Sunday Worship - Palm Sunday
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Palm Sunday. Our Church Services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 at St Agnes' and 11.15 at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Meekness and Majesty"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 21:1-11 Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
When Jesus and his disciples had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, `The Lord needs them.'
And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
"Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven! "
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."
Reflection
A brief reflection this week, because at the beginning of Holy week there is so much to consider and reflect on as we move from Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem to his sacrificial death on the cross.
I have recently been looking at the topic of leadership and in particular leadership in the church, and that gave me a different perspective on the first Gospel reading for Palm Sunday.
It made me think about the preparations we have to do each and every Sunday to get ready for our Sunday worship. Of course most people don’t see or realise what has to be done because, hopefully, by the time the congregation arrives everything is in place to make things run as smoothly as possible.
But consider a few things that people who volunteer each week do. There is putting the hymn numbers up on the board, (or if we are in the Community Room, printing them out everyone including the vicar). But long before that, someone has to look at the readings for the day and decide which hymns are most appropriate and then someone who is a bit tech savvy has to load them up to a media player.
There are seats to be put out and cleaned and carpets to be hoovered, the ladies who come early and make sure the kettles are filled and there is fresh milk in the fridge. And most importantly, as we are the Church of England, there has to be a generous supply of cake and biscuits.
Add to that someone has to come in a few hours before the service and ensure the heating has been turned on. Then someone has to prepare the altar just before the service and set up the bread and wine for communion, (because no one likes to receive soggy communion wafers that have been on the altar since the day before).
There are so many other things which need attending to, not least your vicar spending many hours reading, praying and asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit as they prepare the sermon.
I am not saying this to make anyone feel guilty, however when we look at the beginning of the Gospel of the Palms, above I realised that Jesus was doing what any good leader does….. he was making preparations so that everything would run smoothly. All the things he was doing were about setting the stage so that all went to plan and ensuring that there were no hiccups. He was doing exactly what we do before a service at church.
He was ensuring that people got the message. The prophet Zechariah had foretold that the Messiah would come from the Mount of Olives, just had Jesus had done. He would come riding on a donkey, just as Jesus had done.
Jesus’ method of entry into Jerusalem was itself a deliberate teaching tool. When Jesus did this, most of the people knew exactly what was going on. He wanted people to relate to the Jewish teachings and prophesies and understand that he was the Messiah.
In addition to being the fulfilment of prophecy, it was Jesus showing the people how the Kingdom of God was going to conquer the world. He wanted to ensure that those who would listen and witness his entry would know exactly who he was and how important the events that would unfold over the next few days were..
What are we doing to help other people accept Jesus and know who He is? Paul
