service for Palm Sunday 28/03/2021

Posted by Barbara Nadin on 26 March 2021

Melbourne URC Morning Service 28th March 2021

 

Please read the service slowly to yourselves savouring the words as you prefer.

You will need your Bible, a candle to light and your Palm Cross.

To begin, please open your Bible and place it where you can see it.

Welcome. It is good to be with you all again today as we begin to turn towards the last week of the life of Jesus and the way of the cross. We hope that by Easter Day when we celebrate the resurrection, the church will be open and you can properly celebrate with each other. In the meantime, wherever we are God is with us, wherever we are Jesus loves us, and wherever we are his Spirit will fall upon us, and we can take re-assurance from that. So as we come together for Palm Sunday in our own homes and rooms let us call upon Jesus to be with us now as we recall that day when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The call to Worship.

Christ the King, let your glory fall on this room,

Let it go forth from here to the nations,

Let your fragrance rest in this place,

As we gather to seek your grace.

(David Ruis adapted from Father of Creation)

 

The Blessing of the Palms : Please hold out your palm cross saying the following words:-

God our Saviour, whose Son Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem as Messiah to suffer and to die, let these palms be for us signs of his victory; and grant that we who bear them in his name may ever hail him as our King, and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

(Lent Holy Week Easter Services and prayers. CHP Central Board of Finance Church of England)

We read or sing our first hymn

1 Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry;
O Saviour meek, pursue your road
with palms and scattered garments strowed.

2 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.

 

3 Ride on, ride on in majesty!
The winged squadrons of the sky
look down with sad and wond'ring eyes
to see th'approaching sacrifice.

 

4 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 pow'r and reign.

 

Please light your own peace candle and read the following prayer.

We light this candle for peace in a broken world.  Let your light of your kingdom shine in places where darkness prevails. Transform the ugliness into beauty. Be a beacon of hope to those who are anxious and in despair and a warming fire to those who are weary. Give the world the peace which only you can bring.

Confession :

As we pray so we confess our failings:

Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

We confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed.

We have not loved you with our whole heart,

We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.

In your mercy forgive what we have been,

help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be;

that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.

 

Listen to the words of Christ, words that we can trust “Don’t be afraid, your sins are forgiven, I love you, come take up your cross and follow  me.” Thanks be to God amen.

We say together the prayer our Lord Jesus Christ taught us:

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

1st Reading.

Philippians 2.5-11

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death—
   even death on a cross.


Therefore God also highly exalted him
   and gave him the name
   that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
   every knee should bend,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
   that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

Thanks be to God for his holy word.

Holy Bible NRSV

We read or sing our second hymn.

From Heaven You came, Helpless babe,

Entered our world, Your glory veiled;

Not to be served but to serve,

And give Your life that we might live.

 

This is our God, the Servant King,

He calls us now to follow Him,

To bring our lives as a daily offering

Of worship to the Servant King.

There in the garden of tears,

My heavy load He chose to bear;

His heart with sorrow was torn,

‘Yet not My will but Yours,’ He said.

This is our God……

 

Come see his hands and his feet,

The scars that speak of sacrifice

Hands that flung stars into space

To cruel nails surrendered.

 

This is our God……

So let us learn how to serve

And in our lives enthrone him,

Each others needs to prefer,

For it is Christ we’re serving.

 

This is our God…..

 

2nd Reading.  Mark 11.1-11

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.” ’ They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
   Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

 

This is the Gospel of The Lord. Praise to you O Christ.

NRSV Holy Bible.

We read or sing our third hymn.

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest
Lord we lift up Your Name,
With hearts full of praise,
Be exalted Oh Lord our God,
Hosanna in the highest.

Glory, Glory, Glory to the King of Kings
Glory, Glory, Glory to the King of Kings
Lord we lift up Your Name,
With hearts full of praise,
Be exalted Oh Lord our God,
Glory to the King of Kings.

Reflection  :

May I speak in the name of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Several years ago I stood on the Mount of Olives and looked across the valley towards Jerusalem.  It was a misty day and Jerusalem stood grey and austere against the skyline.  The group that I was with went into the church there to celebrate Communion.  As you sit in the church you can see straight through the arched window behind the altar across to today’s city of Jerusalem as it nestles behind its walls guarded by the armed guards of the Israeli army.  Towards the bottom of today’s new wall you can see the outline of the old gates.  These are the gates that once upon a time Jesus Christ rode though on a donkey.

Seeing those original gates outlined in the wall brought to mind the centuries past event.  Christ coming from the direction of Bethany.  The search for a donkey that had never been ridden, untying it, bringing it to Jesus. The coats thrown on it, and the journey down the hill towards that gate. I can assure you it’s a very steep hill. I managed to slip down it and made a complete mess of my pink holiday trousers that I was then doomed to wear for the next few days complete with Mount of Olives mud.

It would not have been an easy ride for Jesus down a trackway winding sharply round and down a very steep hill.  I could just imagine it thronged with people pushing, jostling and chanting with everyone waving their palm branches and a chorus shouting -

“Hosanna, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David.” As Mark records them.

Such jubilation! Such excitement!  A recognition that this is, in some strange way a king riding on a donkey. A king they think is riding to Jerusalem to become their Saviour. The one who will challenge and defeat the Roman occupation. And so in our minds eye the donkey and his rider disappear down the hill, across the valley and through those gates and out of sight into the city.

Those who witnessed that entry into Jerusalem could not fail to remember the words of the prophet Zechariah  9 verse 9.  “See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.” They think they are welcoming the Messiah but the Pharisees see this as another reason to get rid of Jesus.

And so today as we look forward from Palm Sunday to the rest of Holy week we call to mind those words of the Roman Governor presenting Jesus to the crowd  “Here is your king”, and how he placed at the head of a cross a notice “Jesus Christ King of the Jews” 

Mark’s Gospel is written to tell us who Jesus really is. It begins with “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Mark’s gospel also tells of God’s acclamation at the time of Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration that this is His Son.

There are other responses to the question, who is Jesus?

You are the Messiah? Yes he says, but not the sort that you envisage.

You are the Christ!  says Peter at Caesarea Philippi.  Yes, but I still have to go to Jerusalem to be killed and to suffer many things.

Well then, you are a master?  Yes, you can call me master and Lord, for that is what I am, but I came to serve not to be served!

You are the Son of Man? Well yes but I bring a whole new way of thinking about what it means to be fully human.

And now on Palm Sunday you are the long awaited for king?” Yes, but what sort of king is it that rides into town on a donkey?

Jesus has not abdicated responsibility. This king will not send others into battle first. He will die for his people without thought of personal cost.  His power is strange. It’s a power where strength is found in weakness, where human standards have little meaning, where the first are last and the last are first, where human ideas of kingship are reversed and where the kingdom is not of human making.

We do not know how Jesus felt on that day when he rode into town.  Was he caught up in the festival atmosphere? Was he sitting light to all the excitement and fuss? Did he realise how shallow the warmth of the welcome really was? What we do know is that Christ the King rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The Pharisees were definitely not amused and Jesus would know why!

But for us on Palm Sunday there comes a dilemma as we are called once again to make a terrible decision. Will we walk the way of the cross with Jesus? Will we be humble, unassuming and unpretentious, and go into battle from a place of weakness against the whims of the world.  Are we willing to die for him, even if it means being crucified with him? Or will we be fickle like the crowd and plotting like the Pharisees?

We can only answer that individually as once more we take the road to the cross.

 

We read or sing our 4th hymn.

You are the King of Glory,
You are the Prince of Peace,
You are the Lord of heaven and earth,
You are the Son of righteousness.
Angels bow down before You
worship and adore,
For You have the words of eternal life,
You are Jesus Christ the Lord.
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Hosanna to the King of Kings!
Glory in the highest heaven,
for Jesus the Messiah reigns!

Intercessions :

As children of the kingdom let us make our prayers to the eternal God who loves us.

For forgiveness for the many times we have denied Jesus,

let us pray to the Lord.

For grace to seek out those habits of sin which mean

spiritual death, and by prayer and self-discipline to overcome them,

let us pray to the Lord.

For Christian people,

that through the suffering of disunity there may grow a rich union in Christ,

let us pray to the Lord.

For those who make laws, interpret them, and administer them,

that our common life may be ordered in justice and mercy,

let us pray to the Lord.

For those who still make Jerusalem a battleground,

let us pray to the Lord.

For those who have the courage and honesty to work openly for justice and peace,

let us pray to the Lord.

For those in the darkness and agony of isolation, that they may find support and encouragement,

let us pray to the Lord.

For those who, weighed down with hardship, failure, or sorrow, feel that God is far from them,

let us pray to the Lord.

For those who are tempted to give up the way of the cross,

let us pray to the Lord.

That we, with those who have died in faith, may find mercy in the day of Christ,

let us pray to the Lord.

Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen

We read or sing our final hymn:

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 comest
The King and Blessed One.

All glory….

The people of the Hebrews
With palms before Thee went
Our praise and love and anthems
Before Thee we present

 

All glory……

 

 

To Thee, before Thy passion
They sang their hymns of praise
To Thee, now high exalted
Our melody we raise.

All glory….

Songwriters: Melchior Teschner / Steve Dunn

 

Let us pray:  (The Collect)

True and humble King, hailed by the crowd as the Messiah;

grant us the faith to know you and love you,

that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross,

which is the path of glory. Amen.

 

And so we say to each other across the homes of Melbourne and beyond:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

May the rain fall soft upon your fields,

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. AMEN

 

Thank you for taking part in this service. God bless you all and keep you safe and well.

 

CCL 257405.  Hymns from Mission Praise except where stated.

Confession : Common Worship CHP

Collect : Common Worship Additional Collects

Intercessions : Common Worship Times and Seasons.

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