Palm Sunday

We remain in unfamiliar territory, marking Palm Sunday online. Many thanks to our young people, creating a virtual palm parade for us to enjoy. We pray that the Holy Spirit will speak through what follows, offering a sense of comfort and connection. Special thanks to Dave Hewitt, singing “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Please feel free to forward this service to others.

PRELUDE: “What a Wondrous Hope” by Heather Sorensen

OPENING PRAYER

Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes
in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!
We shout “save us” Lord,
trusting that you alone are our salvation,
the rock on which we stand.
Find us in the crowd, God,
and hear our cry!
Whether our steps are halting,
or we rush ahead,
we remain one people:
blessed is the one who comes in your name.
Hosanna in the highest!

HYMN OF PRAISE: All glory, laud and honour

R: All glory, laud and honour
to you, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

You are the King of Israel,
and David’s royal son,
now in the Lord’s name coming,
our King and blessed one. R

The multitude of pilgrims
with palms before you went;
our praise and prayer and anthems
before you we present. R

To you, before your passion,
they sang their hymns of praise;
to you, now high exalted,
our melody we raise. R

Their praises you accepted;
accept the prayers we bring,
great author of all goodness,
O good and gracious king. R

Words and music by Theodulph/Teschner

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

We love a parade!
We love to get what we want.
We love for things to unfold
according to our plan
and not the divine plan—
a plan that remains a mystery to our eyes.
Help us to trust in you, O God,
and help us to set aside our desire for your desire,
and our will for your will, now and always. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

God will give us what we need:
strength for today,
hope for tomorrow,
and forgiveness
for all that is past.
Amen.

FIRST LESSON: Psalm 118.19-29

Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[a]
The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

SECOND LESSON: Matthew 21.1-11

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.”

HYMN: Tell me the stories of Jesus

Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear,
things I would ask him to tell me if he were here:
scenes by the wayside, tales of the sea,
stories of Jesus, tell them to me.

First let me hear how the children stood round his knee,
and I shall fancy his blessing resting on me;
words full of kindness, deeds full of grace,
all in the lovelight of Jesus’ face.

Tell me, in accents of wonder, how rolled the sea
tossing the boat in a tempest on Galilee!
And how the Master, ready and kind,
chided the billows and hushed the wind.

Into the city I’d follow the children’s band,
waving a branch of the palm tree high in my hand;
one of his heralds, yes, I would sing
loudest hosannas! Jesus is king!

Show me that scene in the garden of bitter pain;
and of the cross where my Saviour for me was slain.
Sad ones or bright ones, so that they be
stories of Jesus, tell them to me.

Words and music by Parker/Challinor

REFLECTION

Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

In my mind’s eye, the palms are waving, having shared the keyword “Hosanna!” (there, did it again).  I hope you have some sort of rudimentary palm branch nearby—window blind maybe, or unravel a toilet paper roll.  And thanks again to our younger members, who have been busy improvising since midweek. “Hosanna!”

One of the curious aspects of the Palm Sunday story is the ever-growing nature of the audience.  Like the “one that got away,” the size of the crowd grows with each retelling. In Mark, written first, “many people” gather to greet Jesus.  In Luke and Matthew we go from “a whole crowd of disciples” to a “very large crowd.” And finally, in John’s Gospel, a “great crowd” forms to welcome the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

Based on the evidence presented then, we can assume it was a small crowd—not socially-isolated small—but small nonetheless.  And this assumption, rather than diminish the story, makes it more dramatic. In any form of protest there is safety in numbers—and in this case there was not.  These brave few took a big risk that day, something that seems to get lost in the excitement of the day.

The primary clue will come a week from now, when the disciples will lock themselves away for fear of the authorities.  And this tells us that danger was present in this earlier episode, but more an implied danger than the overt danger that will follow the events of Good Friday.  So, excitement and fear, in equal measure, as Jesus enters Jerusalem that day.

It’s hard to make a direct comparison to what we are collectively experiencing, but I’m going to try.  These days we are trying to walk each day, usually down to the lake, through a fairly quiet residential neighbourhood.  Even still, there are a few people around, with everyone trying to do the polite thing and make space. So, there is the excitement of getting out of the house, and the fear which is now implied in every encounter on the street.  And it’s a complex fear: fear that we’re scaring others, fear that we’re offending others when we scramble across the street, and fear—of course—that someone we meet may be ill. It’s a mix of the rational and the irrational, and it’s a way of living that I pray is short lived.  But here we are.

Having shared all that, I think you can see the parallel I’m beginning to draw.  Imagine the mixture of excitement and fear as Jesus does this new thing. Even his initial instructions (“If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them”) suggests confrontation.  By the end of the story the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The extra character in the story is the anonymous other: the one who might demand an explanation, or the one who might bristle at this overt act of defiance.  The whole city becomes a character, and the description “was in turmoil,” which actually tells us very little.

Why turmoil?  Well, the answer is in the text, because soon after dismounting the animal he has been riding, Jesus heads straight for the Temple.  You know the story— he’s turning over tables, he’s making an improvised whip of cords, and he’s explaining as he goes: “This house of prayer,” he says, “has become a den of robbers.”  He pauses to heal some people—he always pauses to heal some people—and then the fight comes. As the words “Hosanna to the Son of David,” still surround him, the so-called religious ones protest: “Do you hear what we hear,” they ask, but Jesus has a verse.  He always has a psalm in his back pocket, this time from Psalm 8:

From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise.

Again, it’s praise but it’s also protest.  By blessing the “one who comes in the name of the Lord” they are also blessing his program, the program where “the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Luke 7.22)  In other words, the existing order is coming to an end and a new creation is dawning. Friday may be a bump on the road, but the road still leads to a new heaven and a new earth.  

And change on this scale is always threatening.  One of the unknowns in this current crisis is what happens next.  There are questions about underfunding in healthcare and public health, but larger questions about income inequality, mounting personal debt, and the cost of housing.  Do we rush back to “the way things were” or do we take time to reflect on how our current structures have made this crisis even worse?  

The end of our passage is also a good place to end.  “Who is this?” an anxious city asks. And the answer comes back: “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”  Remember this name, and hold a place in your heart. He comes in the name of the Lord, and his name is blessed. Hosanna (“save us”) the people say, and the wonders begin.  Amen.

MUSIC: “Sweet Hour of Prayer” by William W. Walford

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

This prayer was published by the United Church of Canada as part of our denomination’s response to COVID-19.

We pray for those who struggle.
We pray for those who struggle at this time of huge uncertainty;
for political leaders faced with unforeseen challenges, uncharted ways, difficult decisions,
Holy One, we will acknowledge wise choices, we will offer words of support.

We pray for those who struggle.
We pray for those in situations never before experienced.
We pray for moms and dads who struggle with having children at home all day.
It is difficult to find new activities; it is hard to stay creative.
Holy One, we will listen carefully to the challenges, we will encourage fresh ways of communication with good friends.

We pray for those who struggle,
We pray for those whose day is radically different.
We pray for those who must leave their usual workspace,
for those breadwinners who must work at home.
Holy One, we will support the new priorities, and be patient with ourselves and others.

We pray for those who struggle.
We pray for those who have lost their jobs
We pray for those whose financial security has gone,,
who have anxiety around paying rent or providing for family needs .
Holy One, we will be there in the testing times, we will assure them of their self-worth.

We pray for those who struggle.
We pray for those who have been affected by the Covid 19 virus.
Those who are sick at home and those who have been hospitalized, in their suffering, and in their fear.
Holy One, we will hear and respond to their distress, we will be a safe but compassionate presence to their loved ones.

This prayer we offer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

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,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

HYMN: My song is love unknown

My song is love unknown,
my Saviour’s love to me,
love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be.
O who am I that for my sake
my Lord should take frail flesh, and die?

He came from his blest throne
salvation to bestow,
but people scorned, and none the longed-for Christ would know.
But O my Friend, my Friend indeed,
who at my need his life did spend!

Sometimes they strew his way,
and his sweet praises sing,
resounding all the day hosannas to their King.
Then ‘Crucify!’ is all their breath,
and for his death they thirst and cry.

Here might I stay and sing,
no story so divine;
never was love, dear King, never was grief like thine!
This is my friend, in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

Words by Samuel Crossman

BLESSING

God’s goodness and mercy follow you.
Christ’s compassion surround you.
The Spirit dwell with you
–in the house of the Lord–
now and forever.
Amen.

SONG TO GO FORTH

God be with you till we meet again;
loving counsels guide, uphold you,
with a shepherd’s care enfold you;
God be with you till we meet again.

Words and music by Rankin/Williams