Prayers of the People: The End of the Beginning ~ The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday '21 Yr B

For Sunday, March 28, 2021, Readings: Mark 1:1-11, Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, The Passion according to Mark 14:1-15:47

     Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" [Mark 11:9]

          Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. [Isaiah 50:8]

         But as for me, I have trusted in you, O LORD, I have said, "You are my God, my times are in your hand... 

[Psalm 31:14-15a]

        Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus...and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Philippians 2:5, 11]

   Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." So when [Jesus] came [the betrayer] went up to him and said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. 

[Mark 14:44-45]

       [Peter] began to curse, and he swore an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about." At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept. [Mark 14:71-72]

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday

        What a day it was! The palms, the cloaks, and branches on the road with cheering and exuberance for this Jesus, heralded as a prophet and a known miracle worker, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey [a donkey was symbol of peace, a warrior king would have ridden a horse]. It was all being carefully watched by the Roman occupiers and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council who had its own police force and trial court. 

       Just as suddenly as the air fills with joyous gusto, the week turns deadly and the same crowd’s Hosannas turn to shouts of Crucify him! And this is the Sunday we revisit, re-enact, and relive it all through the appointed readings.

      Decades ago the celebration of Palm Sunday and the commemoration that was Passion Sunday were two separate successive Sundays. These were later combined into the one-Sunday, two-part Liturgy we have now. At first thought it seems a shame to shortcut the two experiences and yet, I think, it can truly heighten the experience of both parts ~ if we let it. It highlights the stunning speed at which any and many of us can be manipulated into changing what we think we believe, and by virtue of who is telling us, we can be artfully redirected to know that we want to believe whatever he/she/they are saying. 

       Yet, whether we are attending church in person this Sunday, or more likely watching online once more, how much of the combined readings do we really hear, feel, or think about? We’ve heard them all before, or at least we know the story. The readings are long, even if acted out more than simply read. Where am I in this? Am I listening, or watching the clock, warming the coffee or tea in the microwave, answering texts, or thinking about the grocery list for Easter baskets and Easter Dinner and peeps, jelly beans, and chocolate bunnies? 

     Am I willing to look at the world as it is now, how many examples of crowd-manipulating, politically- and religiously- and racially-motivated-murders take place every day in my country and around the world? Am I willing to wonder what it is that I could possibly do about it now? Or, at the very least, am I even considering who and what Jesus is to me? 

    When my younger grand-daughter was 4 she loved singing a little happy-clappy ditty she learned in Vacation Bible School, "I am following Jesus" and her volume increased exponentially ~ as she also learned ~ with the line he changed my life forever. So, wise and self-proclaimed Christian grandmother that I think I am, the hard question for myself, again, is how am I following Jesus? Has he changed my life forever, or, more to the point, have I let him? When have I betrayed and deserted him ~ or if that's too hard for me to willingly acknowledge ~ when have I ignored him? Yes, Palms AND Passion today, and it's here all week! And, it's here every day of every year that I choose to profess my faith in all that I think and do ~ often uncomfortable, unpopular in places, but oh so redeeming. 

    Anticipating the Gospel events as they arise this week, I resolve to start over, re-read the lessons, pray with them, and seek the courage and confidence to live into and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God [Phillipians 2:11]. It is time for me to look at each day in this Holy Week, again, as if for the first time, as a sincere period of reflection, penance, and re-commitment. There's no Easter without Good Friday, and when I am following Jesus ~ the real Jesus ~ my life does change, and the rising joy is palpable. Holy Week is the end of the beginning of Jesus, as Christ takes us forward into Forever.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
 
Leader:  ~ Jesus, Light of God, today we begin with Hallelujah and Hosanna and end with Heartbreak and Hostility. How quickly the crowds turn, prodded by intentional distortion of truth, political manipulation, and betrayal. Grant us the courage to listen deeply, to walk the path to Your coming death as if for the first time, to stand with You through it all now, and to never deny that You are our Messiah, our Lord.
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!                                          
             RESPONSE:        Our Strength and our Redeemer
 
~ Jesus, Light of God, embolden us to earnestly engage the leaders of this World, this Country, and this Community, to confront and eliminate the fear mongering, treachery, and racism that lead to cruel deaths like Yours. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Our Strength and our Redeemer
 
~ Jesus, Light of God, enfold with Your loving arms all who are ill, desperate, or hopeless, and all who worry and care for them. We now join our hearts to pray aloud for those in need… We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions

                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Our Strength and our Redeemer
           
~ Jesus, Light of God, You came to lead us all into the glory of eternal life through Your gift of Salvation. We rejoice in knowing that those we mourn are alive again with You, in everlasting peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Our Strength and our Redeemer
 
~ Jesus, Light of God, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Our Strength and our Redeemer
                       
~ Jesus, Light of God, as we begin this sacred week, endow our spiritual leaders with extraordinary grace, that we may all be drawn together, to be opened and accept the same mind in us that was in You, and live always aware of Your continuous life-changing embrace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
 
                                                Hosanna! Messiah!
                                                Our Strength and our Redeemer
 
The Celebrant adds:  O God of Enduring Mercy, guide our experience this day and the fullness of the week to come with awareness of the times when we, too, have deserted and betrayed Jesus by turning first to the ways of this world. Grant us the willingness to confess through our thoughts, words, and actions that Jesus Christ IS Lord, to the Glory of You, our God. We ask this through our Savior Christ, Your Holy and Sanctified Son; and the Most Holy Spirit, Your Breath and Wisdom within us; who live and reign with You, One God, now and forever. Amen. 

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