A service of words, song, prayer and reflection
For Palm Sunday 5 April 2020
Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. (Mark 11:9)
Shout for joy you people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you- triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
We gather
We come from scattered lives to meet with God.
Let us recognise God’s presence with us now.
Keep a short silence, still your heart.
As God’s people we have gathered;
let us worship God now together, across the miles yet joined.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people,
and kindle in us the fire of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Opening Words
Lord, touch our lips and open our hearts
That we may pray and sing your praise with all my heart.
Blessed are you, O Christ mocked and broken for us:
Through your cross you give us healing and hope.
Glory to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
Mystery of love behind, through and beyond all things. Amen.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We give thanks and praise to God for this Palm Sunday when we celebrate our King and Saviour.
Loving God, we join with all your people on earth and in heaven, in joyful praise.
Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who come in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
We sing - All glory laud and honour
Verse 1
All glory, laud, and honour To thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. Thou art the King of Israel, thou David's royal Son, who in the Lord's name comest, the King and blessed one:
Verse 2
All glory, laud, and honour To thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. The company of angels Are praising thee on high, And mortal men and all things created make reply:
Verse 3
All glory, laud, and honour To thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. The people of the Hebrews with palms before thee went: our praise and prayer and anthems before thee we present:
Verse 4
All glory, laud, and honour To thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. To thee before thy passion they sang their hymns of praise: to thee now high exalted our melody we raise:
Verse 5
All glory, laud, and honour To thee, Redeemer, King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring. Thou didst accept their praises, accept the praise we bring, who in all good delightest, thou good and gracious King:
Prayer of Preparation
As I turn my face to you, O God,
Let my worship be once more a new beginning;
Cleanse my spirit with your mercy,
Draw me ever deeper into your love,
And accept my offering of praise and prayer
On behalf of the world;
Through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
A confession
High King of Heaven, Creator of all,
in our pride and our weakness,
we have failed you and are truly sorry.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ our Saviour
who died for us, forgive us our sins
and bind us to you with cords of compassion
that we may once again walk in the light of your love.
Absolution
May the High King of Heaven,
with Jesus his Son,
have mercy upon us.
May all that dismays us and fills us with fear,
be cleansed and forgiven,
and in the power of the Spirit,
may we never be separated from the love of God
In Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Some words of comfort
Psalm 36: 5-9
Lord, your constant love reaches the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the skies.
Your righteousness is towering like the mountains;
your justice is like the depths of the sea.
People and animals are in your care.
How precious, O God, is your constant love!
We find protection under the shadow of your wings.
We feast on the abundant food you provide;
you let us drink from the river of your goodness.
You are the source of all life,
and because of your light we see the light.
Collect
True and humble king,
hailed by the crowd as Messiah:
grant us the faith to know you and love you,
that we may be found beside you
on the way of the cross,
which is the path of glory. Amen
Bible Readings
Old Testament Reading - Genesis 1:24-31. (for our Lent series on God’s creation)
‘Let the land produce living creatures and let us make humankind in our image.’
24 And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’
27 So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ 29 God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 21:1-11
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.[a]’ 4 This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
5 ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ 11 The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’
Reflection
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Behold your King is coming to you, humble and riding on an ass.”
As Jesus fulfilled this prophesy from Zechariah chapter 9, the crowds who came to welcome Jesus, thought they were welcoming the promised Messiah - the one who would overthrow the Roman occupiers.. The one whom all the Old Testament prophets had foretold would restore the throne of Israel.
They sang royal chants or hymns welcoming Jesus as the son of David, into the city that King David had made his capital a thousand years before and for nearly half that time the jews had been waiting and praying for a king like David to arrive and save then from oppression. The crowds laid down their cloaks and waved palm branches to make a celebratory procession, one with royal overtones, just as we might wave our flags and banners if royalty came to our village.
I wonder if you had been with the crowds that days as the crowds swarmed into Jerusalem ready to celebrate the annual Passover, what you would have made of the scene? When you are part of a crowd, it’s easy to get swept up in the emotions and excitement of a crowd. When we go to watch my son play rugby, I love getting caught up with the sense of anticipation and expectant mood of the crowd, cheering for their team to win. I remember (in my much younger days!) going to a U2 concert and feeling on top of the world as the crowd surged and sang at full volume together, united in our common bond of our love of the music. Likewise, when communities have come together to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee or a Royal wedding with street parties, or when we saw the Tour de France cycle past our street in a heaving mass and whirlwind, one can’t help but be caught up in the party atmosphere of joy and celebration.
Even in these strange and extraordinary times of social distancing and the the government’s strong message to stay at home, so that we can help save lives and those working on the front lines - it was such a joy to go outside the Vicarage and join in the clapping and cheering from our little close and hear the banging of saucepans from nearby roads and houses for our NHS. We may not be physically close as the crowds on that first Palm Sunday would be but we are still united as communities and caught up in the atmosphere of what is happening around us.
For many the fear and anxiety of this time is being felt not only nationally but globally. Hearing from friends in Canada and Malawi this week, we are aware that we are in something completely unprecedented before - a global situation affecting our whole world.
As we enter Holy Week, we walk the way of suffering and pain with Jesus to the cross. In just a short week, those same crowds who cheered and sang praises to the King would all turn away and be shouting for the same King to be crucified and a common criminal released in his place. How quickly can a crowd turn?
Jesus experienced rejection from his disciples who fell asleep in the garden of Gethsemane, while Jesus prayed to his Father to take away the cup of suffering. Judas betrayed him with the thirty pieces of silver and a kiss and Peter who had sworn dying loyalty to his master and Messiah, then denied him three times.
In just a few short weeks we have seen our nation and world turn upside down; shops, restaurants, businesses having to close, millions out of work, schools shut except for key workers, and everyone told to stay at home other than for essential shopping, with no public gatherings and no more than a once daily amount of exercise. The devastation and spread of the corona virus knows no boundaries.
It’s at times like these - national crises when people begin to ask the big hard questions. It’s at times like these that everyone wants Jesus to ride into the city to be the sort of king they want him to be. To bring an end to the virus, to heal a loved one struggling on a ventilator in a crowded hospital, to pay the bills when the work has been stopped, to relieve our mental anguish or loneliness.
Jesus hears all the cries of our hearts, the prayers we offer - whatever form they take. Jesus has come to heal the sick and save the suffering. But Jesus had to rescue human kind from evil in its fullest depths first, in order that we might know life in its fullness - and that meant having to overcome death and suffering once for all - by dying on the cross. This is the message of Easter, that there is resurrected life. We live in the now but not yet times when we will experience suffering, pain and the effects of evil and a devastating virus. We too will have to walk the way of Holy Week to the cross with Jesus (and you can hear the story read on our website from Matthew’s Gospel) but we know the end of the story - the Good news of our faith, which we will celebrate next Easter Sunday, that Christ is alive and rose from the dead.
Although the crowds were disappointed with their hopes of a Messiah to save them, they didn’t understand that Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem was indeed the moment that God had planned all along, the moment when salvation dawned!
In our Lent series on creation, following the book ‘Saying Yes to Life” by Ruth Valerio, we finish the creation story this week with God on the 6th day, creating all the living creatures on the land and finally humankind in his image. We are reminded again of the inherent value and worth of God’s creation and that God loves each aspect of the created world for its own sake. With everything that God created he saw that it was good. The bible shows us a God who is deeply concerned for his creation, not only humans but also his animal creation.
Ruth Valerio suggests that the place and vast diversity of of animals in the bible, shows us that they are an integral part of the story of redemption. The Bible describes creation as ‘groaning’, and we have seen this in our misuse and greed of the resources of our planet and beautiful world over generations. Over one in four mammals is at risk of extinction. Vast swathes of creatures are dying in the deforestation and over mining we carry out in some of the poorest parts of our world. In the 2019, a Global assessment report on biodiversity and Ecosystems, (IPBES), declared;
“Loss of biodiversity is therefore shown to be not only an environmental issue, but also a developmental, economic, security, social and moral issue as well”.
Humans, and animals, and all of creation are all interconnected. An infected pangolin in a street market in China (one the most illegally trafficked animals - hunted for its meat and scales used for making traditional Chinese medicines), brought the world corona virus!
The Guardian last week had a really interesting article comparing climate change and Covid 19
“Although Covid-19 is likely the biggest global crisis since the second world war, it is still dwarfed in the long term by climate change. Yet the two problems have suggestive similarities. Both will require unusual levels of global cooperation. Both demand changes in behaviour today in the name of reducing suffering tomorrow. Both problems were long predicted with great certainty by scientists, and have been neglected by governments unable to see beyond the next fiscal quarter’s growth statistics.” The Guardian
It’s been a wonderful silver lining in the midst of the current pandemic that air pollution has dropped to the lowest levels since records began, with the temporary halt to industry and deforestation allowing our created world a respite.
So this Sunday as we celebrate Palm Sunday and think of Jesus riding on the donkey, may we remember that Jesus is the promised King and Messiah who redeemed us through his death on the cross and who will will restore creation when he comes again. That God, who created this beautiful world for us to steward and flourish in, was prepared to come and be with us in the mess and trauma of our world, to show us that there is hope. Whatever our circumstances, whatever our hopes, our fears Christ is King over all the earth.
[For a further reflection on Palm Sunday listen to Bishop Dagmar on our website]
Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-end.
This is what the crowds shouted as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the donkey.
You could read this Psalm and wave your palm leaf (click on this video link for ways to create your own palm leaf) or why not say this out loud waving your palm leaf as you give thanks to God for the sunshine, his creation and all the blessings you receive.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!
Let Israel say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
Let the house of Aaron say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
Let those who fear the Lord say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
[You can also watch a dance to give thanks to God created by Julie Hughes here]
Prayers
Julie Hughes has produced some lovely prayers for today which you can see here.
We intercede for others in the
quiet of our hearts.
Lord have mercy: in you I trust:
Christ have mercy: on you I depend;
Lord have mercy: you are my peace.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
We sing. Ride on Ride on in majesty
Verse 1
Ride on, ride on in majesty! Hear, all the tribes hosanna cry; O Saviour meek, pursue thy road with palms and scattered garments strewed.
Verse 2
Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die; O Christ, thy triumphs now begin o’re captive death and conquered sin.
Verse 3
Ride on, ride on in majesty! The winged squadrons of the sky look down with sad and wondering eyes to see the approaching sacrifice.
Verse 4
Ride on, ride on in majesty! Your last and fiercest strife is nigh; the Father on his sapphire throne awaits His own anointed Son.
Verse 3
Ride on ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die; bow thy meek head to mortal pain, then take, O God, thy power, and reign.
Blessing
Come into our scattered community Lord
bring hope and a cause for joy.
Hosanna to the King,
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Come into our hearts Lord,
teach us your love and your truth.
Hosanna to the King,
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Lord Jesus as you entered into Jerusalem and its temple
so come to us that we may be a holy people
worthy of your presence
bringing glory to your name. Amen
And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
be among you and remain with you,
now and for ever. Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
[See separate sheet for children and family activities and craft activities which can be enjoyed by any age!]
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