(All our songs this morning are from Singing the Faith (StF) or Hymns & Psalms (H&P) numbers will be given where available)
Welcome to our Palm Sunday Service, today shared on paper across our circuit and with the congregation at Christchurch and led by Deacon Merry Evans, our Circuit Deacon.
Click on the blue links to follow them for bible readings and associated links
This is the 6th Sunday in Lent and we read the familiar story of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem and a crowd singing and waving palm leaves as he goes. When I was at Sunday school I wondered about this story. What was going on? I wasn’t 100% sure.
A Gathering Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us to recognise Jesus as the one who comes in your name, as the one who blesses us and leads us and saves us. As we explore your Word this morning, may we offer you true praise and adoration in our worship, may we be open to learn more about your ways, and may we resolve to walk the road with Jesus every day. Amen
Song – StF 264 Make Way, Make Way for Christ the King
Imagine a group of Christians around AD80 (about 50years after Jesus’s death) gathered around a visiting Christian leader. As Second Generation Christians, they know certain things about Jesus, but not as much as the generation that is passing away. At this time, many more Christians are gentiles (non-Jews) so are less aware of the Jewish traditions. Although they refuse to submit to the Roman Emperor as Lord and King, they do submit to Jesus as their Lord and King. “Explain again why Jesus is King,” they say. The visiting leader picks up a scroll and reads the story as Matthew has written it for them.
Reading
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet: “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.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
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!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The Christian leader then talks about how the Old Testament predicted certain events happening and how Jesus appears to have fulfilled some of them in this story. Looking back, these Christians can now understand the idea that Jesus was the promised Jewish King, the promised Redeemer, the promised Messiah (in Greek ‘Christ’). The leader might point out the contrast between Jesus entering Jerusalem, humbly, on a donkey and the military processions of Roman Emperors, Governors and Generals in a victory parade. The way of Jesus is so different. The leader also talks about how ordinary people recognised Jesus as someone ordinary like them. His becoming King was like the shepherd David who became a great King in olden times in Israel. This would be significant for those second-generation Christians, many of whom were ordinary people and slaves. They can identify with Jesus. They can see themselves joining in with the crowd of the story, waving palms and singing ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’.
So can we. We can all see Jesus as special and fulfilling God’s will. We picture a great crowd praising Jesus as he went along, and us joining in.
Song – H&P 160 – All Glory, Laud and Honour
This Bible story has been put together by the gospel writers in order to convey beliefs about Jesus for the benefit of generations following on, including us. Such stories were never meant to be ‘newspaper reports’ but ‘teaching aids’ for the Christian community. They were written down decades after the events had happened, so we can’t be sure what actually happened, or why. The early Christians had their questions, and the gospel writers shaped their storytelling in order to answer them. We have questions too, but because our world is different our questions are different. We look at stories like this and want to know ‘What actually happened? Why did Jesus do this?’ We will probably never know. While we can’t answer these questions for certain, we can look at the stories in different ways and see if they shed any helpful light for us. We’ll do that in a moment, but first.
When we ask “What actually happened?” this story presents some difficulties. 1. If there was such a big crowd making such a big fuss, why didn’t the Romans arrest Jesus there and then? They would have seen this procession as a dangerous and subversive demonstration, especially if the crowd was chanting that Jesus was some sort of King. So, either it didn’t happen in Jerusalem but somewhere else away from Roman eyes, or there wasn’t a crowd at all 2. If the crowd were praising Jesus, why did the crowd in the Pilate’s trial scene shortly afterwards be willing to condemn him to death? Many readers of the gospels today are puzzled by this sudden change of attitude. Was the size of the crowd an exaggeration? 3. If there wasn’t a big crowd, and Jesus did ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, it must have been a small affair, almost private. Was it just the disciples running in front and behind, waving palms and chanting? If so, this must have been a very deliberate act, so what did it mean? What was Jesus doing? This is a different picture to the one we are used to imagining where the crowd seem to proclaim Jesus as the chosen one of God.
At first sight this picture (right) appears to be some children playing on a see-saw. Then, you realise they are paintings on the wall and the ‘see-saw’ is actually a tank trap. The city is Irpin, near Kyiv in Ukraine. It was the site of serious fighting in March 2022 when the Russians attempted to invade Kyiv. Much damage was done.
This ‘street art’ is by Banksy, famous around the world for his pithy style, and making a sharp, social comment. This picture is a joke, it says, ‘In spite of war, the human spirit can’t be crushed. It rises up again and again against the odds.’ It is also symbolic, as the picture is located in Independence Square! “You tried to crush us, to overrun us, but we are still here.”
There’s a possible similarity here with Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. For hundreds of years the people of Israel had suffered under the oppressive hands of various ‘superpower’ nations, and also under the hands of Israel’s own leaders at times. This procession, small and insignificant though it might be, is a brave statement that God’s purposes for the people of Israel have not been destroyed, that Jesus is fulfilling the hope of God, and the hope of God’s people. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken-hearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him.” 2 Like a picture of innocence and playful hope in a war damaged square in Ukraine, the procession of a humble preacher and healer into Jerusalem, the Capital City, makes a statement that ‘in spite of all your worldly power God is still on the side of the ordinary people, and you will not overcome that.’
Here (left) is another Banksy, this time in Bethlehem. The Israeli’s have built a large concrete wall (like the old Berlin wall) to separate Palestinian and Israeli people. The wall is covered by street paintings and graffiti. Although not actually on the wall, this painting is a joke, a satire, commenting on the ongoing conflict between the two communities.
Instead of a grenade, the man is throwing a bunch of flowers. What is this saying? Is it a statement of hope? A critical comment that there must be a better way than violence? The picture makes you stop and think. How can you ‘fight’, violently, for peace? Or establish peace without making a strong stand?
Satire and jokes need a target. Consider this. You will probably remember the Feeding of the Five Thousand. In John’s version the reason such a vast crowd gathered around Jesus was to make him their leader in a rebellion against the Romans. John 6.15 tells us: Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. 1 In other words they wanted to make him leader of their army. By acting out a mock victory procession, riding on a donkey rather than a horse, and getting his disciples to wave palm leaves (a sign of peace) rather than military banners Jesus could be seen to be rejecting or even mocking the rebels at the same time as making fun of the Roman military might. While rejecting the idea of armed rebellion, he was also showing the rebels he didn’t like the Romans either. Clever. Perhaps he also made the rebels think, ‘Perhaps there is another way.’ These are different ways to look at the story. They can make us think.
You may not know the tune to these hymns, if not just read the words prayerfully.
Song – StF 708 – O God of Hope, Your Prophets Spoke
Song – H&P 425 – Lord, Save Thy World
Prayers of Intercession
Lord Jesus, we pray for all who give of themselves sacrificially, for those whose lives are dedicated to serving others: parents, carers, foster carers, doctors, nurses…those caring for children or elderly relatives.
Let us travel together and lighten the load.
We pray for those serving in war-torn countries around the world: medics, those who work in missions, the media, NGOs and charities…who bring food, shelter and healing to those in need,
sometimes putting their lives on the line.
Let us travel together and lighten the load.
We pray for those in our communities who need our unconditional love: those hurting from broken relationships, abuse, bullying, domestic violence…children and adults whose lives are bereft of love and hope.
Let us travel together and lighten the load.
We pray that we might be Easter people, laying down our lives to serve others, bringing hope to hopeless situations – the hope of the cross and resurrection.
Let us travel together and lighten the load. Amen.
The Lords Prayer
Song – StF 707 Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
Blessing
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.1
Matthew 4.1-9
Acknowledgements:
-Prayers © Copyright 2002-2023, ROOTS for Churches Ltd.
-Independence Sq Kyiv, Rasal Hague – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=125495175
-Flower grenade ZaBanker – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97142105
-Palm Sunday icon, Greek Orthodox Diocese of America
– 1 Holy Bible, New International Version®
-Procession picture: Free bible images/ Lumo project .com
– 2 Luke 4. 18-19. The Living Bible © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation
