Palm Sunday
Jesus is coming
He’s riding on a donkey
Shout hosanna!
Open the gates
Open the ancient doors
Shout hosanna!
Don’t be afraid
Blessed is he who comes
Shout hosanna!
Wave the branches
Spread out your coats
Shout hosanna!
Peace in heaven
Glory in highest heaven
Shout hosanna!
Hymn: STF 262 – All glory, laud and honour
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 comes,
The King and Blessèd One.
The company of angels
Are praising thee on high,
And mortal men and all things
Created make reply.
The people of the Hebrews
With palms before thee went;
Our praise and prayer and anthems
Before thee we present.
To thee before thy Passion
They sang their hymns of praise;
To thee now high exalted
Our melody we raise.
Thou didst accept their praises;
Accept the prayers we bring,
Who in all good delightest,
Thou good and gracious King.
All glory, laud and honour
to thee, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring!
Prayers to welcome the king!
Gracious God,
As we remember this day
How Jesus entered Jerusalem to cries of celebration,
Help us to welcome him afresh into our own hearts and lives.
Accept the praise and worship we bring you,
And give us a real sense of expectation
As we look towards his coming kingdom.
Hosanna to the Son of David,
Glory in the highest heaven.
Gracious God,
Like your people long ago we do not always see clearly,
Our faith shallow and self-centred;
We do not understand as we should,
Our praise short-lived and superficial.
We quickly go from ‘Hosanna!’ to ‘Crucify!’
Forgive us that we go on making
the same mistakes as on that first Palm Sunday.
We profess to follow you,
But in our hearts we follow our own inclinations.
We are ready to serve when life is good,
But reluctant when it involves the way of sacrifice.
Hosanna to the Son of David,
Glory in the highest heaven.
Gracious God
We lift up our voices in glad hosannas.
We joyfully acknowledge you as King of kings
And Lord of lords.
Take the faith we offer,
Weak though it may be,
And deepen it through this day and week,
So that we may truly welcome Christ as our King,
And worship him with joyful praises.
Hosanna to the Son of David,
Glory in the highest heaven,
Now and always,
Amen
Reading: Psalm 118.1-2, 19-29
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures for ever.
2 Let Israel say:
‘His love endures for ever.’
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 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.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures for ever.
Hymn: STF 264 – Make way, make way for Christ the King
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.
He comes the broken hearts to heal,
The prisoners to free;
The deaf shall hear, the lame shall dance,
The blind shall see.
And those who mourn with heavy hearts,
Who weep and sigh,
With laughter, joy and royal crown
He’ll beautify.
We call you now to worship him
As Lord of all,
To have no gods before him,
Their thrones must fall!
Reading: Matthew 21.1-11
Jesus comes to Jerusalem as king
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 fulfil 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.’
REFLECTION
‘Who is this?’
Ultimately this is the question we all have to address. Who is this? Who is Jesus?
The disciples knew him as their Master. See in our gospel reading that they never doubted or questioned his command to them to unleash a donkey and bring it to him. They had been with him long enough to know that he was something special, that it was worth obeying him because… well, with Jesus things happened. Miracles, healings, teaching that transformed lives. There is barely a raised eyebrow at the fact that Jesus knew there would be two donkeys (a foal and a colt), tied up and waiting, exactly as he said.
The crowds hailed Jesus as the Son of David. David, of course, was the great king: the king who had established the temple (even if Solomon built it), whose lineage determined the Jewish line and from whom the Messiah was foretold to come. This man was worthy of celebrating – in him could be found hope for freedom.
But, then again, the crowds also knew him as a prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. He was from a provincial backwater, but clearly had something special about him for he was known as a prophet. Perhaps some even remembered him staying behind in Jerusalem after Passover when he was 12, how he spent his days learning from the teachers, asking the most perceptive questions.
On Palm Sunday we really only have half a story – the opening chapter, if you like. The scene is set. The characters are outlined. We join with the people of the city, asking, ‘Who is this?’
And ultimately, we do know.
We know he was the man who overturned the tables in the temple because of the greed and injustice of the money lenders.
We know he was the man who allowed a woman to anoint him with perfume, and wipe his feet with her hair, and commented that this was a sign of her love anointing him for burial.
We know he was the man who took a bowl of water and a towel and washed his disciples feet.
We know he was the man who shared food with his friends, asking them to remember him in bread and wine.
We know he was the man who prayed to the point of sweating blood, praying that what he was to endure would be taken from him.
We know he was the man who was falsely accused, tried, condemned, flogged, crucified, buried.
We know he was the man who loved us so much that he was prepared to die for us.
We know this is Jesus, the Son of God.
To further reflect upon:
Who is Jesus to you?
Hymn: STF 483 – We are marching in the light of God
Siyahamb’ ekukhanyen’ kwenkhos’ (x4)
Siya’ hamba hamba, siyahamba (o-oh);
Siyahamb’ ekukhanyen’ kwenkhos’
Siya’ hamba hamba, siyahamba (o-oh);
Siyahamb’ ekukhanyen’ kwenkhos’
We are marching in the light of God (x4)
We are marching (o-oh); we are marching in the light of God (x2)
We are living in the love of God (x4)
We are living (o-oh); we are living in the love of God (x2)
We are moving in the power of God (x4)
We are moving (o-oh); we are moving in the power of God (x2)
Prayers of intercession & Lord’s Prayer
Love inspired the anger that cleared a temple court:
We pray for all those who have a responsibility with money,
That they may use it, and the power that it gives, wisely,
In accordance with the aims of your kingdom on earth.
Where wealth and greed overwhelm,
Grant us righteous anger to counteract injustice.
Love inspired the anger that set the leper free
We pray for those who suffer discrimination
Due to race, gender, sexuality, age or disability.
Be ever present with them, that they may turn to you
To be filled with love, grace and a spirit of forgiveness,
While fighting for equality and recognition.
Love inspires the anger that curses poverty
We pray for all affected by the cost of living crisis,
And particularly those who face destitution.
We pray for those who will struggle to pay bills this week,
And those who will sacrifice their food
That their children may eat.
Open our eyes, that we may see the need;
Change our hearts, that we may share generously.
Love inspires the anger that still can set us free
We pray for ourselves,
For all those we know and love,
Those who are facing illness or grief,
Those who are worrying about matters beyond their control.
Be with them; be with us,
That we may leave it all with you,
That we may be free.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done
On earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins
As we forgive those who sin against us.
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.
Hymn: STF 265 – Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark, all the tribes ‘Hosanna!’ cry;
Your humble beast pursues its road
With palms and scattered garments strowed.
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die:
O Christ, your triumphs now begin
O’er captive death and conquered sin.
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
The wingèd squadrons of the sky
Look down with sad and wondering eyes
To see the approaching sacrifice.
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Your last and fiercest strife is nigh;
The Father on his sapphire throne,
Expects his own anointed Son.
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die;
Bow your meek head to mortal pain,
Then take, O God, your power, and reign.
Closing words:
We tell your story
We follow in your footsteps
Lead us into Holy Week
We walk towards the city
We wait in the garden
Lead us onto Holy ground
We journey towards death
We hope for resurrection
Lead us into Holy joy
Responsive prayers taken from ‘Eggs & Ashes’, a Wild Goose Resource book edited by Ruth Burgess & Chris Polhill, 2014
Prayers of welcome adapted from ‘Prayers for all seasons’ by Nick Fawcett, 1998
Prayers of intercession inspired by, and including words from, STF 253 ‘Love inspired the anger’ by Andrew Pratt (b.1948)
