Today Lent has ended, and we begin the journey through Holy week. Today is Palm Sunday when we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant, glorious entry into Jerusalem. It is a day of celebration, a day with a carnival atmosphere. But then our minds turn to the journey to the cross.
Call to worship:
Open up the gates; let the righteous one enter in.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We worship the King.
Amen! Hosanna in the highest.
Song of Praise:
I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart;
I will enter His courts with praise.
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
He has made me glad, He has made me glad,
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
He has made me glad, He has made me glad,
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
Reading: Matthew 21.1-11
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
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Prayer:
Amazing God, we join the praises of those that greet Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. Help us to remember
that when the cheering stops you are with us in the suffering and in the dark times ahead, just as you were with Jesus on his journey to the cross. Amen
Psalm 24 – A psalm of praise
Sing praise to God who made the world. Sing praise, sing praise to God!
We who live on earth are his. Sing praise,sing praise to God!
Welcome God, all those who love him. Welcome him and praise him.
God blesses us when we obey him. Welcome him and praise him.
Fling wide the gates and welcome him. Sing praise, sing praise to God!
Open the doors and welcome him. Sing praise, sing praise to God!
Hymn StF 264
1. Make way, make way,
for Christ the King In splendour arrives
Fling wide the gates
and welcome Him into your lives.
Make way! (Make way!) Make way! (Make way!)
For the King of kings. (For the King of kings.)
Make way! (Make way!) Make way! (Make way!)
And let His kingdom in.
2. He comes the broken hearts to heal,
the prisoners to free.
The deaf shall hear, the lame shall dance,
the blind shall see.
Make way! …
3. And those who mourn with heavy hearts,
who weep and sigh;
With laughter, joy and royal crown he’ll beautify.
Make way! …
4. We call you now to worship Him as Lord of all.
To have no gods before Him, their thrones must fall!
Make way! …
Reflection – Why are you doing this? A Palm Sunday reflection
“Don’t ask me what the commotion was about. I cannot say. There was work enough for me to do that day – fetching
water, making bread, sweeping, mending – what is commotion to do with me, who has no call for following the crowd? Only trouble lies that way. “But I heard rumours that we would be saved at last, freed from foreign rule, released from every burden. Except work of course – water, bread and mending always needed. I know our donkey was in service long enough, taken from the shed and then returned. Who’s to say what that achieved?
“Don’t ask me what that later noise signified. I cannot say. “Hosanna!” turned to “Crucify!” but I stayed back, fetching
water, making bread, sweeping, mending. The crowd had turned, as crowds are wont to do, swayed by slippery words and from clever tongues. “But I heard rumours that our hopes were undermined that day – a trial, scourging, one more insurrection come to dust.
The work was always there and mending needed more than with some things torn which never could be reconciled. Strange days, loud shouts and turmoil enough to satisfy any crowd. I would have gone to see, if asked, but who’s to say if it would have changed my path from there?” © by the Revd Dr Tom Arthur, retired URC minister
Talk
Jesus’ dramatic entry is performance art in an authentic prophetic style. Matthew’s mention of a donkey and a colt (other Gospels only have a donkey) shows how much his gospel is shaped by his reading of Zechariah 9.9 alongside Isaiah 62.11; it is the latest in the succession of fulfilment passages that structure his gospel. By the choice of a donkey, Jesus contrasts himself with kings and generals who preferred horses and chariots to demonstrate their wealth and power. It is a moment when Jesus might well have been tempted to act differently – perhaps with the hope of becoming the political leader that so many were hoping for. Instead he acts out his vision of truly liberating leadership, entering the city of peace as a humble peacemaker, hungry only for righteousness and mercy (Matthew 5.3-12).
So, there is good news on Palm Sunday – the Messiah has come! The people acclaim him. But there is bad news too – they see somebody else. They wanted a conquering sovereign, a military leader, not a peacemaker riding on a donkey, on the way to a cross. Expectations can distort vision, so for many – those who want quick solutions rather than the revolution of the heart – Jesus is a disappointment. In a culture that worships power, celebrity and heroes, Jesus is seen as a failure. Yet power declines, celebrity fades, heroes dwindle, and God remains.
But Jesus came in the manner of the humble servant demonstrated seen in the gospels. He came to turn people’s ideas upside down and inside out. He didn’t come in power, well not his own, but came in God’s love for the world.
In just a few short days, in Jesus life, we see that the cheering and celebration stop abruptly. First came disappointment; then came intense anger. As smoothly as the celebratory Palm Sunday hymn, “Ride on, ride on in
majesty” flows into that the worrying words, “in lowly pomp ride on to die,” that is how seamlessly the atmosphere changed. A palm-carpeted passageway leading to a royal throne, became a barren path to a cross.
When the cheering ceased, many people witnessed Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. They had a host of reasons for participating or allowing it to happen. These were real people with homes, families, and jobs. They had personal concerns and ambitions and their own political and religious beliefs. Some are known by name, most are unnamed.
Many were there simply to watch a happening, the same way curious drivers today cause traffic jams on one side of a highway, as they strain to glimpse an accident being cleared away on the other side. Many of the bystanders probably had no strong feelings one way or the other about what was taking place. There were, however, men and women whose courage did not fail them. It took courage for John, known as the Beloved Disciple, to be so visible that Jesus could speak to him from the cross. It took courage for Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the other women who had followed him during his ministry, to be present and openly supportive at the cross.
Rowan Williams’ writes of the resurrection as ‘a transition from the destructively familiar to the creatively strange.’ When the cheering stopped, we easily identify with Jesus’ passion: it is an all-too-common story of human suffering. Yet the resurrection can seem beyond us. The end of the lockdown can seem beyond us too.
From commonplace to extraordinary; from narrow boundaries to limitless horizons; from utter despair to endless hope — everything turned upside down and inside out, because God was present in the triumphant entry as well as at the cross.
God was on the cross and all around it, and God’s presence transforms the crucifixion from a finite event in time to an event transcending time. God is with us in the lockdown too.
All those negative forces and emotions that led to Jesus’ death came together on that cross where they were
transformed and reflected back to the people as love, because that is what God does. Around us in the lockdown of
Coronavirus, we too see God’s love reflected back to us, through the NHS and other key workers, through the army of volunteers around our nation and through our neighbours.
The drama of Palm Sunday involves us in a journey to take, uncomfortable though it may be. We have to arrive at the cross in order to get beyond it. We see how God transforms the cross from an instrument of death into a symbol of eternal life. This week, once more, we walk in those steps of Jesus. We journey from the shouts of ‘hosanna’, through the shouts of ‘crucify’ and on to the shouts of ‘He is alive.’ And then the cheering begins again.
Prayers of Confession, Commitment and Intercession:
Loving God, we praise you for your glory which we see in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We praise you for
his utter determination and commitment to demonstrate your love.
Loving God, we confess that like the crowd on Palm Sunday we have praised Jesus so easily one day and then denied him the next. We have followed his guidance one day and then allowed peer pressure to change the direction of our commitment the next day. We find that our thoughtless, selfish words and actions still nail Christ to the cross in our lives.
Forgive us in our weakness and make us the true followers we long to be.
Loving God, you have a purpose and compassion for all of your creation. We pray for those today in the world who are cold and empty, those who are hungry, or in need of clean water; those who need shelter. May they know your compassion. Lord, have compassion for each one.
We pray for those today in the world who see power as dominance rather than peace and for all the people whom these decisions have an impact on; for those in areas of conflict and war, for those being held as slaves both here in the UK and in the world. May they know your compassion. Lord, have compassion for each one.
We pray for those today in the world who find themselves persecuted or standing condemned; those in prison; those in prison for their faith as well as those who have committed crimes. May they know your compassion. Lord, have compassion for each one.
We pray for the world in Lockdown and at war with Coronavirus. May your people everywhere know your companionship in their isolation, your peace amidst their fear and your love over all their lives. May they know your
compassion. Lord, have compassion for each one.
We pray for the world leaders as they find ways to protect their people, and for scientists as they find ways to find ways of healing. May they know your compassion. Lord, have compassion for each one.
In the silence, we pray for those we know to be in particular need. May they know your compassion. Lord, have compassion for each one.
We pray for ourselves; As Christ triumphed over sin and death for us we pray Lord that you will touch each one of us with your love and transform us by the power of your Holy Spirit. May we know your compassion. Lord, have compassion for each one. Amen
Song: StF 649
1. God! When human bonds are broken
and we lack the love or skill
to restore the hope of healing,
give us grace and make us still.
2. Through that stillness, with your Spirit
come into our world of stress,
for the sake of Christ forgiving
all the failures we confess.
3. You in us are bruised and broken:
hear us as we seek release
from the pain of earlier living;
set us free and grant us peace.
4. Send us, God of new beginnings,
humbly hopeful into life;
use us as a means of blessing:
make us stronger, give us faith.
5. Give us faith to be more faithful,
give us hope to be more true,
give us love to go on learning:
God! Encourage and renew!
Words © 1989 Hope Publishing Company,
Blessing:
Jesus goes ahead of us in the world. He calls each one us by name to follow in his footsteps.
So, in your place of isolation know that God is with you and loves you and you can love others
by serving those in your community that need the hope of Christ that you offer. Be Christ’s
love and hope in the world today. Amen
CCL Licence 4955 Deacon Linda Kinchenton