Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday, 2026
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 26:14- 27:66
Psalm 31:9-16
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
That was a very long and difficult reading, which took us through several dark days. It is especially jarring that we began this day by celebrating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the crowd, waving our palms and shouting hosanna. Only to watch another crowd turn and yell “crucify him!” And, of course, we mentally separate ourselves from that crowd. We were part of the first crowd . . . not the second. So we want to know why this happened. How did we get here?
And I think the explanation is tucked away in a small comment Jesus makes in the Garden of Gethsemane. He says, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” We usually hear this phrase in our day-to-day life as “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword,” or something like that. Which really changes the meaning. It puts us in mind of Genghis Khan or someone. Killers are gonna get killed.
Or worse, it puts it in the realm of some sort of karma mindset. Like what goes around comes around. Or, the country that threatens another country might get bombed, kind of thing. And we can even think of the reverse as a hedge against violent death. Like, I’m not going to draw a sword, so that means I’m protected from dying by the sword.
But I think we need to pull back the lens a bit to get the true meaning here. Because it’s more systemic than that. The warning from Jesus is about introducing violence into the system. Once it is unleashed it only grows. All who take the sword will perish by the sword, along with everybody else. It’s like once the swords are out, this doesn’t end well for anyone.
We think we want peace talks and de-escalation and cease fires, and stuff like that. But what we really want is to inflict overwhelming violence so unspeakable that our enemies cannot strike back. Obliterate their weapons and declare victory. But that rarely happens. More often than not, violence begets violence. Martyrdom creates martyrs. Once the swords are out, everyone is in danger. Or, in the words of Jesus, all who take the sword will perish by the sword. The solution is not to use a bigger sword and cause greater casualties than our enemies do; the solution is to put away the sword.
But we naturally approach confrontation by just trying to escalate the violence faster than our enemies can. Be the first one to draw the sword. Be the first country to have enough weapons to destroy the entire planet 10 times over. We even see this escalation in our local police departments, when they buy up used military gear and act like they’re going into Fallujah when they’re heading to a domestic dispute in downtown Canton.
Which brings us back to the crowd. One minute shouting Hosanna, the next minute shouting crucify him. Somebody took up the sword; and we’re sure it wasn’t us. But, clearly, violence got into the system. And all who take the sword will perish by the sword . . . and everybody else with them.
What we see happen each year on this day is that our Palm Sunday celebration gives way to this Passion Sunday tragedy. Everything was going great. And then, well . . all who take the sword will perish by the sword. We cannot hide from the violence once it gets started. Whether that violence is started by drunk fans at a sporting event, or the leaders of nations drunk on power. There can be no bystanders once the sword is unleashed. And the only solution in the midst of violence is to follow the command of Jesus and “Put your sword back into its place.”
My hope is that we will each seek to follow this command, and put our own swords back into their place. Our swords are not likely to be literal weapons. They might be the words we speak, or the posts we make online, or the hate we carry in our hearts. But they are swords nonetheless. And all who take the sword will perish by the sword . . . and everybody else with them. Put your sword back into its place. Jesus offers us a better way, and a better world. Let us follow his way into that world, that we might finally know God’s peace.
Amen
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