The Black Parade

Joshua J Sander
3/28/10
Palm Sunday
“The Black Parade”

Luke 19:28-40

Some of you have no doubt have caught the reference in the title of this sermon or at least recognize the lyric sheet you hold in your hands. You’re probably an interesting mix of excited, nervous and curious—possibly even anxious. Good. Hold on to that feeling. Because as Jesus and his followers approached Jerusalem, they were mostly likely feeling all of that and more.

Remember that Jesus and his followers lived in conquered land. The Romans in all their misery and hate ruled over the Jewish people with an iron fist. Pontius Pilate was in Jerusalem to ensure that the turbulent time of Passover did not escalate from turbulent directly into full-blown rebellion—and he rode into the city as representative of the Empire, with armed and armored troops and on the back of mighty warhorse! Jesus and his followers knew that they were headed toward the proverbial powder keg when they turned their faces towards Jerusalem—and Jesus had not once, not twice, but three times told his disciples that one day he’d leave them. And if the disciples refused to hear him, who can blame them? Who wants to believe in a world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams?

And then there’s all that business with the colt. As they get to the Mount of Olives, Jesus says, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” And it goes exactly as Jesus described. How exciting! Not simply because Jesus knew what he was talking about when he sent his people to take the donkey—but also because Jesus is clearly and intentionally acting out the words of the prophet Zecharaiah:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. (Zechariah 9:9-10)

Jesus! Your King! Triumphant and victorious! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven! Jesus! He who defeats demons and the plans of the non-believers! Hosanna! Let’s shout it loud and clear! Hosanna! (cue the music) Take it back! Hosanna! We want it all! Hosanna! You’ll never break me! Hosanna! Defiant to the end we hear the call!

“Welcome to the Black Parade”
My Chemical Romance

When I was a young boy,
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band.

He said, "Son when you grow up,
would you be the savior of the broken,
the beaten and the damned?"
He said "Will you defeat them,
your demons, and all the non-believers,
the plans that they have made?"
"Because one day I'll leave you,
A phantom to lead you in the summer,
To join The Black Parade."

When I was a young boy,
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band.
He said, "Son when you grow up,
would you be the savior of the broken,
the beaten and the damned?"

Sometimes I get the feeling
she's watching over me.
And other times I feel like I should go.
And through it all, the rise and fall,
the bodies in the streets.
And when you're gone we want you all to know.

We'll carry on,
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I can't contain it
The anthem won't explain it.

A world that sends you reeling
from decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all.
So paint it black and take it back
Let's shout it loud and clear
Defiant to the end we hear the call

To carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches

On and on we carry through the fears
Ooh oh ohhhh
Disappointed faces of your peers
Ooh oh ohhhh
Take a look at me cause I could not care at all

Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Go on try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
I won't explain or say I'm sorry
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar
Give a cheer for all the broken
Listen here, because it's who we are
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
Just a boy, who had to sing this song
I'm just a man, I'm not a hero
I! don't! care!

We'll carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're dead and gone believe me
Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated
Your weary widow marches on

Do or die, you'll never make me
Because the world will never take my heart
Go on try, you'll never break me
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on)

Do or die, you'll never make me
(We'll carry on)
Because the world will never take my heart
(We'll carry on)
Go on try, you'll never break me
(We'll carry)
We want it all, we wanna play this part
(We'll carry on)

No! No, no, no! This is completely inappropriate! We cannot shout hosanna! We must not be defiant, or it will be our end! On and on we carry through the fears of bodies in the streets, and here you come on your donkey and your followers singing? No! I refuse to look upon the disappointed faces of your peers should you be put to death and I do not care for this—obscene parade! I demand that your followers cease singing before you bring the wrath of Rome down on all our heads!

And Jesus, the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out." It was a bad, bad move to ride into Jerusalem in the manner of the triumphant King spoken of by the prophet Zecharaiah. It was a bad, bad move to let His followers sing and shout like a victorious army coming home. But it was a necessary thing—because even though it was a bad, bad move… it was true. Jesus was the Messiah that the people had been waiting for and he was riding toward his greatest victory. This was a truth so profound that if people had not proclaimed it, the rest of creation—even stones!—would have done so. As it turned out, the stones didn’t need to proclaim anything—because Jesus had a parade.

Which brings me back to the song we just heard. It wasn’t intended to be about Jesus. The album it comes from is a rock opera about a cancer patient and tells the story of his apparent death, experiences of the afterlife, and subsequent reflection of his life. Gerard Way is the band’s front man, co-founder, and co-songwriter, and the imagery of the Black Parade comes from his belief that death comes for a person in the form of their fondest memory, in this case seeing a parade as a child. But if you think about it, death coming in the form of a parade is kind of what this scripture is about, isn’t it? It would be all too easy to march into Jerusalem with the victorious king, with our Savior the Messiah, shouting Hosanna to the rafters today—and then come back next week and sing Alleluia, He is Risen!—without ever considering what comes between.

The followers of Jesus weren’t singing “Welcome to the Black Parade” on that fateful day, but I think they might have resonated with its message. I won't explain or say “I'm sorry.” I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar. Give a cheer for all the broken, listen here, because it's who we are. We’ll carry on. Even unto death on a cross. We’ll carry on.

Please be with me in the spirit of prayer. God of truth and light, sometimes we are a people who’d rather focus on the parade than consider its consequences. Sometimes we are a people who are more afraid of making a bad move than we are in the most profound truths. Sometimes we simply do not know when we should shout and sing. And, much like the disciples of Jesus, sometimes we get confused as to just what kind of a savior we have. Guide us, we pray. Direct our focus, soothe our fears, and grant us the knowledge to help your will be done on earth. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

"untitled"

Emmi Hanson
"untitled"
01/24/10

Psalm 84:1-4

I was ten years old my first summer at Silver Lake. And I didn't want to go. As it turns out, that was one of my best, most life changing weeks ever. On Sunday afternoon, my parents dropped off a reluctant pessimist and when they came for me on Saturday I was in tears, not wanting to leave. I haven't missed a summer since then and I cannot imagine what it would take to make me miss one in the future.

That first week I learned how to love and be loved, that I could just be myself and that was ok, and how wonderful it felt living in community working and playing in God's backyard.

My time as a camper encouraged me to bring home the normal camp stuff: new songs, games, art projects; but it also encouraged me to bring home a stronger connection to my home church, a better understanding of mission work and a true sense of belonging for the first time in my life.

The summer before ninth grade I knew I would begin confirmation class in the fall. Although, in order to be confirmed, I first needed to be baptized. My parents were brought up in a fundamentalist background encouraging believer's baptism. So, they did not have me baptized as an infant. Instead, they left the decision for me to choose if and when I thought it would be best.

Having such a strong spiritual connection to Silver Lake, I worked with my pastor and the original (and then) director Alden Tyrol and we arranged to do it the Saturday following my Summer conference just after the rest of the campers left. And so, two days before my fourteenth birthday I was immersed in the lake with one other camper, my deans, counselors and some of summer staff as witnesses.

As soon as I was old enough, I applied to be on camp staff. I wanted to be like the people who had made such a difference in my life. The summer I turned sixteen I was on Camp Family, a special part of staff for first years under the age of eighteen. They do the grunt work: dishes, small maintenance, cleaning buildings and helping out other parts of staff as needed. I worked alongside my brothers and sisters for ten weeks, sixteen hours a day, six days a week doing some of the most demanding physical labor I have experienced. We were paid a stipend of five hundred dollars for the summer, which, when broken down works out to about thirteen cents an hour. And. It was the BEST summer of my life.

And I came back. The following summer I was on Resource assisting conferences, running games, sorting mail...

Once I needed to be working full time , I settled for volunteering one week a summer. First as a counselor, and now as a dean. Through all of these experiences I learned the skills that made me a better Christian educator and youth leader.

It is this level of dedication that keeps Silver Lake alive. We volunteer our time, money and talents to give back what was given to us. To show each camper that they are good. Teach them to love God, love their neighbors and most of all, love themselves. And in the end we challenge them in the same way we were challenged: to live our faith every day and figure a way to take a piece of Silver Lake home with us and out into the world.

The 'H' Word

Joshua J Sander
“The ‘H’ Word”
11/29/09

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Luke 21:25-36

I have an admission to make. I recently bought something for myself and Emmi to play with and… well… this is tearing me up, but… we do not fall within the listed age range printed clearly on the outside of the box. I should have noticed when I was ordering it on-line, because it clearly says “Ages: 5-12” in several places. I, um, am not between the ages of 5 and 12. And neither is Emmi. But we plan on thoroughly enjoying our Lego brand Advent Calendar! It has been sitting safely in its box on the coffee table in my living room since before Thanksgiving, and we can barely wait any longer! Or at least, I can’t. Emmi keeps telling me that there are only 24 days in the calendar, and that I have to wait ‘til Tuesday to open the first little door and build the first tiny little model... it’s been driving me crazy!

And can you blame me, really? After all, it has been Christmas in Wal-Mart and Target and probably any other store you can name since, oh, about October 31st! And as excited as Christmas makes me, even I feel like Halloween is a little early for Christmas to arrive. But my tree went up on Thanksgiving. I even have my old Lego monorail set circling it, just waiting for me to start working on that Advent Calendar so it has something Christmas-y to carry around the tree! After all, that’s what Advent is about, right? It’s like that pretty song from A Charlie Brown Christmas, “Christmas time is here / Happiness and cheer / Fun for all that children call / Their favorite time of the year…” The ever-growing commercial juggernaut that Charlie Brown so eloquently bemoans would certainly lead us to believe so.

But I have to admit that, despite my childlike glee over my Lego Calendar, today’s scripture lessons take us to a different understanding of Advent. Today’s lessons take us more to “Come, O Come, Immanuel and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile…” than they do “Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer…” In the Jeremiah text, we find a time when the Hebrew people are war-torn, caught between the expanding Babylonian Empire on one side and Egypt’s futile resistance to the Babylonian expansion on the other—a time when the Hebrew people suffer in exile. It is into an atmosphere of injustice, defeat, and despair that Jeremiah speaks here. No happiness and cheer in sight—just the promise of a coming justice to be executed!

In the Gospel lesson we find Jesus in Jerusalem, at the Temple, foretelling the destruction and overthrow of both. And it is not at all difficult for the Disciples of Jesus to believe. Just consider that the Roman military leader known as Pompey actually took Jerusalem and successfully laid siege to the Temple itself during the time of Julius Caesar. After Julius Caesar was assassinated came Caesar Augusts. Augustus took ultimate power over the Empire through war and intrigue—he gained control through bloodshed and kept the Senate in line with the fact that he controlled the majority of Rome’s legions and could, if he had to, overthrow the Senate with brute force.

It was during the rise of Augustus that Herod the Great took power as the Roman client king of Israel. He was voted by the Senate to be “King of Judea.” This decision was backed up with military power as Herod took Jerusalem with the aid of the Roman army. He then protected his crown ruthlessly and with great bloodshed, executing whoever threatened him. Sometimes there was even a trial. The clearest insight into Herod the Great’s personality can be found in the Gospel of Matthew as he decrees that all children in Bethlehem and it’s vicinity below the age of two be put to death in an attempt to keep the child Jesus from one day taking power. Herod the Great never saw Jesus’ rise to popularity, but his son, Herod Antipas wasn’t any less evil. Herod Antipas was the one who had John the Baptist beheaded. Perhaps we should be singing some Credence Clearwater Revival, “I see a bad moon rising / I see trouble on the way…” Because it is into an atmosphere of political intrigue, instability, and violent executions that Jesus speaks here. No happiness and cheer in sight—just promises of signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars as the powers of the very heavens will be shaken!

Unless you’re the kind of person who keeps up with the Revised Common Lectionary, you probably weren’t expecting such dark texts to begin such a joyous season. It’s counterintuitive to focus on the Babylonian exile and the promise of a day of judgment when you know that just around the corner are shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night. On the other hand, when you are a defeated and exiled people with no rights, what do you have to hope for except a day of judgment and a time of justice? It’s counterintuitive to focus on the depredations of the Roman occupation of Judea when you know that just around the corner are choirs of angles singing “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace…” On the other hand, when you are a people oppressed by the impressive violence and might of an evil Empire, what do you have to hope for except for an apocalyptic upheaval which is even mightier? As Kate Huey puts it, “We know that the might and violence of Rome were impressive to behold, but on this day even the heavens themselves will collapse, and the stars and the moon will fall out of their places in the sky, nothing will work as it should, and things will no longer go on as they have in the past.” Even if you take into account the common metaphor of Jesus’ day, with the sun as a symbol of Rome and the moon and stars as symbols of the Empire’s client kings clustered around it—we’re still talking about the collapse of an Empire. And Empires rarely go down quietly and without repercussion.

You see, we have to go to the dark places to understand the point of these texts. If we refuse to acknowledge the darkness of exile and oppression we cannot begin to recognize the light of hope that shines in these scriptures. Advent is preparation for Christmas, yes, but it is all about Darkness and Light. We have to acknowledge the need for a Savior, for a Messiah, before we can have one. We have to acknowledge that there’s darkness out there, that it’s dark even in here, before we can ask that the light be turned on.

But maybe I’m preaching to the choir when I remind you that there’s darkness. I certainly don’t intend to leave us sitting in a dark place this morning. So let me share a story with you that always sheds a little light for me. It comes from an award-winning graphic novel entitled The Sandman, and it was written by one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman. In this story, Morpheus, the Incarnation of Dream, has descended into Hell to retrieve something that was stolen from him. In order to get it back, Dream challenges a demon to a battle of wits. The demon begins, saying:

Demon: I am a dire wolf, prey-stalking, lethal prowler.
Dream: I am a hunter, horse-mounted, wolf-stabbing.
Demon: I am a horsefly, horse-stinging, hunter-throwing.
Dream: I am a spider, fly-consuming, eight legged.
Demon: I am a snake, spider-devouring, poison-toothed.
Dream: I am an ox, snake-crushing, heavy footed.
Demon: I am an anthrax, butcher bacterium, warm-life destroying.
Dream: I am a world, space-floating, life nurturing.
Demon: I am a nova, all-exploding… planet cremating.
Dream: I am the Universe—all things encompassing, all life embracing.
Demon: I am anti-life, the beast of judgment. I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds… of everything. And what will you be then, Dreamlord?
Dream: I am hope.

Thus Dream defeated the Demon. But as Dream attempts to leave Hell with his prize, Lucifer attempts to bar his way with legions of Demons at his command.

Lucifer:Tell us why we should let you leave? …you have no power here… what power have dreams in Hell?
Dream: You say I have no power? Perhaps you speak truly… But—you say that DREAMS have no power here? Tell me Lucifer Morningstar… Ask yourselves, all of you… What power would HELL have if those here imprisoned were NOT able to DREAM of HEAVEN?

And the Million Lords of Hell part before Dream like the waters of the Red Sea before Moses and Dream walks out of Hell unmolested.

…Despite the fact that his people were defeated and powerless and suffering in exile, Jeremiah dared to dream that a day would surely come when justice and righteousness would be executed throughout the land. Jeremiah stood face to face with a demon and said, “I am hope.” Despite the fact that his people were at the mercy of a depraved and violent Empire, Jesus dared to give his disciples a dream that one day soon everything would change. Jesus stood face to face with a demon and said, “I am hope.”

This is the message of Advent, ladies and gentlemen. These are dark and uncertain times. But it is important in dark and uncertain times to dare to Dream. And Advent holds a challenge for each of us as well... for it is important in dark and uncertain times for you carry the light of Hope. You don’t have to be Jesus. You don’t have to be a prophet from the Hebrew scriptures. You don’t have to be a hero from a graphic novel. You just have to remember that the “H” word that holds the real power is “Hope,” not “Hell.” The message of Advent is the Light of Hope.

Let us pray. God of Hope, these are most certainly dark and uncertain times. The world is frightening. It is so easy for us to skip directly to the joy of Christmas, because if we don’t, we find that we tunnel vision in on our own problems, our own fears, our own darkness and uncertainty. It is all too easy for us to abandon the Hope that you have given to us, let alone dare to stand up and carry that hope to others. Help us see your Light. Help us dare to Dream, to Hope, and to embody your Light as we do your work in these dark and uncertain times. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Amen.