March 24, 2024/The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
Liturgy of the Palms Gospel: Mark 11:1-11
Opening Prayer: Jesus, when you rode into Jerusalem the people waved palms with shouts of acclamation. Grant that when the shouting dies, we may still walk beside you even to a cross. Amen. (NZPB)
Every year, when the church gathers together for worship on the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week…the celebration always invokes a dizzying array of emotions as we listen first to the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the waving of palm branches and shouting hosannas…that quickly changes to a more somber note, as we listen to the reading of the Passion Gospel…the scriptures that heartbreakingly remind us of Jesus’ final week that led to his suffering and death on the cross on Good Friday. Yet, we know, on this side of history, that death did not have the final say…because, as we will be reminded in the scriptures next Sunday –just three days later, the tone changes quickly, once again, with the joyous news of Jesus’ resurrection that we proclaim on Easter day….Alleluia! Christ is Risen…the Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!
Yet for today…we begin again…as we recall, remember, reflect on Jesus’ journey to the cross this Holy Week….as the shouting of the hosannas are about to go silent… replaced with loud shouts to Crucify Him!
Jesus’ passion story has something new and important to teach us every year if we will allow ourselves to enter fully into the stories and experiences and events that unfold throughout Holy Week…I invite you to pay attention to all the voices…the loud ones, the quiet ones, and all those in between…listen intently...listen deeply…and listen for the Word of God to transform your hearts and minds through the love and passion of Jesus Christ…
And now…Let us settle in, quiet ourselves, open our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds to hear what the Passion Gospel according to Mark has to teach us anew…in this time...and in this place…