Category: Palm Sunday

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The call of steadfast love.

© Ally Barrett (www.reverendally.org) and used by permission

BACKGROUND READING: PSALM 118 AND MARK 11:1-11

The first woman of Holy Week is Miriam. She is practical and down to earth. She doesn’t like living under Roman occupation but realises that her family’s well-being relies on her finding a way to live with it. She lives in Sephorris where she and her family make a good living as fish traders. They have travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival.

She comes to this festival with mixed feelings. She loves the sense of togetherness and hope that the festival brings, but hates the jostling and disagreements that come with being part of a large and excited crowd.

A woman of deep faith she lives with the hope and expectation that the Messiah will come and set her people free. As she walks with the rest of the crowd she carries the image of the Messiah, weary, exhausted and quietly triumphant, riding towards Jerusalem. She puts her whole heart and soul into singing:

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: his steadfast love endures for ever.”

Then she sees a surprising sight. Two people bring a donkey and a man got onto it, riding it she says “just like I always imagined the King would have done – except that it was a donkey and not that impressive”.

A little impatient with the gesture she initially him as another “wannabe Messiah”. Something in the man’s demeanour compels her to look again. It’s then that she sees past the externals and recognises the Messiah at the centre of this unlikely scene.

Where is Christ calling you to recognise his steadfast love in unexpected places this Holy Week?

You can listen to Paula Gooder read Miriam’s story here:

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Women of Holy Week

Photo by Rebecca Peterson-Hall on unsplash.com

From Palm Sunday I’ll be using Paula Gooder’s book “Women of Holy Week” as the basis of my prayer. They tell the stories of ordinary women, some we know from the gospels, though their stories are not elaborated there. Others are not mentioned in the gospel, but it’s possible that someone like them was there in the crowd.

All of their lives were touched and changed, either by encountering Jesus on his journey through Holy Week and Easter or by hearing about him. from others. I will include a link to Paula’s audio reflection at the end of each day’s post.

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Benedictine Spirituality Christ Divine Office Gospel Holy Week Lectio Divina Lent Palm Sunday Scripture

Sing Hosanna.

Image © Turvey Abbey

The 40th word in my Lent lexicon is:

HOSANNA.

Palm Sunday resounds with hosannas as Jesus entered Jerusalem surrounded by joyful and hopeful followers. The joy reflects the ancient hope that has sustained the people through generations of occupation and suffering:

“Blessed is he who comes to free us, David’s son our Lord and King! Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, all your love and worship bring.”

Yet we know how quickly those hosannas turn to the jeers that leads to crucifixion and death. The people have come out full of hope and expectation. When their need isn’t instantly met in the way they expect it soon turns to anger and frustration.

This movement is mirrored in our liturgy where we move almost immediately from celebrating this triumphal entry to listening to the reading of the Passion. All this can make it tempting to dismiss those Palm Sunday hosannas as superficial, even false.

This misses an important point. The hosannas of Palm Sunday remind us that we don’t have to wait until life is perfect to praise God. Even when life is fragile, uncertain, even when we are angry and frustrated and our needs are not being met we can sing hosanna.

Beginning holy week singing hosannas helps us to focus. It reminds us that although in this week we face the worst we can do and the worst we can be that is not the end of the story. We can carry those Palm Sunday hosannas in our hearts as we move through the darkness of Holy Week and Good Friday until we come out into the new light of resurrection.

What hosanna are you being invited to carry through this Holy Week?

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Welcoming the uncontainable God.

After I wrote my post for Palm Sunday I went to the Vigil and heard again the beautiful second reading from St Andrew of Crete. It’s too good not to share again. Here’s a reflection on the reading from our archives.

Image by Andrew Martin from pixabay.com

Every year at on the Eve of Palm Sunday we listen to a beautiful reading from the writings of St Andrew of Crete. It sums up Palm Sunday for me, opening the way to Holy Week and setting the tone for it. I return again and again to these words:

“Let us imitate those who have gone out to meet him, not scattering olive branches or garments or palms in his path, but spreading ourselves before him as best we can, with humility of soul and upright purpose. So may we welcome the Word as he comes, so may God, who cannot be contained within any bounds, be contained within us.”

We are living in uncertain and challenging times. In the midst of much hardship we’re discovering much about the God cannot be contained and about the myriad of ways that God can transform our lives. We’ve also learned much about the boundaries and limitations we are tempted to try to erect around God.

We’re moving into Holy Week aware of the sufferings and uncertainties in our fragile and broken lives and world, knowing that it’s beyond our power to fix it. With all that in our hearts we can move into Holy Week aware of our need for the transforming presence of “God who cannot be contained within any bounds” nurturing us in the depths of our hearts.

As we move into Holy Week where are you discovering the God “who cannot be contained within any bounds”?

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Christ Cross Gospel Lectio Divina Lent Liturgy Palm Sunday Scripture Uncategorized

With a disciples’ ear

Image ©Turvey Abbey

This Palm Sunday I’m reflecting on the first reading from the prophet Isaiah. I’m especially struck by these words:

“Each morning he wakes me to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord has opened my ear.”

The liturgy for Palm Sunday can be a bit of a challenge. There’s so much going on that it can leave me feeling a bit distracted. So my hope is that the attentive listening Isaiah calls me to will help me find where I need to focus in order to best hear the words the Lord has for me this year.

The reading of the passion compels us to face some challenging truths. The Jewish New Testament scholar, Amy Jill Levine points out that the passion is a powerful story. If we let it, it can speak to & change our hearts, listening to it becomes a risky & uncomfortable business.

As we watch the disciples struggle through it with a mixture of failure and courage, hope and despair our own consciences are pricked. It calls us to reflect on where we have misunderstood, betrayed, or fallen asleep when we should have been awake to the suffering of those around us.

As we see Jesus condemned and moving towards crucifixion it’s hard to avoid some hard questions about the value we place on life, our own lives and the lives of others, especially the lives of those who are pushed to the margins.

As we move into Palm Sunday where is Christ calling you to wake up and listen?