Palm Sunday

Readings: Luke 19v28-40; Psalm 118v1-2&19-end; Isaiah 50v4-9a; Psalm 31v9-16; Philippians 2v5-11; Luke 22v14 – end of 23.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

A Word: Psalm 118 tells us that: the Lord is good and ever merciful; the one who has promised to send us a saviour; the saviour sent in the name of the Lord to give us the light we need to be saved; the one who we are called to give thanks to and praise forever.

In Isaiah we hear a prophetic word about the Lord’s servant, the one who listens to and obeys God, the one who knows that terrible things are going to happen, the one who will face horrors still to come, the one who puts his trust in the Lord God who will help him. In Psalm 31, we hear another prophetic word in which the Lord’s servant is suffering because pf the schemes being plotted against him, because of the persecution he is facing, and the way he is going to die. Yet in spite of the Lord’s servant’s torment, he completely trusts in the Lord’s plans and purposes.

In the 1st reading from Luke, we hear that Jesus made preparations for his final journey into Jerusalem. For it had been foretold long ago that the promised Messiah would arrive riding on the colt of a donkey. So it is no surprise that as Jesus rode into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, that people who saw him cheered him because they were convinced that this was the Messiah. However, we also heard that not everyone in the crowd was as convinced because they told Jesus to order the crowd to stop calling him the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

In Philippians we hear that Paul, the former persecutor of the Christians, who met with the risen Lord on the Road to Damascus, believes that Jesus is the not only the Messiah but also God. God who was born and lived a human life. God who became humble and obedient like a slave. God who allowed humankind to murder him so that we could see how much he cares for us. God who is highly exalted in heaven and to whom everyone will one day bend the knee.

This is the Jesus we heard about in the 2nd reading from Luke who faced all the terrible things that happened to him so that we can be saved.

Let us Pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who loves the human race so much that you sent your son Jesus as a servant into our world to save us. Prompt us to proclaim Jesus as Lord and King and give us minds to follow his example of obedience, patience and humility. We pray that we will be resurrected to the place where Jesus is alive and reigning with you. Amen

Thanks for joining us today.