Palm Sunday, 24th
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
