Why we need the Philippians hymn on Palm Sunday

On Sunday as we hear the long, gruesome drama of the Passion narrative, it is difficult to keep enough space in our minds for the other lessons, but the Philippians hymn (2:5–11) is not only a beautiful, theologically rich passage of scripture, but it takes on its fullest meaning in the context of Jesus' Passion. Although it may be hard to preach on something other than the Christ's triumphal entry or the crowd's rejection of its king, this may be the best time to preach on Paul's poetic confession we ever get. In fact, the lectionary seems to be suggesting this to us, as it is the epistle lesson for Palm Sunday in all three years and only comes up at other times on the Feast of the Holy Name in Year A and on Holy Cross Day.

Likely quoting a familiar early confession, Paul wrote of Christ Jesus, "And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross." That obedience, which the author of the Letter to the Hebrews makes a big deal of, is the consequence of faithfulness. Jesus was faithful to the point of being rejected by the powers of the world. It was his obedience to God that got him in trouble. His steadfastness in the face of temptation—temptation made real because of his full humanity—was the reason for his torture. That "becoming obedient" does not suggest that Jesus needed to learn what it meant to be faithful to his Father. It means he learned what the consequences of that faithfulness are when subjected to the powers of unfaithful human beings.

Some would argue that Jesus was obedient to his Father's plan in that the Father's plan always envisioned crucifixion. In other words, God sent the Son into the world because God desired a perfect sacrifice for sin. Others would argue that the cross was humanity's rejection of God's plan and not the center of it. I would ask what the difference is.