In worship today we experienced the range of Holy Week emotions as we observed Palm Sunday and read the Passion Gospel. Worship began with the reminder that God loves humanity so much that God sent Jesus to lead us to salvation. Our lesson from Hebrew scripture from the Prophet Isaiah offers the assurance that each day we are able to hear the redeeming story of God’s grace. But the message of God’s grace doesn’t preclude us from the pain of human existence. The Psalmist sang a song to God asking God to have mercy on them because that is what God has promised – to never leave us without hope. The lesson from Paul’s letter to the Philippians reminds us that Jesus was willing to surrender his divinity to restore us to relationship with God. The homily today was based or refocuses the story of the Passion. While the procession of the Palms and the Passion seem chaotic, it can help propel us into Holy Week recognizing both the sin which separates and the immenseness of God’s grace which saves us. It also reminds us that our present sin is part of the reason Jesus had to die for our salvation – not simply the sins of “those people back then.”
May the message of hope carry you through the remainder of your Lenten journey.
I invite your comments and likes,
Les+
Readings: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 119:9-16; Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33
