Sunday Worship
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Palm Sunday. Our Church Services today are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. if you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resorces below to worship from home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Ride On, Ride On, in Majesty"
Today's Gospel
John 12:12-16 Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him.
Reflection
Here we are at last! The forty days of Lent are over and we look towards the tumultuous events of Holy Week that will culminate with Christ’s death on the Cross and His glorious resurrection. But before all that, we read about Jesus’ triumphant entry in Jerusalem on His way from Bethany after He raised Lazarus from the dead.
Many of the people present were not there to see Jesus but there for the great feast of The Passover, a major religious festival of thanksgiving for the Jewish people. However, there were also plenty of people who had come especially to see Jesus because they had heard of the miracles that Jesus had performed and listened to His teachings. So, by the time He arrived, word had got around and the atmosphere was fervent with excitement as people looked for the coming of the Messiah. Someone who would overthrow the Romans, and bring peace and redemption to the people of Israel. Someone who would bring justice, reconciliation and freedom to the people who had been exiled and oppressed for long.
They longed so much for change and so as they waved their palm branches, they shouted and screamed, ‘Hosanna, Hosanna’, which means ‘save us’. But of course, Jesus is not a leader who brandishes a sword and leads an army of warriors to slay the enemy. Rather, He is a leader who shows us how we need to make change happen through love and compassion for one another. That can be hard for many, because whilst following Jesus will undoubtedly bring positive changes to our lives and make us feel better, it also comes with a challenge. It is hard sometimes to love those who might do us harm or disrespect us. It not always easy to give what we have to those who have less, and maybe we justify that by telling ourselves we have what we have because we have earned it. Why should we give money or other things away?
I am sure when we look around the world, many of us hope and pray for transformation; an end to war, poverty and suffering and so many other bad things. Our challenge is not to work miracles but to do what we can to help one another and not be tempted in our frailty and weakness to stay with the status quo where we feel comfortable. Jesus wants us to be resilient and follow him, not be tempted to follow the crowd and do ‘U-turn’ like the crowds in Jerusalem did when faced with uncertainty. As we begin this Holy Week, we should recall that Jesus knew exactly what lay ahead – pain, suffering, abuse, mockery and finally death. But He chose to face it all and stand up for love and grace on our behalf. He was willing to put His life on the line for each of us. As we head through the week, perhaps we might reflect on how we might stay the course and follow Jesus who has prepared the way for those willing to follow Him. Paul
Our Prayers
Today's final hymn is "Make Way!"
Notices
Below is a list of our Church Services for Holy Week. We also have our usual Tuesday morning service of Holy Communion at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and special Holy Week Worship for all Generations at 6.30 pm at St Agnes' on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. We hope that you will be able to journey through Holy Week with us.
