Welcome to Holy Week as we prepare for the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday and the last of the journey to Holy Week.
We began worship with the reenactment of the procession into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Our invitation into worship was a prayer and reminder of God’s tenderness demonstrated in the Passion of Jesus as God incarnate. Our Hebrew scripture from the prophet Isaiah is often called the third servant song – the one who would save Israel from their sin. The Psalmist’s refrain recounts the lament spoken by Israel when they felt abandoned by God yet recalls God’s providence. The reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians highlights that our goal is to live our life with Christ’s ethos and reasoning in all we do. Our Gospel was Luke’s account of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the Betrayal, the Crucifixion, and death.
Palm Sunday is an emotional day – the entire Passion Gospel and all the acts that help us remember the entry into Jerusalem, betrayal, and death of Jesus. While the gravity of the Passion and Holy Week may not feel hopeful, Paul invites us to remember that Christ’s ethos and reasoning led him to bind humanity to God – thus the real death we experience is not the end. When we live life with Christ at the center, we recognize that things won’t be comfortable, easy, or painless but Christ’s Passion helps us see past the present reality to see God’s grace. The pain we really experience is not the end, rather the hope shown by Jesus who bore everything for us. Our mission is to help others walk with us with hope for our mutual future.
I invite your likes and comments,
Les+
Readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:59
https://audiomack.com/fatherles-2/song/palm-sunday-sermon-1
