"Bringing Warmth to a World Where the Love of Many Has Grown Cold" - Walking the Palm Sunday Path

I wonder: Who else besides me is struck by how eerily on point today's gospel reading is? {Show of hands, if that was your reaction as you listened... ] In this passage from Matthew 24, Jesus tells his disciples, "You will hear of wars and rumors of war," and before Jesus even finishes his thought, our finite human brains are already off to the races, thinking, "Whoa! The Middle East and much of the rest of the world are under fire and on fire.... Does that mean we're living in the end times? Does that mean Jesus is coming back soon?..." But here as elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus is quite clear that the terrible events experienced by human beings in our time and across the ages are but the birth pangs of what's to come. God alone knows the day and the hour when the promised kingdom of heaven will come in its fullness.

And there's more!... Twice in this passage Jesus warns his disciples not to run after fake messiahs and false prophets who will misrepresent him and lead many astray in his name...•.Friends, when I read that, I couldn't help thinking about a news article I came across a couple of days ago. I was horrified - though not surprised - to read about how some US military leaders have been telling their troops that our president has been anointed by Jesus to attack Iran because this action will help usher in the Second Coming of our Lord  Even though I've long been aware there are Christian Zionists who believe such things, I was still shocked. Apparently, so were more than 200 servicemen and servicewomen who filed legal complaints saying their commanders' messaging encroaches on their religious freed0m. Among those who've filed complaints, there are a number of Christians, who, like you and I, don't subscribe to the appalling view that God visits destruction and death on some of God's children so that a select few can enjoy personal power and privilege. I'm reminded of something the French philosopher Voltaire wrote some 300 years ago. Voltaire observed, "God created human beings in the image of God, and it wasn't long before human beings returned the favor!....." Friends, the vengeful, violent Christian Nationalist/Christian Zionist god who is leading many astray is NOT the God you and I worship. That god-with-a-small-g bears no resemblance to the gracious and merciful God Jesus has come to reveal. Jesus, who willingly lays down his own life, so that all people may have life, never anoints anyone to do violence in God's holy name. Quite the opposite!. Even as he stands face to face with his enemies in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal, Jesus instructs one of the disciples who's drawn a sword to defend him to put the weapon away, saying, "Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will die by the sword…"¹

Speaking of dying, in Matthew 24 Jesus acknowledges the very real possibility that those disciples who remain faithful to him amidst all the temptation and turmoil of their time of trial will face persecution or even death. Jesus lays it our for us, saying, "[M]any will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another...." When I read that, I couldn't help thinking about a startling headline that caught my eye this week. It read, "Most Americans Think Their Fellow Citizens are Bad People."² I dug a little deeper and found that this headline was referring to data collected in a recent Pew Research poll conducted in 25 countries. The participants were asked to rate the morality and ethics of others in their country, and an eye-popping 53% of American respondents responded by saying their fellow Americans have bad ethics and morals. It's sobering to realize that the United States is the only country where a majority of people hold this opinion of their fellow citizens  ³

Friends, I take no pleasure in saying this, but it seems to me that both the Pew study and Jesus's words accurately reflect where we are at this point in time. We're in the place Jesus prophesies about in verse 12: Because of the increase of lawlessness, you and I find ourselves in the place where the love of many has grown cold  ⁴ This

verse from Matthew's gospel is the only place where Jesus declares that the love of many will grow cold. And I have to say that as I was reading this text in preparation for preaching, I found the truth of that verse both chilling and enlightening  I think

most of us know that Jesus never minces words; he always calls it as he sees it, so that his followers know what to expect. At the same time, he calls us to be faithful anyway - no matter what may come - while also promising that the one who endures to the end will be saved. And just in case there's any doubt about the gospel being good news for all people, Jesus goes on to say, "[T]his good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come...." By the way, it might interest you to know that this passage from Matthew 24 was selected for Luther Seminary's "Walking the Palm Sunday Path" sermon series back in January - six weeks before you and I awoke to the sobering news that the United States and Israel had begun bombing Iran and Lebanon....

As I reflect on all these things, I feel moved to share with you two recent experiences that affirm for me something I said to you in a sermon a few months ago: Some of you may recall my saying that while it's true that you and I live in a time and place where terrible things are happening - things we never imagined would ever happen here, things over which we have little or no control - these things don't change who you and I are called to be as followers of Jesus.

So,. The first thing I want to share is something that happened in the course of the past week or so. On each of the last two Saturdays, I've attended an event where I had occasion to reconnect with two colleagues I haven't seen for a while. In each case, my colleague and I took a few minutes to check in with each other. Each of us confessed to feeling overwhelmed and working harder than ever before, as we try to navigate living in a time when it feels like the world is on fire and the love of many has grown cold. And yet at the very same time, each of us also expressed genuine gratitude at finding ourselves surrounded and supported by warmhearted people who join us in continuing the vital work to which Christ calls us: the work of loving and blessing the whole world, one neighbor at a time.

The second experience I want to share happened this past Monday. I had decided to listen to a podcast while exercising, and as I listened, I was delighted to discover that it was a beautiful devotional piece of storytelling and reflection. In fact, I found it so meaningful and enjoyable that I went back and listened to it again on Friday and Saturday!... Although the podcast was recorded three months ago, its timeless wisdom speaks into our immediate context, so I want to unpack and share some of its treasures with you. The storyteller for the podcast is British writer, theologian, and priest Jarel Robinson-Brown, who deftly weaves together personal and biblical stories to reflect on the power of love in a world on fire. Father Jarel offers several delicious bits of wisdom, including this insightful observation: "One of the reasons I think Christian faith gets so easily misused is because most people forget that Christian truth is not a text, but a person...." When I heard him say that, I sat up and said to myself, "Yes! That's it! Jesus is the incarnate, living Word of God. He IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life for us and for all who follow him!..." Another thing Father Jarel said that captured my attention and fed my hungry spirit was this:

When everything around us seems to be falling apart, I choose to put my hope in that simple carpenter from Nazareth, whose only power was love and whose only demand upon us was to follow him in a way that might cost us nothing short of everything - to lose our lives, that we might find them, to lay down our lives that others may have life.... His life, cross-shaped as it was, revealed to us all the power of a cross-shaped love. And at a time in our life - in the life of the world - when love seems like a loser's game, it is good for us to be reminded of love's power. Things fall apart. Empires rise, and empires fall. Kings assume that their kingdoms will reign forever. Love, however, never ends. And in the twilight of the life of the world -- in the twilight of our lives-only unshakeable things remain: the cradle and the cross...and my grandmother's voice praising God from the ruins of her own story, from the broken heart of the world, bearing witness and holding a small light out for each of us who might assume that evil has won.... Evil has its hour; God has his day. Unshakeable things remain forever.⁵

In closing, I want to leave you with a bit of wisdom and a blessing from spiritual advisor Anna Robinson, who offers further reflection on Father Jarel's devotional piece. First the bit of wisdom:

Kindness researcher Dr. David Hamilton describes the ripple effect of kindness like this: "An act of kindness is like a pebble dropped in a pond. Just as a pebble lifts lily pads on the other side, so an act of kindness lifts the person you help and many of those connected to them.⁶

And now, here's a takeaway blessing for all of us from Anna Robinson:

May we move in the world with love,

Knowing that no act of love is ever too small,

that every expression of kindness ripples outwards

in ways we may never see.

May we trust and celebrate human goodness.

May we stay open and in relation to the mystery

of divine kindness.

May we become part of a revolution of love and solidarity

with all who suffer.

May we learn a way of love

and always be part of the ripple effect of that love

that can make this world a better place for all.⁷

And let the people of God say: ...Amen!

¹ Matthew 26:52.

² "Most Americans Think Their Fellow Citizens are Bad People," www.washingtonpost.com, 6 March 2026.

³ "In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely to View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad," www.pewresearch.org, 5 March 2026.

⁴ Matthew 24:12.

5 Father Jarel Robinson-Brown, "Love in a World on Fire" (N 359), www.nomadpodcast.co.uk, 22 December 2025.

6 Anna Robsinson, reflection on "Love in a World on Fire" 9N 359), www.nomadpodcast.co.uk,

22 December 2025.

⁷ Ibid.

Bringing Warmth to a World Where the Love of Many Has Grown Cold