Palm Sunday Year B

Yes, God has body language too. . .

When it comes to relating and communicating, sometimes words just aren’t enough.  Every bit as important as the spoken word is something we call Body Language.

Body Language helps us to verify the sincerity of the spoken word.   It helps us to understand the many nuances and overtones, shades and layers that exist in every conversation that takes place.

The fact is that Communication just wouldn’t be the same without it.

It seems to me that one of many reasons that the people in Jesus’ day spent so much time waiting and searching for a Messiah to come to them is because they yearned to see Divine body language.

God had spoken the Word.  God had given the Commandments, but how were we to verify the sincerity of the Word?  How were we to ever understand the many nuances and overtones, shades and layers that exist in the ongoing conversation between God and us?

We desperately needed God to converge with humanity in a radically, personal way, and we Christians have found that convergence in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

 And so, without pause and without hesitation, we stand with those people who wave their branches of palm, and we proclaim him to be our Messiah, the Christ of God!

Jesus is the very embodiment of God’s holy Word for us.  Jesus exhibits the Body Language of God. We discover it in his humble birth and all through his life, but never do we discover it like we do in his Passion.

Several years ago, a journalist had interviewed a man about his remarkable work of compassion in his community, remarkable because his compassion was always extended to those people who were considered outcasts by most people.

The journalist asked him, Why?

The reason I do what I do, the man responded, is because of Jesus’ body language.

The journalist looked perplexed, and so the man continued:

Think about Jesus hanging on the cross.  His arms were stretched to their fullest extent.  Now I realize that his arms were stretched because they were nailed to the cross, but I deeply believe that his arms were stretched to their fullest extent, not primarily because he was being crucified, but he was being crucified because all of his life he opened his arms to their fullest extent. . .THAT was the only way that Jesus could welcome absolutely everyone into the full embrace of God’s family, and the man added, THAT needs to be OUR body language too.

So, my dear friends in Christ, as we interactively enter the Passion of Jesus this week, I invite you to prayerfully consider the Divine Body Language.

The look of look of love even amid painful denial.

The posture of willingness to share in our woundedness and beyond.

The silent resignation of vulnerability that is so much a part of our human condition.

I love the story that Robert Coleman told about an eight-year-old named Johnny. The child looked very serious when the doctor called him into his office at the hospital and explained how he could save his sister’s life. Mary, age six, was near death – her only chance was a blood transfusion. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, Johnny would be the ideal donor.

Johnny, the doctor asked, would you like to give your blood for Mary? Johnny hesitated a moment, his lower lip trembling. Then he smiled and said, Sure, doctor. I’ll give my blood for my sister.

The operating room was prepared, and the children were wheeled in. Mary was pale and thin, while Johnny was robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned broadly. As Johnny’s blood siphoned into Mary’s veins, her pale skin began to turn pink. There was complete silence as the operation proceeded. But then Johnny spoke in a brave little voice in a way that the doctor would never forget. Doctor. . .  when do I die?”

It was only then that the doctor realized what that almost imperceptible trembling of the lip had meant when he had talked to Johnny in his office.  He realized why there was so much silence during the procedure. Johnny thought that giving up his blood for his sister meant giving up his life!  In that moment, Johnny had made his great decision.

As you read through the Passion this week, listen for the labored silence of Jesus as he makes his decision. . .look for the body language that says, I will love you even unto death. As you read through it, I invite you to look into those fully extended, ever so Divine arms that speak of inconceivable forgiveness; that speak of universal, unregulated, unqualified acceptance; that proclaim beyond question, that there is most definitely room for each and every one of us in the eternal embrace of God.

By all means, look for the body language of GRACE.