Palm Sunday .
Palm Procession
Song: Make Way
Call to Worship:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion ! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem ! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Song: : At the name of Jesus
Prayer of approach and confession
Lord Jesus Christ, we do praise you with heart and life and voice,
not only with outward signs such as palm branches or the occasional
"Hosanna", but with lives truly turned towards you. It seems such a distance from this present day Palm Sunday in Australia to that day when you entered Jerusalem with the shouts of the crowd ringing in your ears. Welcomed as a king, yet riding on a lowly donkey. Greeted with cheers and acclamations which were so soon to turn to jeers and condemnation. From this side of the resurrection, we confidently believe that we could never have
been part of the jeering crowd - but would we, if we had been there?
(silent reflection)
Lord Jesus Christ, when our words and actions reflect a reluctance
to confess you publicly as Lord of our lives:
Forgive us.
When we fear that humbling ourselves, would be seen by others as
weakness, or some kind of defect in our character:
Forgive us
When we have betrayed your love for us through our lack of love
for you, for others, and for ourselves :
Forgive us
When we find ourselves glossing over the events of your passion and death because we look forward to Easter as a time to enjoy holidays and have fun.
Assurance of forgiveness
Hear the good news: "Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave...and became obedient to the point of death --even death on a cross." (Philippians 6,7a,8b) Through his obedience we are therefore freed from whatever sin enslaves us.
The Lords Prayer.
Notices and Offering
Bible Readings Mat 21: 1-11 Cymor P
Voices Around The Cross
Voices around the Cross (Words on screen please - one at a time!)
1. What’s the noise?
Tell me what’s a-happening!
2. What a bit of luck!
Let’s throw these dice!
3. Hiss! Hiss!
If you’re so great,
come down from the cross!
4. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
He thought he was the Son of God!
5. What’s gone wrong? What’s gone wrong?
We thought he was the one who was going to be King.
Song: Hallelujah to the Lord
Bible Readings : Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 - Joan P.
Song:King of Kings, Majesty
Sermon:
Introduction: Palm Sunday: end or beginning for Jesus?
Pic: Blackpool beach and tower
Joy and Bob are in Blackpool this weekend. Not the kind of break everyone would want, but then the reason for going is for a Credit Union Conference. But when Joy told me where she was going, something happened inside me - Blackpool ! It’s a place where I used to go as a child, every other Bank Holiday was a Bus ride to Blackpool (unless we could persuade my father that sitting on a long Traffic Jam on the M62 was really a good idea). Blackpool - a place where one Friday night each September - come rain or shine my family would set off straight after school to enjoy the delighted of the Illuminations. I recall watching the tower light up in stages, counting them until the whole thing was shinning across the golden mile. Blackpool a place of fish and chips, kiss me quick hats, ice cream, and donkeys on the beach. And in this weather - there is no better place to be than on the beach!
But its not everyone cup of tea! The beach was never really that clean, nor were some of the shows on the piers! The shops sold cheap plastic tat, there were always far too many penny arcades that we weren't allowed in by my careful parents, and the fun fair which held a huge attraction for young minds, was always out of bounds.
But regardless - we went each year - religiously - Sunday school outings were there also - we didn't just go on our own, this was a group pilgrimage. I recall being on a Sunday school outing going through the lights in the rain, with no chance of a comfort break, while our Sunday school teachers lead us in Sunday school chorus such as "running over" and "Wide, wide as the ocean"! Happy days!
So why do I share all this nostalgia with you? Well so that we can try and identify with how Christ felt when he looked towards Jerusalem .
Pic: Jerusalem
For when Christ looks towards the City, his minds would have filled with memories and images of previous visits. For a good Jewish family living in Nazareth a visit to Jerusalem would have been an annual pilgrimage, not just alone, but as a group. This was not just another place, but a place with personal history, a place which held excitement and discovery in a Jewish child's mind. Jesus’ own life: he would recall visits to Jerusalem , especially at Passover; imagine the excitement of children – the feeling of a real celebration. His own special time when he was 12. Jerusalem was a place that Jesus would have grown to know as "Home" as all Jewish people do, a special place, a sacred place, a safe place!
But no - sadly not any longer. For as Jesus mounts the donkey and sets his face towards this special place - he was no longer safe! The special ness and uniqueness of the city were now veiled in darkness and suspicion. The sacredness - now a threat as the religious leaders no longer turn their backs on Jesus, but they turn to bring him down. The sea of smiling faces that greet Christ on Palm Sunday, will soon turn to a sea of strangers who turn away and shout crucify him a few days later.
Pic: Jesus on a donkey
The prophet Zechariah writes:
(Zec 9:9 NRSV) Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion ! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem ! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
To face Jerusalem was no cowardly act of surrender- but a brave decision to do what had to be done! For Holy week starts with a crucial choice - to enter the city, to face those who misunderstood him, and were indeed out to get him, and to walk straight into the heat of the fire!
Now, I don't know the areas where there is conflict in your life - but I suspect that for each of us that is a different place. Yet at times in our lives there have been those moments when we have chosen to wisely walk away from the situation where we are misunderstood, where people are out to get us, and we have certainly not wanted to be in the heat of the situation anymore. But for all of us there comes a time when we do need to face the enemy, and turn and greet the inevitable confrontation.
Pic: Fear Factor
(Luke 9:51 NRSV) When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem .
There is that TV program - fear factor - where people choose to face their fears and in so doing enter into the most dangerous and at times revolting acts - to prove to others and to themselves that they are no longer afraid. For those who haven't seen it - well don't worry, you've not missed much - as it usually involves seemingly normal people putting spiders in their mouths or jumping from a moving speed boat onto a floating platform, or riding a bike on a narrow plank of wood, while suspended 100 feet from the ground. (safety always their first thought).
It's madness - and yet when Jesus turns to face Jerusalem, when he sends the disciples to untie the colt, mounts it and rides over the palm branches - there are elements of the fear factor mind set that are playing out here.
Was Christ ever afraid? Well I believe that he was fully human - he felt pain and grief, hunger and joy - I am sure fear also featured I his life - as it does in ours. On Thursday night we will find Christ this week kneeling in the garden, praying that this cup be taken from him, expressing real anxiety and fear. On Palm Sunday his knees may not have been knocking and his hands not been wrung out - but inside Christ shares out humanity and knows our heart.
What happened next in the story is the account of the throwing over of the tables in the temple. Here we see clearly demonstrated the emotions of Christ - here we sense his fear, see his anger, taste his disappointment, feel his outrage. Here we see the human Christ in tumult with himself and others, crying out for justice and truth in the safe place that was his father's house.
2. Face it with Humility
Pic: Feet washing
But - Let's step back a bit - back to - Jesus on a donkey. For here we see the key to dealing with issues we would choose to avoid. Here we find a key to having the courage to face our fears and moving forward.
The key is in that word "Humbly"
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
for even though his supporters hail him King, and pledge their allegiance to him and throw their coats and palm branches on the floor - Christ comes gently, humbly.
Pic: High Horse.
There is no high horse in this story. Yet how often do we see people enter a situation or conflict on theirs? How often have we claimed the high moral ground, only to learn again that pride comes before a fall?
Pic: Feet washing
Humility is a real key feature in the life of Christ through the next few days: Christ who comes, humbly on a donkey, Christ who bends and washes the feet of his disciples, Christ who weeps drops and blood as he prayers in the garden, Christ who comes as a lamb before his shearers - silently as he is before his persecutors.
3) The Humble Church
Pic: Feet washing large 2
In his writings Deitrich Bonhoeffer calls for a humble and servant church. “The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving”. As a community of faith, and the people of God, we too are called to face the issues that result in people living in fear, issues of injustice and unfairness, debt and poverty, where people are misrepresented and marginalised. We are to be a church that reflects the spirit of servanthood and humility, happy to engagement with the world in the areas of conflict -where it's really tough, believing that as we display Christ's humility - real change will take place.
True Humility is demonstrated in Christ as he turns to face Jerusalem . We too can learn from Jesus how to be humble, so that we too can have the courage to turn towards that that we choose to avoid
But Christ's humility didn't protect him against the inevitable, to be humble is not a sweet pill that takes away the pain of what you are about to face. Yet in Christ we see that his humility demonstrated a real inner strength and assurance of who he was and that, despite the events of the next few days - he knew he had to do this.
Pic; U turn.
Many people avoid going back - the put the past behind you and move on mindset - the past is past - the future is golden. Yet, many people are prevented from moving on in life - because of things in the past that still have to be faced. Emotionally, physically, spiritually some people are trapped in the past, and their reluctance to do some work and go back and learn from the past become crippling, demobilising.
The Lent study courses have finished - and we are left with the younger son reunited with his father - as a result of him choosing to do that U turn, and make the journey home.
Christ knew that to move forward for him meant to go back to Jerusalem . To go back to that place, with its memories and its consequences - for this was the place where he would also encounter freedom and a new beginning.
Because Christ faced his fears, because he moved on in humility - he claims our freedom and restores our salvation. Yes, he set his face to Jerusalem , knowing something of what was coming - but knowing that once the ordeal was over the end result would bring peace and joy.
Pic: path to cross
We pause in the present
Palm Sunday – a time which on the surface looks like a party - but today we have taken the lid off a little and seen something of the tumult.
Life is often like this for us - others may think all is well, but just below the surface is the dilemma, the searching and unrest.
Next Sunday we celebrate the most important event in history – the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But from Palm Sunday till then there is a cross in between. The emotions of Holy week in the life of Christ sore and plummet like no other week. And the emotions in our lives sore and plummet with the things we face day after day - Yet the Christ on the donkey rides with us through it all - and through all of lives, to stand by us in those moments when we need to display humility, in those moments when we need to face our fears, and in those moment when we need to be brave enough to turn around and go back and be changed as a result of it.
The challenge of Palm Sunday is to do all three - will you mount your donkey and make this journey for yourselves? Will I?
My pray is that God will give us the courage to journey on with him. Amen
Lord, here is your Cross.
Your Cross! As if it were your cross!
You had no cross and you came to get ours, and all through your life, and along the way to Calvary , you took upon you, one by one, the sins of the world.
You have to go forward,
And bend,
And suffer.
The cross must be carried.
Lord, you walk on silently;
Is it true then that there is a time for speaking and a time for silence?
Is it true that there is a time for struggling and another for the silent bearing of our sins and the sins of the world?
Lord, I would rather fight the cross; to bear it is hard. The more I progress, and the more I see evil I the world, the heavier is the Cross on my shoulders.
Lord, help me to understand that the most generous deed is nothing unless it is also silently redemptive.
And since you want this long way of the cross for me,
At the dawning of each day, help me to set forth.
Amen.
Silent Intercessions
Hymn: All glory, laud and honour
Benediction
Go into the world in peace,
embraced by the steadfast love of God,
blessed by the humility and courage of Jesus Christ
and filled with the immeasurable power of the Holy Spirit.
The Grace.