29 March - Palm Sunday / Passion Sunday – Year A

Introduction

There are differing approaches to Palm/Passion Sunday - but some action, some acknowledgment of the strategic disruption of Jesus entering a festival city rife with sectarian and other tensions is in order. Such things are not foreign to Scottish experience.

Given the significance of Holy Week as a global, ecumenical observance, a worship leader would also do well to be familiar with all four Gospel accounts of the ‘triumphal entry': Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19. If something seems to be missing, you'll then know where to find it.

For some churches, Palm Sunday will be sufficient for the whole service, though others will proceed to consider the Passion following a very brief ‘Liturgy/Service of the Palms'.

If the exceptionally long readings of Matthew 26:14- 27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54 are used then over and above some scene-setting, they should perhaps best be allowed to speak for themselves, without unduly exposition. You might also consider how to facilitate a time of informal discussion within the congregation after they have been read in public exploring what stood out?

Palm Sunday teaches by experience, so that we learn and receive Christ's intention, both for joy and for justice.

"Hosanna" is not just a ‘joyful' shout, it is a cry for God's help. A marriage of the two, with the liberating acknowledgement that we will not "fix the world" unaided, can be nourishing to hear.

Like the entirety of Holy Week, Palm/Passion Sunday rightly requires both disruption and solemnity. Local considerations will determine the balance, but neither a barrage of joyful "hosannas" without a solemn change of tone at the end, nor an undue haste to "get the donkey out of the way and be serious", will serve the depth of worship on this occasion – which does turn the corner to the Way to the Cross.

Worshippers who will not attend church again until Easter Sunday need the chance to grasp what comes between.

Processional Songs and actions, which allow for an action, involving children and young people as essential rather than peripheral, should be carefully chosen, with sensitivity to your congregation, involving and inviting, rather than enforcing a spectator role.

The absence of children in a congregation should not be an excuse to remain seated throughout. Ponder what Palm Sunday needs to do for you and your church.

Since we're using Matthew's Gospel, which mentions not just one but two (!) donkeys, a mother and baby, this is an opportunity to ensure that empathy and care for fellow creatures is not submerged in churchiness.

We can also learn from those worshipping in France, for whom this is the ‘Sunday of the Branches' with a very Biblical emphasis on what is immediately to hand, rather than imported foreign plants.

Only John's Gospel mentions palms and Luke prioritises garments strewed. Matthew and Mark add leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Psalm 118 is a high-octane psalm, which is not well-served by calm and neutral reading. A first reading shows, it is intended, in its origins, as the basis of a procession and immersively responsive worship.

This psalm had the purpose of building up and reinforcing the spiritual confidence of the people. Confidence that a better world is possible, as in the strapline of recent UK-wide climate campaigns.

The Psalm offers a rationale: "God is good, and his steadfast love endures forever" rather than the uncompromising "I am God" of, for instance, Psalm 46:10. Here, God makes a case, rather than a tyrant's demand, to be followed and trusted.

Worship is presented as good for the worshippers, rather than merely the due of divinity. Faith makes sense to the singer of this song, after all, how else will the world be made better?

On Palm Sunday, Psalm 118:27 is the key scripture, rather than any direct mention in the Gospels, for the image which church tradition has widely adopted, of a "procession with branches" - not specifically palms. It also offers a Passover-festival source for the "Hosanna" (God, help us!) shouts in the four Gospels. If this text is the basis of preaching, some description or illustration of a processional uphill route in Jerusalem would be helpful. The ‘Gates of Righteousness' in the ancient use, really were gates, entrances to the Temple, rather than some figure of speech. Thus, the psalm is a reminder not to under-play the power and experiential basis of scriptural praise poetry. There's no ‘merely' poetry here!

Cornerstones and keystones, without which entire buildings would instantly collapse, might need some very basic architectural explanation. And for a hint to the foretaste of the Resurrection which may be part of today, v 22 was repurposed by Jesus in Matthew 21:42, and is used in a number of hymns.

Matthew 21:1-11

A map of the route might be helpful to show, by projection or to mark out in chalk outside. Or provide an idea of comparable distances on foot in your local area. Visualisation and use of local landmarks will aid understanding of this event.

Jesus has things very well-prepared. Is this due to skillful strategic planning, or prophetic foresight, or are those categories not the contradictions we might imagine?

It is very important to Matthew, addressing an audience with Hebrew heritage, that prophesy is fulfilled in Jesus's actions - in this case Zechariah 9:9. A climate-aware perspective reminds us that prophecy is never just single-use. Indeed, here in Matthew 21, Jesus is already recycling, creatively repurposing it, showing us how.

Do we let Scripture live within our lives? Perhaps, scholars have suggested, Matthew adds with the mention of the "colt", a meticulousness we need not be pressured into. But then the young animal brings a note of vulnerability alongside the strength of a beast of burden.

Note that Mark's version combines them with a colt never before ridden.

Reading this Gospel with an awareness of Zechariah invites us to consider what, in our own day, brings fulfilment of what is certainly a prophecy of freedom and dis-armament.

Be aware, too, of Matthew's word-play: "Lord", Κύριος /‘kyrios when referred to donkeys is also "owner". Are the bystanders fobbed off with ambiguous understanding, or invited and happy to recognise the "lordship" of Jesus?

What is your experience of processions, demonstrations, marches, and shouting crowds. Is it joyful, inviting, threatening or subversive?

And consider the amazing commitment, in a society where clothing was far from cheap and disposable, of cloaks laid on the road, or draped on the donkeys. What might induce that level of sacrifice? Is this hysteria? Being caught up in the mood of a crowd? Is it faith?

The passage ends with the multi-layered subversive vignette of the rumour of Jesus' identity as prophet. God working and proclaiming through the people, rather than the rulers.

This is often thought of as a basis of our Christian espousal of democracy. And yet the events of the following week in Jerusalem grimly show the vulnerability of crowds to be manipulated and misled. How can Christian worship prepare us both to go with the compassionate flow, yet steer away from the rapids of hate?

How can we be encouraged and built up in our faith, without being swept along into denial both of justice for refugees and the vulnerable, and of the signs of the times, especially the crisis of nature and climate, which is interwoven in so many wars and crises?

Finally, there is nuance of conversation. The city asks "who is this". It is those (perhaps mostly visitors), who have provisionally identified themselves with someone who ‘looks like' a leader, who answer: "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Isaiah sings in prophetic style, a combination of "I did it my way" and "I will survive"! He gains authority by claiming God, rather than himself, as the source of extraordinary gifts and the defiant acknowledgment of suffering and humiliation.

Hebrew Jewish tradition supports the story of a bloody martyrdom for at least one of the succession of writers to bear the title of Isaiah, Heb 11:37.

Overall, this song, though prescribed for Christian worship remains a ritual boast and perhaps those reading it aloud should be reassured that it's OK to present it that way - perhaps as a lyric with the special power of experience and association, beyond the mere narrative. This, then is Isaiah the folksinger, the man of unclean lips among the people of unclean lips. Which is how and why he knows how to sustain the weary with a word.

In a world where misinformation, undermining hope is rife, how can our use of scripture lift hearts from despair?

The nineteenth-century identification of this passage as the third of the four "Servant Songs" in the part of the Book of Isaiah ensures its continued presentation in the context of the Passion of Jesus, and churches have been inspired to repurpose the sufferings of this figure, who both speaks and is spoken of, as a prefiguring of Christ.

The original context, of the moral victory blessed and vindicated by God, even of those who suffer or perish for justice can certainly be complementary to that.

Psalm 31:9-16

Psalm 31 is offered for the Passion aspect of worship this Sunday. The leader of worship might find a preparatory reading of the entire Psalm gives a different aspect from this profound extract, which comes at a turning-point after a desperate burst of self-justification (vvs 6-8 especially). Verse 5, "into your hands I commend my spirit" which, quoted in Luke 23:46, becomes Jesus' Last Words on the Cross before death, is here in a context of greater reassurance than the later verses. There's a tradition that devout mothers teach it to children as a prayer before sleep.

So, Psalm 31:9-16 is not at all a song sung by a cheering, exuberant crowd, but rather invites us into solidarity with the experience of terminal or other debilitating illness. Or, perhaps feelings that accompany a level of suffering following the devastating collapse of reputation and relationship. Ostracism and humiliation exacerbating physical suffering, would certainly express the outlook of someone crucified. - the slowness of the public ordeal, rather than a mercifully fast end. They have, it seems, every reason to despair, and yet....

The contrast is so extreme with Matthew 21:1-11 that a thoughtful hymn like ‘Travelling the road to freedom' (see music recommendations below) might do the necessary job of turning the corner to the Cross. As with so much of Scripture, handle with care!

Perhaps these verses from Psalm 31 do take us to a place of distress where the surprise is real, and helpful, that God is also there. When even we have given up on ourselves, and perhaps, often misguidedly, the terrible opinions that others hold of ourselves – God is still faithful, even if the outlook is grim. There is lifesaving, or at least soul-saving, compassion for those who may feel they don't deserve it. The grace, the loving-kindness, which the suffering singer appeals to can make all the difference.

The final line is amazingly assertive – demanding to look to God's mercy is to be empowered, even in dire straits.

It's a very ‘adult' text, but just as children can, and perhaps need to attend funerals to process grief in their own way it is not one they shouldn't hear at all. But how would you introduce it to them? To read or hear it is a resource for what may lie ahead.

Philippians 2:5-11

This letter is already a sermon of sorts, and as such, aims to be strategically empowering for the reader, rather than encouraging the paralysis of awe and distance. Not just "Jesus is Lord, and you are nothing by comparison" but "you can share something of what he became".

The scope covers not just human society, but all Creation: "in heaven and on earth and under the earth". All creatures, all peoples are implied to be part of this story. What else would we expect, given that this writing aims to encourage, delight in, and praise God as Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, however we might unpack such ideas?

Our awe and love for Christ should be empowering, as we learn from His ultimate counter-cultural approach to the expression of love. And the Passion is in the spotlight.

Bear in mind the writer would be more familiar than anyone today might want to be with the obscene realities of crucifixion, but we are not yet in a world where such obscenities, often inflicted on the most vulnerable in the context of warfare, have become things of the past. The specifics might be triggering – abuse as a weapon of war – so use this sensitivity. If you use this passage, respect the dignity of victims and survivors – as does the writer of this letter.

This is a passage which speaks poetically of the moral supremacy of the abused and downtrodden through solidarity of Christ with them. It boldly proclaims that injustice and violence will not win - even if the first act, even of the life of Christ, might suggest otherwise. It is not the only story.

We should be aware of v10, that there is a variance in whether this is already claiming victory accomplished, or, confidently stating an aspiration, "every knee should bend", even if our experience thus far is not yet of such universal submission/acclaim.

There is no rational, emotional or spiritual obstacle, so this writer contends, to our getting in ahead of the crowd and sacrificially proclaiming, through our own lives of justice, compassion and solidarity with all downtrodden fellow creatures, that Christ who did not choose to evade such things, is vindicated by God

Matthew 27:11-54

As indicated in the introduction, scene-setting rather than preaching is the best approach to the presentation of this very long narrative passage, or the chance for a serious informal discussion afterwards, with guidance from someone who has prayerfully read and pondered the passage before worship.

Perhaps a warning is necessary, about the self-cursing of the crowd at 27:25 "Then the people as a whole answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" Churches require an awareness of the diabolical misuse, even of this holy story, to justify antisemitism and other hatred.

• Can we see these vulnerabilities to collude with violence and injustice in any movements or responses we might be tempted to go along with today?

• Does the congregation know the background to the political situation of the brutally occupied country in which this takes place?

• What is the significance of Jesus' silence to the accusations of the religious establishment?

• Do you agree with Matthew - that it was out of jealousy that they handed him over?

• The picture of ‘Governor Pilate' is one of the most complex in the Gospels: does anyone identify with the pressures he is under?

• What do we make of the story of his wife's dream, and of Pilate's protest that he is "innocent of this man's blood" whilst standing back and letting the crucifixion happen, under his jurisdiction.

• Do we ignore the strangely complex pre-emptive ‘raising' of the saints, who nonetheless stay put until Christ's resurrection? vvs 52-3.

• Can we cope with this as an expression of the widespread human experience of the blurring of reality in times of tragedy - when we can't pin down or explain everything we think we see, but see it anyway?

• And finally, though film depictions of the "centurion and those with him" may we have coloured how we read it - noting that these events, including especially Creation's response to Christ's death in the Earthquake do change minds and hearts?

Sermon ideas

Today is a festival celebratinga festival getting out of hand, when Jesus skillfully roused what looked like a rabble, by giving them a way to activate scriptures in their lived experience.

Those who object to what Jesus was doing have dutifully preserved their solemn festivals - as long as they stay decorative and harmless, as long as faith can't point to change.

For us, to disregard the warnings and signs we are given by faith, science, and global neighbours, does real harm to us and to all. Instead, we look from a different angle, starting with the donkey. People have been laughing about those ears since before Gospel times, and in the 15th Century Rosslyn Chapel there's a donkey-eared devil.

In the Hebrew culture the donkey's courage and virility was admired. Courage, because, as a mountain animal a donkey stands its ground where a horse scarpers across the steppe. For donkeys, persistence is the better part of valour. Hebrew Royalty is not embarrassed to ride a donkey: they convey the practicality and seriousness of peace rather than the injustice and bombast of war. Donkeys are abducted with virgin daughters, coveted alongside gorgeous partners and prohibited from hard labour on the Sabbath.

To be riding donkeys is not the same as humility, at least not the grovelling kind. It is the humility of dignity - what you'd want in your leader.

Matthew speaks of two donkeys, young and old, to fit with prophecy. It's not for us to correct the Gospel but rather learn from Matthew's donkey-riding concern to repurpose faith resources from the dusty glass case to the street.

Let us not prematurely burst the bubble of praise which authorities of Jesus' time found out of hand and out of place. Nor Christ's joyful ‘tongue of a teacher', who, when He spoke, provoked beatings, insults and spitting.

All of that is Palm Sunday - or as it is called in France - the Sunday of the Branches, because only John's Gospel specifies palm branches: for the rest it is whatever came to hand. Jesus asks us to take note of all the trees, cf Luke 21:29.

The Sunday of the Branches invites us to see God at work within Creation, and, with extreme irony, through human actions.

This is the day when Jesus was welcomed by branches on His terrifying path to unity with that Tree, which artists and poets powerfully identify with the Tree of Life – the fruitful habitat of the birds who bridge Heaven and Earth, the shelter under which God's creatures give birth.

The wellbeing of Creation is highly valued in Scripture, where Sabbath and Jubilee are for the good of the Earth and their wild creatures too. The Jerusalem protestors, like the climate strikers who used to gather in our city streets, are young and lack a clear or hopeful view of how things will turn out. "Shut them up, send them back to school!" says the establishment. But what Jesus seems to value, and encourage, is that for them, the disconnected treasures of their faith have found meaning.

For the stories of David and the songs of the prophet, the tone is joyful. And yet the key word here is "Help!" Hosanna! God help us! And built into that is both the recognition of threat, crisis, injustice and the blessing that God is worth crying out to.

Prayers

Call to worship

This is the day that the Lord has made

Branches and shouting
longing for justice!

This is the day that Christ rode in with majesty
provoking, encouraging
redeeming tradition!

This is the day when God's Word can look dangerous
risking transition
and shaking foundations!

This is the day when the humble is holy
and God speaks through loud children
and the trees bid Christ welcome!

Collect/Prayer of Approach

Dear God, in whose great name
comes Christ the friend of noisy children;
Christ welcomed by branches,
cheered by the stones.
Christ comes
sneered at by power, shirking in silence
the protest of faith against sin that harms the Earth!

With branches in our hands
grant us the audacity
to join Christ's commotion
undeterred by disapproval or denial
of what needs change,
for Earth's new healing.

As we cheer and follow
Christ who comes for us
in the name of the Lord
who is alive and reigns with You,
One God for every place and time.
AMEN

Prayer of Approach and Confession

Eternal God, maker of the skies above,
lowly Christ, lover of the Earth and their creatures,
unfettered Spirit, wild wind, giver of gracious gifts.

You are present among us.

As bearers of Your image,
and creatures of Earth's goodness
Alone and together
we bring brokenness to heal
we bring life to transform.

As people of faith,
long reshaped and repurposed,
we join in the sorrow of the Prophet [Jeremiah:]

How long will the land mourn,
and the grass of every field wither?
For the wickedness of those who live there
the animals and birds are swept away
because people said:
"God is blind to our ways!"

Yet God, You are eager to welcome all who are lost.
Though in the face of our silence
and in anguish at the harm we have chosen,
the poor and the Earth cry out against us.

Nonetheless friends, by God's grace
we are forgiven:
set free to act
before all is sorted.
It is Jesus who says:
"do not fear tomorrow -
you're up to your eyes in today!"
And Jesus who says:
"you are forgiven, you are free..."

Declaration of Forgiveness

God of Good Earth,
Show us our place and purpose
as creatures of dust and love,
through the friendship of Christ
sharing flesh with all life.
Amen,

Glory to God (optional)
Glory to God,
who has made a covenant
with all living creatures,
and has promised
never to forsake
the creation He loves:

Source: Church of South India, Liturgy for the Lord's Supper, used with permission

Thanksgiving / Gratitude
Sustaining God
We thank You, as we reach for the branches,
to wave in Your welcome,
that our trees have breathed out in their praise
what this day we inhale to live.

We thank you for inspiration and encouragement
to stand up to denial and hatred;
for the fellowship of the Church
that heals and brings joy.

We thank You for the story of Jesus
cherishing scripture by living it out
challenging the order that colludes with oppression,
breaking the silence that stifles good faith.

And we thank You
for our place and purpose,
to serve and protect
what You so love
that Christ is given
leading us in compassion
AMEN.

Prayer for others / Intercession

Sustaining God,
above us, beneath us, within us;
by whose grace
we see Your hand in all creation
and Your face in all Your children.

We pray for peace, for justice and for joy
in the world we encounter,
the news that we hear;
not despairing
that through our lives and by our prayers
Your kingdom may draw near

Dear God,
give peace, give justice,
give healing, give joy.

So, we remember the violence and the desecration of the Earth
which is common to every war;
[pray for current conflicts]

and that self-destructive war which rages still:
of burning and polluting all our common home
even where human beings lay claim to peace:

Dear God,
give peace, give justice,
give healing, give joy.

Christ, embodied in the church,
welcomed by branches.
both local and worldwide.

We bring to You the hopes and fears
of our communities
in times of transitionasking
that despite such burdens
as we may carry close to home,
we find faithfulness in the unity
for which You prayed
and share wholeheartedly
the affection and awe
of Christ for the nature
which surrounded Him.

Grant Your church courage
to fulfil Your Great Commission
of "Good News for Every Creature",
that ‘they may know we are Christians'
by our love for the Earth,
to live more sustainably.

Dear God,
give peace, give justice,
give healing, give joy.

Dear God in community
We pray, as You commended us,
both for those we love and care for
as also for those who choose to be our enemies.
For Your prayer was that none should be lost.

We remember those who are unwell, those in hospital, or housebound.
those whose task, today and through the night, is to care for them.

We remember those facing the stress of difficult decisions,
of thresholds of life,
of anniversaries, and special days.

And those things beyond the words we want to share.

Silence

Dear God,
give peace, give justice,
give healing, give joy.

Amen.

Blessing / Closing prayer

May Your heart and the hearts of Your people be stirred
As the trees of the forest are moved by the wind

As the stones shatter silence
May we cry for justice

May we cherish the homeland
We share with God's creatures

And as we have welcomed Jesus with branches and singing
May we take up the cross for the life of the world.

And may the blessing of
the God who sustains,
the God who turns tables,
and the wild wind
who powers the better world we long and pray for
be with and in and for you now,
and in all that lives ahead.

AMEN.

Musical suggestions

God Welcomes All (GWA) is the new supplement to Church Hymnary Fourth Edition. This exciting new collection features over 200 hymns and songs in a wide range of styles by writers from Scotland and around the world.

The full music and words-only versions are now available; and digital resources, including the expansion of the existing Church of Scotland music website, will be published in due course, with streaming functions and further information on each song; backing tracks; and lyric videos. God Welcomes All is available to order from here

Our online music resource is on the Church of Scotland website; you can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship. You will also find playlists for this week and liturgical seasons and themes on the Weekly Worship and Inspire Me tabs.

You can find further musical suggestions for this week in a range of styles on the Songs for Sunday blog from Trinity College Glasgow.

• GWA 153 - "God the maker of the heavens" - for opening or closing of a lively Palm Sunday service

• GWA 155 – " Let all creation sing before the Lord" - song of praise

• GWA 114 – "Praise is rising" – call of Hosanna

• CH4 354 - "All glory Laud and honour" - majestic traditional processional hymn

• CH4 804 - "You shall go out with joy" - very lively processional setting of a Biblical text involving the personalities of Creation in praise, and delightfully subversive, as it's one of the few for which normally non-clapping congregations join in with the trees.

• CH4 458 – "At the name of Jesus" a confident interpretation of the Philippians passage

• CH4 200 – "Christ is made the sure foundation" - Majestic hymn, with connection with ‘Christ the cornerstone' in Psalm 118

• CH4 371 – "Lay down your head Lord Jesus Christ " - a lullaby-esque thoughtful meditation on Jesus, resting after the triumphal entry.

• "Travelling the road to freedom" - From 'The Courage to Say No' 23 Songs for Lent and Easter Text and tune ©Wild Goose Resource Group

• "Confitemini Domino" - Taize chant in various collections, based on Psalm 118

Reflecting on our worship practice

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the way we worship has changed and we need to reflect on the changing or newly established patterns that emerged and continue to emerge as a result of the disruption.

We can facilitate worship for all by exploring imaginative approaches to inclusion, participation and our use of technologies in ways that suit our contexts. This is not an exhaustive list, but some things we could consider are:

• Framing various parts of the worship service in accessible language to help worshippers understand the character and purpose of each part. This is essential for creating worship for all (intergenerational worship) that reflects your community of faith.
• Holding spaces for reflection and encouraging prayer to be articulated in verbal and non-verbal ways, individually and in online breakout rooms.
• In online formats the effective use of the chat function and microphone settings encourages active participation in prayer, e.g. saying the Lord's Prayer together unmuted, in a moment of ‘holy chaos'.
• While singing in our congregations is still restricted, we can worship corporately by using antiphonal psalm readings, creeds and participative prayers.
• Using music and the arts as part of the worship encourages the use of imagination in place of sung or spoken words.
• Use of silence, sensory and kinaesthetic practices allow for experience and expression beyond regular audio and visual mediums.

The following questions might help you develop a habit of reflecting on how we create and deliver content and its effectiveness and impact, and then applying what we learn to develop our practice.

• How inclusive was the worship?
  Could the worship delivery and content be described as worship for all/ intergenerational?
  Was it sensitive to different "Spiritual Styles"?
• How was the balance between passive and active participation?
• How were people empowered to connect with or encounter God?
  What helped this?
  What hindered this?
• How cohesive was the worship?
  Did it function well as a whole?
  How effective was each of the individual elements in fulfilling its purpose?
• How balanced was the worship?
  What themes/topics/doctrines/areas of Christian life were included?
• How did the worship connect with your context/contemporary issues?
  Was it relevant in the everyday lives of those attending and in the wider parish/ community?
  How well did the worship connect with local and national issues?
  How well did the worship connect with world events/issues?
• What have I learned that can help me next time I plan and deliver worship?

Useful links

You can listen to samples of every song in the Church Hymnary 4th edition (CH4) and download a selection of recordings for use in worship in our online hymnary.

You are free to download, project, print and circulate multiple copies of any of this material for use in worship services, bible studies, parish magazines, etc., but reproduction for commercial purposes is not permitted.

Please note that the views expressed in these materials are those of the individual writer and not necessarily the official view of the Church of Scotland, which can be laid down only by the General Assembly.