Isaiah 50:7-8; Luke 19 36,37,38

Celebrity status

Ben Affleck plays Superman in a new movie pitting Superman against Batman.  He is supposed to be this darker, more realistic character.  It took many years for Affleck to be taken seriously as an actor, but these days are behind him.   But what is a celebrity to do, now he has trouble being taken seriously as a husband.   After his dark role as husband in “Gone girl” now comes the breakdown of his marriage with the American sweetheart Jennifer Garner.  While Ben is embracing his dark side, the increasingly wholesome Jennifer is starring in a religious movie about a miracle and I heard she is the focus of Vanity Fair.  I heard that in the article she talks how hard it was to live with Ben when his career was not going well.

Dear friends, it is hard to be a celebrity.  Now you may think I am being terribly sarcastic, but I bet it is not that always easy to be a celebrity.  I have done about 19 sermons on Palm Sunday for you now and I always try to find a new angle.  Celebrity is this year’s angle.  Jesus is a celebrity and it the celebrity He is representing is the worst kind of celebrity.   You see, Jesus’ celebrity like all is temporary, but for Him it is super short and He knows it.  It is just a moment of glory in the people’s eyes to fulfill the prophecy of the Messiah, the Suffering Servant.  In addition he is a celebrity without money or power.  Friends, wouldn’t that be the worst kind of celebrity to be: one without money of power?  This would mean you could no longer fly on the private Lear jets, go to the fancy parties with other celebrities,  hide in a tree lined mansion or penthouse.  But everybody would know you.  You would have the ride the bus and everybody would know you. You would fly economy and have to sit next to people who would analyze your accomplishments.  You would be sit in fast food restaurants with people who know you but think you are not as good looking in person or who think you have aged.  The cover verse says: “Jesus is set on the colt.”  There He is, celebrity with the lifespan of a dragon fly, being cheered off toward His inevitable painful death.  First mockery is right around the corner.  There isn’t much he can do.

Friends, whether we would amid it or not, we all would want to try being a celebrity for a little bit, because celebrities are remembered. They are less likely to be out of sight, out of mind.  And with being remembered comes a kind of immortality.  Perhaps that is what we really want.  But I think celebrity comes with a curse, because everything you do is amplified: the good you do of course, but also the bad.  Every word and action has extra weight and can easily be distorted.  And you get branded. So you have these actors whose fame is not enough for them: they want the Oscar, they want the respect.  They crave that even more than they used to crave the fame and the money.  They don’t compare themselves to us. They compare themselves to the better actors.  It is true of writers, athletes, musicians etc.  It is relentless.

Friends, what do we want from celebrities?  The crowd wants to be associated with Jesus. They want to be able to say that they saw Him, that they were there when the “King” came by.  They also want what He could do for them.  But the danger is lurking.  The crowd also want the celebrity to fall. They love the fall just as much as the rise; because people resent the perfectly happy celebrity.  They resent that they themselves are on the sidelines and out of the news. And Jesus’ fall is just hours away.

Friends, a culture needs people who are better at something than the rest of us, people that sing better, dance better, talk better, lead better, paint better, write better, help us imagine and dream better.  They give us something to aim for.  What we don’t need is celebrity. Celebrity is pathetic.  But that is what Palm Sunday to a large extent is like for the crowd.  And that is what makes it so dangerous. It is what makes them turn against Jesus at the drop of the hat.

Friends, there is something you and I are better at than anyone else. It does not make us a celebrity, but then I just said we don’t need that.  We are best at being ourselves. That may sound corny, but it is true. Or should I say:” we are best at being the person we are meant to be.”  You see, no one can play the role God wants us to play better than us.  No one is able to make the contributions we are supposed to make better than us.  No one can serve people and God better in the way we are supposed to serve them than we can.  The trick is finding out what are best self is best at. That takes time and patience that can last much of a life time. It also takes a willingness to look for God or at least a willingness to have God to speak to us.  Friends, following celebrities is entertaining, but it is irrelevant.  Our focus should be on finding the excellence inside us. May God give us insight.