Praying Palm Sunday
“Just as God was entrusted into human hands in the Incarnation, hands that carefully, lovingly swaddled, fed, caressed and held him, so also the Son of Man is betrayed into human hands that will slap, bind, torture, and nail him to a cross. It is our hands that betray this Son of Man. Our hands betray the one who made us with his own hands. ”
– Br. Keith Nelson
On Palm Sunday, we begin the journey to Calvary that we will live out across the next week. We are invited to join the crowd in shouting “Hosanna” and “Crucify.” And we are invited to accompany our Lord in the dramatic events of his final days.
How will you journey alongside Jesus this week?
Audio:
The Passion According to Matthew
Sermons:
“Unquiet Silence” – Br. Mark Brown
An invitation to experience Palm Sunday – and the rest of the Holy Week – with all of our senses alive to its poetry and its drama.
“Why?” – Br. David Vyrhof
Why must God’s Servant enter into the darkest rhythms of the human condition? Perhaps it’s the only way they can be challenged and undone, once and for all.
“Singing Hosanna, Screaming Crucify” – Br. James Koester
Palm Sunday is a chance to discover once more all that is within us, both light and dark, both good and evil.
“That We Might Lovely Be” – Br. Luke Ditewig
On Palm Sunday we encounter again how Jesus is Love shown to the least, the lost and the last at every opportunity.
“Steal Away” – Br. Tom Shaw
Letting the power of Jesus’ humility, self-sacrifice, and surrender soak into us during Holy Week gives us the power to stand on the edge of glory every day.
“How Awesome” – Br. Mark Brown
Palm Sunday prepares us to be restored, renewed, renovated, recreated—born again.
“The Weight of the Cross” – Br. Geoffrey Tristram
On Palm Sunday, we embrace both the weight of the cross and the wealth of its love.
Video:
Vulnerability – Br. Curtis Almquist
My journey this week is to let myself feel the sadness in my life and in this story, without pushing it away with busy-ness, even the important work of preparing for and leading worship.
My journey with Jesus starts on this Palm Sunday, with great expectations and joy. The mood shifts rapidly, and the growing shadows of the days to come rapidly darken. I have to walk this journey to truly celebrate Easter.
Amen.