'From palms to the passion' - thoughts for Palm Sunday and Holy Week

It's Palm Sunday, marking the beginning of Holy Week, and the beginning of the end to Jesus' walk to the Cross and beyond. In our service of worship, as has become our usual practice over the years, we begin with palms and end with the sealing of the tomb; from cheers to jeers as the crowd turns against Jesus. 

Our readings for today reflect that journey:
1st reading – Luke 19:28-40 The entry into Jerusalem;
2nd reading – Luke 22:1-6 The plot against Jesus;
3rd reading – Luke 22:39-46 Jesus prays;
4th reading  Luke 22:47-53 The arrest of Jesus;
5th READING Luke 22:63-71; 23:1-12 Jesus on trial; 

6th READING Luke 23:13-25 Jesus sentenced to death; 

7th READING Luke 23:26-43 Jesus is crucified; 

8th READING Mark 15:33-47 The death of Jesus 

On the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, the crowds lined the streets, threw cloaks down upon the dusty road, waved palm branches, shouted 'Hosanna!' - save us. 

The palms tell their own story...

The palms tell a story

of a God who loved creation,

and a creation

who fell out of love with God.

Of a God who showed the way

through prophets who were silenced 

by the people who turned their backs.

Of a God who chose to become human,

and live this life in this world.

 

The palms tell a story

of a Saviour who was the word of life

but the people did not listen.

The Saviour spoke of justice for the poor

and food for the hungry

but the people did not listen.

The Saviour spoke of freedom

to all those oppressed,

but still the people did not believe.

The palms tell a story

of the man who rode into Jerusalem,

and the crowd cheered

of David and his progeny,

of the king of the Jews,

the king on a donkey

riding into the city of David

and the people recognised him:

‘Hosanna in the highest!’

The palms tell a story

for this is the journey to a table

of bread and wine

and friends gathered:

bread broken,

wine poured, for all.

 And he said:

‘re-member me,

re-member me,

re-member me.’

The palms tell a story

of the one taken from the table

to the garden.

 And from the garden

to the council.

And from the council

to the soldiers.

And from the soldiers

to the way of the cross.

The palms tell a story

of a saviour whose time

does not finish here.

As we move into this week and walk the last steps to the Cross with Jesus, a prayer and blessing:

May we whisper our hosannas throughout this week.

In every moment when the world goes silent on the cause of God

may we continue to cry out the beat –

the hosanna beat –

that marks the rhythm of this week;

In the sound of breaking bread may we hear the broken hosanna

and still believe in love’s way;

in the sound of coins being counted may we hear the betrayed hosanna

yet still trust in love’s choice;

in the twisting of the crown of thorns may we hear the tortured hosanna

and still believe in love’s way;

in the sound of the lashes, all thirty-nine, may we hear the scourged hosanna

yet still trust in love’s choice;

in the sound of nails being hammered may we hear the crucified hosanna

and still believe in love’s way

in the sound of silence may we hear the empty hosanna

yet still trust in love’s choice.

May we remain with Jesus

by whispering our hosannas throughout this week:

in every moment may we remain with you, O Jesus -

still believing

still following

still your companions...

And as we travel with you:

may God’s blessing be upon us all:

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Amen.

Update for period Mon 2nd - Wed 18th Feb.

The minister is currently on annual leave from Mon 2nd - Wed 18th Feb inclusive.

During this time...
for general parish matters, please contact -
Dr Dee Yates, 01864 504093 or/
Ms Heather Watt, 01899 850211 or email at hwatt37@icloud.com 

And, for urgent pastoral cover(for Upper Clyde only), contact: Rev. George Shand, who can be reached on 07765987163 or via email: georgeshand@live.co.uk 

'Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits'

Michael Leunig cartoon on the theme of rest/ recharging

Hello - just a wee catch up. Given we're cutting back a wee bit from weekly online worship, I'll try to pop in here on a regular basis just to touch base and give you a flavour of what we've been doing in worship onsite in the church building at Abington.... 

Our theme for worship this week centred around Sabbath and rest.
We explored the tradition and history of Sabbath and then reflected on
some stories found within Luke's Gospel:
Luke 6:1-11 and Luke 13:10-17

While there are a number of ways to enter into these texts, such as the power and authority of Jesus; healing; Jesus' run-in's with the religious authorities, the overriding theme that links both is found within the concept of Sabbath and Sabbath rest. Often the Pharisees are cast in a very bad light as 'killjoys', overburdening people with rigorous rules and regulations. This would be to dismiss them too easily. It could be argued [and has been] that the Pharisees were the progressives of the day, trying to find better ways to connect heart and soul to God. Their instrument to do this was through the Law: a useful code of conduct and practice that, if adhered to, would help to ensure a person was in a good relationship with God.

Within the contexts of our readings today, however, Jesus is not challenging the concept of Sabbath, and trying to destroy it, rather, he's trying to better restore it to its original purpose as that which is life-giving, joy-giving, a re-creation, and way to wholeness. Sabbath is not the master of humanity, it is the servant, enabling people to find their joy, their meaning, to have space to recharge. If even God rested, having made all of creation, then, that is a model for us to do likewise. And Sabbath is also about liberation. When Moses receives the Ten Commandments, the 4th Commandment requires God's people to remember the Sabbath and provides further reasoning: Sabbath is done to remember their freedom, having been delivered from slavery out of Egypt. Under the rule of Pharoah, conditions become increasingly harsh, and more and more bricks were required to be made - taking time off was not possible. Under the rule of God, time off is part of what it is to be one of God's people. Slaves don't get time off; free people do. 
By the time of Jesus, and the Roman Empire, Sabbath was embedded into the culture; it was a practice that marked Jewish people out from other nations. While some Romans may have seen the benefits of a day off to recharge, mostly, the idea of Sabbath was ridiculed, and thought of as laziness.

Within our modern society, busyness and being constantly on the go, has become widespread. Sometimes the pace of life can feel truly relentless and to take a break is seen as a sign of weakness. This was epitomised in the film 'Wall Street' through the character of Gordon Gecko, who summed up the attitude in his oft-quoted 'Lunch is for wimps'.
To rest, then, is to be subversive, counter-cultural, an act of resistance in a world where too often, human beings are viewed as merely cogs in the machine. Whether a Saturday or Sunday, or whatever day of the week, as God's people, let's challenge the prevailing culture and choose rest; rest that reminds us that we are God's people, that we live within God's creation [take time to smell the roses, and in so doing, appreciate the one who created them], a practice which restores and recharges us and helps us to be whole.

May you find breathing spaces and places of rest this week,

Blessings
Nikki