Lent 6/Palm Sunday 13/04/2025
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OPENING SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit (Psalm 31)
HYMN
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
KYRIE
sung by Dougie Byers
COLLECT
(for Liturgy of Palms)
Assist us, Lord God of our salvation:
that we may enter with joy
the mysteries of this most Holy Week,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
COLLECT
(for Liturgy of the Passion)
Almighty God,
who, in your tender love for the human race,
sent your Son, our saviour Jesus Christ,
to take our nature upon him,
and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us the example of his great humility:
mercifully grant,
that we may both follow the example of his passion,
and also, be made partakers of his resurrection;
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING:
Isaiah 50: 4-9a
read by David Kerr
The servant of the LORD said: 4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens – wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.
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5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards. 6 I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide may face from insult and spitting. 7 The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; 8 he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. 9 It is the Lord GOD who helps me; who will declare me guilty?
SILENCE
SECOND READING:
Philippians 2: 5-11
read by Kate Lidwell
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
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10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL READING:
Luke 19, 28-40
read by the Rev Chris Wren
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke, Chapter 19, beginning at verse 28
Glory to Christ our Saviour
28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
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.”
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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 Now as he was 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.”
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
Palm Sunday – and we gather at the beginning of this Holy Week which will culminate in the horror of death by crucifixion and the glory of resurrection. We have read Luke’s account of our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and of the welcoming cries of, in Luke’s words, “…the whole multitude of the disciples … saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’” How does this speak to us in our world today?
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There’s a small village, by the name of Tolou, located on the southwestern coast of Cote d’Ivoire, close to the Liberian border, just up from the most beautiful beach and the Atlantic Ocean! I had the privilege of sharing in this village’s first ever celebration of Palm Sunday many years ago now, after its people had decided to become Christian. We simply told the story of that first Palm Sunday and the immediate reaction of everyone in that little village chapel was: “Let’s do it!” Everyone, young and old, went out, cut down palm branches and danced and sang around the village! I think that first Palm Sunday in Jerusalem must have been something like that. A joyous, welcoming celebration.
Whilst I can never come to Palm Sunday without remembering Tolou and its people, there’s a lot more going on here. Jesus is indeed king – but a king unlike any other, humble, riding on a colt, a donkey, ready to go the way of the cross for the sake of our world, for the sake of all humanity.
We need to go back to Israel’s first request for a king. That request is made of Samuel (1 Samuel Ch 8) who, at first, rejects that request, because the only true king is God Himself. To ask for a king like the other nations is to reject God. So, when finally, Saul, David and rest become kings of the nation, the understanding of kingship that they are meant to embody is, in effect, a priestly role of representing God before the people, and the people before God. In practice, of course, it was a model of kingship doomed to failure because of the way that power, and its abuse, can so easily corrupt. A truth, a reality, which we have seen down the ages and which we observe only too clearly in our world today.
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Now, on this Palm Sunday, here is Jesus, showing us the nature of God, the true king, the servant of all, who will kneel at his disciples’ feet to wash them; who will allow himself to be arrested, tried and crucified; who will die and yet be raised to glory. And in that powerlessness is our healing, the healing of the world, the possibility of hope for all people, for all time. Here is love for you, for me, for all creation made real.
Here is our King. This Palm Sunday, may we welcome him to reign in our hearts. Amen.
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
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O Lord, we bring before you, first of all, our families, friends, neighbours and colleagues. We thank you for the joy they can bring us; we ask your forgiveness and your healing where relationships are not as good as they might be and we ask that we might always act towards one another with the love and care you show to us.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit.
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We commend to you the Church, which is Christ’s body locally, nationally and worldwide; for faith communities everywhere; we thank you for the ways in which they point to you, we ask you to grant time for repentance and amendment of life where those communities, including ourselves, fall short, and we remember those places where people of faith are persecuted, or the message of the faith is distorted by those in power.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit.
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We remember the strong, the powerful, we remember nations, leaders and governments, civic authorities, and all who wield power. Give them wisdom, integrity and a sense of the responsibility they bear towards you, as well as the people they serve. Preserve us from tyrants, the corrupt, the reckless and the cruel Help us choose our leaders with deliberation and discernment and preserve us from those who seek to spread lies, hatred or unkindness.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit.
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We ask your blessing, your protection and your healing on and for the weak, the sick, the powerless; those who are afraid or who are in want. May they know the comfort of your presence and your touch and may they be granted access to the human help they need as well. Show us, Lord, where we can help, and how to do so
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit.
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And lastly, we pray for ourselves. You alone, Lord, know and understand our needs and our wants. Help us ask for things in faith, knowing that you delight to give good things to us, your children, as do we to our own children or loved ones. We thank you for your promise that, if we acknowledge you in all our ways, you will make our paths straight. May we be able to thank you, at the end of each day by echoing the song, And I just want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life.
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit.
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
