fig season. Welcome to Blue Monday, Jesus. “They call it stormy Monday,” goes the song, “but Tuesday’s just as bad. Wednesday’s worse and Thursday I feel so bad. Then comes Friday. I wonder how my interaction with Jesus mirrors his experience of Monday and of Holy week. Am I a Pharisee, an Herodian, a Sadducee? I’m more like the fig tree, Jesus comes to me for some reasonable service and I say, “I’m not ready yet.” Come back later. But the affirmation for Palm Sunday is the affirmation for the rest of Holy Week and the rest of history. The Lord of life has come, all scheduled events are suspended, all bets are off – there are no personal agendas, only his agenda. The crowd spread their garments on the road and others cut branches from the trees – and the crowd that followed him shouted, “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” And so did we. But, what did they shout come Monday? Blue Monday! |
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