Rev John began the
service in a way that I’m sure all people reading this service would want to
share and so I am including that part in full.
Call
to Worship (Abingdon Worship Annual 2018)
Exaltation and joy... Passover sacrifice and betrayal
... death and life: such is the terrain of Holy Week. Such are waters that
sweep us through the holy mystery of our faith. Now is the time to count the
cost of discipleship. Now is the time to follow Jesus.
When
they came to Bethpage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave two
disciples a task, saying to them, “Go into the village. As soon as you enter it
you will find tied up a colt that no one has ridden. Untie it and bring it
here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘Its master needs
it.’”
This
is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
They
brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes upon it, and Jesus sat on it.
Many
people
spread out their clothes on the road while others spread branches cut from the
fields.
Bind
the festival procession with palm branches. Open the gates of righteousness for
us so we can come in and give thanks to the Lord.
This
is the Lord’s gate; those who are righteous enter through it.
Enter
the gates of righteousness with shouts of thanksgiving. Hosanna! Blessings on
the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
The
stone the builders rejected is now the foundation stone.
This
is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our sight!
The
Lord is God, and God has given us light as a lamp to our feet.
The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
This
is the day that the Lord has made.
Let
us rejoice and be glad in it!
Hymn TIS 333:
“All glory, praise and honour” With this hymn we joined with the people of that
time, confessing our belief and honouring Jesus.
Opening
Prayer
In
this Prayer Rev. John led us, alerting to us to a crucial point about this
event:
But
never let us forget where this week ends. For the one who emptied himself for
our sake,
took
the form of a servant and was betrayed and denied by his disciples and closest
friends.
Prayer
of Confession
“…Forgive
our wayward feet and our fickle hearts: when we are consumed with doubt,
when
we succumb to our weakness, when we give in to the impulse of betrayal, when we
turn
away in denial, when we confuse expedience with virtue…”
In
your holy name, we pray. Amen.
Declaration
of Forgiveness
God
has opened the gates of righteousness and Christ has beckoned us to walk
through.
Sing
with the children; throw your clothes upon the road, for the one who comes in
the
name
of the Lord offers us salvation in his name. Thanks, be to God!
I found
these first parts of the service especially moving and so wanted to share them
but I have been left with less space to conclude. I will do my best.
We shared
the peace and for me it seemed perhaps even more significant
than at
other times. Even the offering which is a more practical expression of our
faith seemed to hold extra meaning:
Like
broken vessels, we need God’s healing. Like those who are dead, we need the
stirring of God’s Spirit within us. As we extend our hearts to those in need,
we find God’s healing and experience God’s Spirit making us whole. In our giving
this day, may we bear witness to the one who delivers us from evil, strengthens
us to stand, and makes us whole again.
Many
parts of the service had significance such as the hymns, the men’s singing and
the children’s talk but I want to include Rev. John’s message as he took us on
a journey of memory, recalling for us
the many times we entered the life of Jesus as part of the crowd.
During
Holy Week; in Bethlehem; during Passover when Jesus was just a boy teaching in
the Temple, we were there. We were there in the crowd, there at his baptism and
witnessing the miracles and we were there lauding Jesus as the Messiah. Some of
us stayed during that terrible time. But if we were transported back to that
time when Jesus rode into Jerusalem we couldn't be celebrating with the rest of
the crowd:
“We
couldn't. We know the rest of the story. Why would anyone want him to die? Why
don't his twelve good friends find a hidden way out of the city and take him
back to Bethany? He could go back to Bethany and be safe in the home of Mary,
Martha, and Lazarus! He could live to a ripe old age and stay here to love us!
We cannot live without that love!…
Yet,
Jesus is He Who is Always There. The forever of the resurrection is the hope on
which our faith is based. But, we’re not there yet... The cross and then the
crown. We must find it within ourselves to remain beside the donkey and the man
and be with him in the temple and the garden and on Golgotha.
This is the Jesus
whom we must face. The bleeding and bruised Good Shepherd who has carried all
of his sheep on his shoulders since time began. We must not let him go on
alone. Amen”
This
evocative message underpinned the celebratory singing of the next hymn, so well
known to us all.
Hymn TIS 348: “Ride on, ride on in majesty”
Laurel led us in the
Prayers of the People, extending the message Rev. John had preached into the
world about us. When we look at the world’s problems it must be through the
perspective of the sacrifice Jesus made to show us the way.
Hymn TIS 357: “When his time was over the palms lay where they fell”
Benediction
On the back of a
donkey, Jesus came to bless us.
With a love that did
not count the cost, Jesus came to heal us.
From hopelessness and
despair, Jesus came to free us.
With the power of the
Holy Spirit Jesus came to save us
May your life declare
the lordship of Jesus Christ, to
the glory of God!
Amen!
Hymn 776: “Aaronic Blessing,”
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