Palm Sunday, March 30, 2020
Prayers for the world: Beloved Jesus, in this time of crisis, our churches sit empty. Not because we do not love you, but because you told us to love one another, and this is the best way we can do it. As the crowds gathered to celebrate your entry into Jerusalem, this morning we lift up songs of praise to all who are putting their lives on the line for others. We pray for the nurses, the doctors, the paramedics and ambulance drivers, the police, the National Guard, our neighbors, and ourselves. Be with us this Palm Sunday. You, who loved us enough to go freely to your death, so that we might have life, help us to stand fast in the coming days. Help us to walk through this time as your people. Amen
Call to Worship from Psalm 118
Oh, thank the Lord, for he’s so good! His loving-kindness is forever.
Let the congregation of Israel praise him with these same words: “His loving-kindness is forever.”
And let the priests of Aaron chant, “His loving-kindness is forever.”
Let the Gentile converts chant, “His loving-kindness is forever.”
In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me. “He is for me! How can I be afraid? What can mere man do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side; he will help me. Let those who hate me beware.
It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in men.
It is better to take refuge in him than in the mightiest king!
Prayer of Confession
Beloved Savior, we confess that too often we have shut out our neighbor and failed to hear their cries for help. We have fallen short of all that you have called us to do. Our hearts are shattered now by the many who are hurting and in need. As we reach out to them, forgive us our past and help us to be the people that you called us to be. Amen.
Promise of Forgiveness
Hear the Word of the Lord from Psalm 118: Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. Know that God’s forgiveness, like his love, is our salvation. You are forgiven, be at peace.
Luke 19:29-40 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying,
“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Message: The Stones Cry Out
Usually on Palm Sunday we open with the celebration of the crowds. Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem. Here on this Palm Sunday as we reach the end of our “Journey of Stones” we have this passage. If the people were silent, the stones would cry out. When I began this series, I had no concept that this passage would speak so deeply to all of us. The crowds have been scattered and there are no voices in the church to shout Hosanna. Perhaps, in our absence, the empty pews and pulpit are crying out.
But the service on Palm Sunday is two-fold. Jesus arrives in Jerusalem surrounded by crowds shouting his name. But our service ends on a somber note. Yes, Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem. But he has not come to overturn the Roman Government and lead a charge to free Jerusalem. He has come with a much more lasting purpose in mind, he has come to overturn death and lead the charge to free our souls from sin. And the only way he could do that was through his own painful death.
The crowds cheering him on as he came into the gate would disappear. In their place would come a second crowd. This crowd would call very different words, “Crucify Him!”
It is easy to celebrate Jesus when we get to wave the Palms. Knowing the reason he came makes it much harder to wave palms and be happy. In the face of the pandemic, we see this with new eyes, knowing that there will be doctors and nurses, police and firefighters, ambulance attendants, and many others who will die from the disease in order for them to help others. On this Palm Sunday, they face death as surely as Jesus faced it as he came into Jerusalem, and they know it.
It is in some ways as if we sit more this week than ever before on the brink of Holy Week. We are paused at the waving crowds, but we have a glimpse of the darkness to come. But we also have a more important glimpse, this side of the cross. This week does not end at the cross. It ends with an empty grave. There is not just a death, there is a resurrection.
So as the stones cry out, have hope. Darkness is not forever. Jesus has arrived. Find a way to rejoice today!
Confession of Faith:
This is the good news that we have received, in which we stand,
and by which we are saved, if we hold it fast:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day,
and that he appeared first to the women,
then to Peter, and to the Twelve, and then to many faithful witnesses.
We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end;
he is our Lord and our God.
—based on Matthew 16:16; Mark 16:9; John 20:28; 1 Corinthians 15:1-6; Revelation 22:13
