Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, 24^th March 2013

Isa 50:4-9a

Phil 2:5-11

Mark 14 & 15 (dramatic reading)

+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our services on Palm Sunday are rather different from what we are used to on most Sundays throughout the year. To begin with they are actually two interlinked services, the Liturgy of the Palms and the Liturgy of the Passion. We begin with a short gathering up the road at St Mark’s where we remember the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The triumphant crowd lining the streets as Jesus rides through them on a donkey to shouts of “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. At last, finally the people have come to realise the greatness of who Jesus really is ………..or have they?

As our procession through the streets of Kemptown arrives at St George’s we begin our second service to the familiar words of the hymn “Ride on, ride on in majesty”. As we sing the words of that hymn we get our first glimpse that perhaps that triumphant entry into Jerusalem wasn’t all that it seemed.

“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.”

 

I don’t for a moment imagine that the crowds on that first Palm Sunday, who were actually in town for the great Passover celebration, thought they were cheering Jesus on towards his death. Many of them quite probably just got caught up in the excitement of the day. Yet, as we know all too well, events and circumstances can so quickly and tragically change. The adulation of the crowd was not to last!

We come together today at what is a week of great contrasts. From the ecstatic reaction of the crowd at the beginning of the week, right through to his betrayal by Judas and denial by Peter. We see Jesus in the garden at Gethsemane agonising at what he knows is to come, about to endure the bleakest possible circumstances, while those closest to him slept! In a very human way, as he prays, he pleads to be spared what lies ahead……the torture, the humiliation, the death! Though ultimately he knew that it was not all about him, but rather about the purpose of the one who sent him. He remained focused upon the purpose for which he was sent. If only the disciples around him were able to do the same at a time when he needed their watchfulness and support like never before.

The whole period leading up to Holy Week and Easter has become very sanitised in a similar way to Christmas, with the emphasis very often upon even more consumption of chocolate eggs and the appearance of the Easter Bunny. Yet the reality is in complete contrast to that, a picture of a bleak and forlorn Jesus who at times felt completely abandoned, not only by his friends, but even at one point, by God Himself!

 This Holy Week we are called to look beyond the Easter Egg displays, to focus on something other than how we might plan to spend next weeks Bank Holiday. We are called to walk alongside Jesus not only in the brief excitement of Palm Sunday but also in the days that lie ahead. We are invited to partake of his Last Supper with the disciples.  We are called to keep watch with him in the garden on the night of his betrayal, and the following day to stand with him at the foot of his cross.

Even if time and circumstances make it difficult to come to the services in the next few days (and each of us do come with plenty of other demands on our daily lives), make a point to set aside a short period each day when you are able to focus upon the journey which Jesus makes this week. Take time to reflect, pray and sit with him, whether it is here at church or at home, as the one who rode into Jerusalem in triumph prepares to lay down his life for those who only days before had laid palms down at his feet.

+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

AMEN