Services for Holy Week
BURTON JOYCE
COMMUNITY CHURCH
Sunday 28 March 2021: PALM SUNDAY
With Nottingham North East Circuit
Prepared by Deacon Yanyan Case and Phil Colbourn.
Hymns are taken from Songs of Fellowship (SoF)
[Palm Sunday is known as Sul y Blodau (“seal-er-blod-eye”) in Wales, which translates as Sunday of the Flowers. It is a custom in parts of Wales on this day to take flowers to the graves of family & loved-ones and so it seems especially appropriate, somehow, to think of this after a year of the Covid19 pandemic.]
Welcome to today’s act of worship. Let’s be still as we remember those who have died, and as we listen for the still voice of God speaking to our hearts.
Call to worship: Psalm 118:19-29
Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter & give thanks to the LORD.
Hymn SoF 393:
Morning has broken
Opening prayer
Father God, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Your love is beyond measure; your ways are above our ways. We thank you for sending your Son for our salvation. We celebrate with great joy. Hosanna in the highest!
Lord, if I were to thank you for all of the flowers that I have seen this week, I should be here for ever. But I shall thank you for each and every individual blossom, standing in your presence now & for ever. Hosanna in the highest!
Gracious God, forgive us for wrong motives; for harsh words; that we expect you to meet our needs but disobey your commands. Jesus our Saviour, by your blood we are cleansed. By your stripes we are healed. Holy Spirit, kindle in us a new spiritual hunger for your righteousness. Hosanna in the highest! Amen.
Bible reading: Mark 11:1-11.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
Reflection
Palm Sunday when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey is the time to publicly proclaim His Kingship and Messianic identity, as prophesied in to the Scriptures.
Riding on a donkey is a direct fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. It is truly remarkable that a prophecy written over five hundred years before Christ, as specific as this, was fulfilled by Jesus making his triumphal entry to Jerusalem. In the ancient Middle East, leaders rode donkeys if they came in peace.
This theme of peace is expounded in Zechariah 9:10. Note the many symbolic expressions of peace: “Take away the chariots and war-horses”; “The battle bow will be broken”. It reminds me of Psalm 46:8-9: “Come and see what the Lord has done... He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.” Most importantly, “He will proclaim peace to the nations”. The prophet Isaiah also prophesied that the Messiah will be called the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). And this is fulfilled when the angel proclaims the good news “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14 KJV).
With what excitement the crowd paved the way for Jesus, shouting out “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” quoting directly from Psalm 118:25-26 as we read in our Call to Worship. They felt that the day of salvation was finally here, and expected to see victory and liberation from the oppression of the Roman Empire. However, Jesus did not turn on the Romans, but went to the Temple and overturned the tables there. This deeply confused and greatly disappointed the crowd. So, the same crowd who shouted Hosanna on Palm Sunday, shouted “crucify him” just a few days later. It seems that the crowd knew their Scripture but did not really understand it.
They were right in celebrating the coming of their King but they were wrong in expecting how he would bring salvation. Overturning the tables in the Temple was such a powerful overturn of people’s expectations and tells us that it is not the Roman Empire that the people of God needed to be freed from, but all evil at work in the world and in our lives.
When things go our way, it is easy to shout Halleluiah; but when they do not, do we still trust in him and give him praise? In this pandemic, we want someone to come & rescue us and take the virus away so that we can go back to our normal lives but perhaps it is not God’s way. It has been over a year now, but the virus is still here, although with the vaccines we do see light at the end of the tunnel. It is a tough human story we all share but let’s be reminded that God’s way is above ours as his will is above our will. Suffering has always been the frontline. Nobody’s life is an easy ride as I recognise it more and more as I grow older.
Palm Sunday reminds us that Jesus comes to the rescue but at times we do not quite understand. A few weeks ago, I was rushing towards an assignment deadline for my College studies. There was a week left and I was getting really anxious because I was nowhere near to finishing. As each day went by, I felt more & more nerve-racked. I wonder how Jesus was feeling on Palm Sunday when he knew he was approaching a real “dead” line. Can you imagine what kind of spiritual journey Jesus had to go through this coming week?
As each day passed by, his fear and anxiety must have also grown more intense. What sustained Jesus then? In my stress over the assignment, what kept me going at the time was the joy and relief after the deadline. So, I kept my head down looking forward to the day when I could chill out and celebrate. I think this has given me a glimpse of what sustained Jesus. It must be the glory and victory coming after the crucifixion. He was looking forward to Easter Sunday, he was looking forward to the joy of reunion between him and all creation; he was looking forward to the day when the whole world would know his peace.
As we approach holy week, I hope we can walk this spiritual journey together with Jesus, feel what he felt, and refocus our minds and expectations on him. Are we following the crowd or Jesus? Let our hearts find rest, knowing that the God who can precisely locate a donkey to fulfil a 500-year-old prophecy, is well able to handle our lives today. Although we don’t know the reason for evil, we do know a God who can turn evil to good. He is with us until the end of the age.
Romans 8:35-37 says: “Can anything separate us from Christ’s love?... No, despite everything, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
Hymn SoF 1404:
King of kings, Majesty
Intercession
Hold the palm cross as we pray. If you don’t have one, picture it in your mind.
God of peace, may your peace reach into places of conflict and turmoil, and rescue those suffering from starvation, water shortage, pollution and diseases.
Help us with the damage caused by the pandemic, to open up new prospects and opportunities & to return to you in our national life.
Thank you for our neighbourhood & the people around us. Bring peace, joy, friendship, and love to each household, & security and safety.
Grant us unity in your church as we seek to build your Kingdom on earth. Feed & refresh all who come so that together we are restored & satisfied by you.
Thank you for bringing the good news to us. Help us follow you each day, making your love known to the world around us.
Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!
Let’s finish together with the Lord’s prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven
Hymn SoF 627:
Hosanna to the Son of David
Closing prayer & Blessing
Almighty & everlasting Father, sustain us as you sustained Jesus when he took up his cross; grant us the faith & grace to follow humbly & victoriously.
May the Lord bless you & keep you, make his face shine upon you & be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his face toward you & give you peace. Amen.
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Maundy Thursday
Jesus said, I’m giving you a new commandment:
Love one another, as I have loved you
In an upstairs room a parable is about to come alive: The call is to community, the impoverishment that sets us free. So, in all humility, let us make a vow that, day after day, we’ll take up the basin and the towel. (Michael Card, altered)
Gracious God, your Son girded himself with a towel and washed the feet of his disciples. Give us the will and courage to serve one another, as he chose to be a servant of all, in the name of him who died and is alive for evermore. Amen
We commit ourselves to follow his example of love and service. Amen
With wine or water, bread or biscuit, share this moment as we remember Jesus who came to be our brother, to raise the dead, to heal the sick and comfort the sorrowing and that on this night, sick & sorrowing, he faced death for us.
Jesus, Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, hear our prayer.
I am not worthy to receive but say the word, Lord, and I shall be healed.
As they went out, they sang a hymn.
SoF 54:
Brother, sister, let me serve you
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Good Friday
He was despised and rejected, a man of suffering, familiar with grief. Surely, he was pierced for our transgressions & crushed for our iniquities
Pilate said: What I have written, I have written
Let us, therefore, approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Amen
(Isaiah 53, 3-5; John 19, 22; Hebrews 4, 16)
SoF 400:
My song is love unknown
My people, my people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you?
Holy God, holy & strong, immortal, loving & kind, have mercy on us. Amen
God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world but that, through him, the world might be saved. Let us therefore pray for the world:
For people everywhere according to their need & for all who care;
For the nations and their leaders & for our own country;
For all who suffer in violence & injustice or grief; who despair of life itself;
Remembering at the last those who have died.
In the silence, let us share in the prayer Jesus taught us:
Our Father
Almighty God, grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find in it a way of life and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
