Celebrant: Revd Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga

 

Introductory music: Living Hope

Let’s have a moment of silence and stillness before we begin…

We gather together in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.  

Hosanna in the highest.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Service of the Palms

This morning begins the greatest week of the Christian year.

During Lent we prepare ourselves by works of love and self-sacrifice for the celebration of the Lord’s death and resurrection. With Christians throughout the world, we come together this week to call to mind, and to express in word and action, the heart of the Easter mystery: our Lord’s Passover from death to life. Christ entered in triumph into the Holy City to complete his work as Messiah: to suffer, to die and to rise to new life. Today we commit ourselves to walk the way of the cross, so that, sharing his sufferings, we may be united with him in his risen life.

Blessing the Palms

Please hold the palm or paper cross you have made, or your green branch.

Sovereign God, we thank you for these branches and crosses, representing palms. By your blessing may they be for us signs of the victory of your Son. May we who carry them in his name ever hail him as our Messiah and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Processional for Palm Sunday

Let us praise Jesus our Messiah, as did the crowds who welcomed him to Jerusalem. Let us proceed in peace. In the name of Christ.

Amen

Hosanna, hosanna

Sung by Adrian Boynton, Director of Music

Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest;
hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest:
Lord, we lift up Your name,
with hearts full of praise.
Be exalted, O Lord my God –
hosanna in the highest.

Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings;
glory, glory, glory to the King of kings:
Lord, we lift up Your name,
with hearts full of praise.
Be exalted, O Lord my God –
glory to the King of kings.

Hosanna in the highest…

Words and music: Carl Tuttle (1985)

Prayer of Confession

Please hold up your palm crosses as we say these words together:

Lord Jesus, humble King, crucified Saviour and risen Lord, we remember how you said, if the people were silent, the stones would shout out. With these palm crosses we shout out. With these palms we give our thanks. With these palms we celebrate. With these palms we welcome you afresh into our hearts and lives.

Amen

Loving God, we are here in the name of Christ. We are here to confess our faults and failings, to seek your mercy and forgiveness, and to ask for grace and renewal in our lives.

Lord of life,

Hear us

Kyrie Aleison

May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Prayer of the Week

Healing God, as we prepare to worship you in our own homes,
we raise our palms and branches and shout together:
Hosanna to the Son of David!
We draw close to you humbly on this day that caused disturbance and disruption
just like our Lord who came to set us free and to change things for ever.
We too shout with joy: Hosanna to the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna to the King who will surely save us!

Amen

Isaiah 50: 4–9a

Read by Ian Trimnell

⁴ The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
⁵ The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears;
I have not been rebellious,
I have not turned away.
⁶ I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
⁷ Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
⁸ He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
⁹ It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.
Who will condemn me?

NIV®

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Song: My Song is Love Unknown

Played and sung by Adrian Boynton, Director of Music

My song is love unknown,
my Saviour’s love to me,
love to the loveless shown,
that they might lovely be.
O who am I,
that for my sake
my lord should take
frail flesh, and die?

He came from his blest throne,
salvation to bestow;
but men made strange, and none
the longed-for Christ would know.
But O, my Friend,
my Friend indeed,
who at my need
his life did spend!

Sometimes they strew his way,
and his sweet praises sing;
resounding all the day
hosannas to their King.
Then ‘Crucify!’
is all their breath,
and for his death
they thirst and cry.

Here might I stay and sing:
no story so divine;
never was love, dear King,
never was grief like thine!
This is my Friend,
in whose sweet praise
I all my days
could gladly spend.

Words: Samuel Crossman (1624–1683); music: John Ireland (1879–1962)

Matthew 21: 1–11

Jesus comes to Jerusalem as king

Read by Janet Trimnell

¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.’

⁴ This took place to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ ‘Say to Daughter Zion,
“See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”’

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’

‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’

‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’

¹¹ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’

NIV®

This is the Gospel of Christ.

Praise to Christ our light.

Sermon by Revd George Mwaura

Based on Isaiah 50: 4–9a and Mathew 21: 1–11

While reflecting on the passages before us and the message that I want share with you, in light of the ongoing pandemic, I have been very careful not to trivialize the pandemic, at the same time not allowing it to take control of our lectionary. I have therefore tried to jealously guard the message and identity of each Sunday while keeping COVID-19 in the background.…It’s a tricky balance and I wanted you to understand this before I start. …So, let us pray:

Living God; may the words I speak be the words you want spoken and may the message I deliver be truly inspired by you.

Amen

The story is told of a British SAS soldier who found himself on a third tour of duty in Iraq and wrote to his wife telling her of his seven new friends with whom he had developed a close friendship. I am so grateful, he said, because in this isolated and barren land a person could easily be driven to despair. When his next birthday came, there was a large package in the mail from the UK. When he opened it, he discovered not one gift, but eight gifts: one for him and one for each of his seven friends. The soldier looked at the eight presents and, with tears rolling down his cheeks, exclaimed: ‘That’s my wife for you! Yes, sir, that’s my wife!’ This wife was revealed by her actions. That was the kind of thing she would do; it was her nature: she was that kind of a person. Today, as we stand at the doorway of Holy Week, we look at the cross and we recall the whole story of pain, suffering, darkness and death. And as we gaze upon our King, arms spread wide in forgiving love, we proclaim like that soldier: ‘That’s our God for you! Yes, sir, that’s what our God is like!’

The rude intrusion of COVID-19 into our lives has demonstrated to us that world leaders can (when they chose to), understand the suffering of humanity and act in their interest in the style modelled by our Lord. Not dying literally but acting with compassion to those who are needy. It’s my sincere prayer that this is a lesson they will not forget when our lives have returned to their normal routine. The people of Israel at the time of Jesus were anxious and desperate in the face of a different virus: that of the brutal occupation by Rome and they welcomed Jesus in Jerusalem with the words: ‘Hosanna to the son of David!’  Hosanna literally means I beg you to save! or please deliver us! It’s a prayer we echo with the same passion and desperation. Because we too are anxious, and we desperately call on the Son of David this Palm Sunday to come and liberate us from the grip of this tyrant known as Corona. In this crisis, some people might mistakenly think that God has forsaken us: absolutely not! Even though we have been quick to forsake and betray him and his commandments, God still stands with us. After this darkness there will be an Easter for all; a time for renewal, for Christ’s death was not in vain. Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem signalled the start of the last week of His earthly ministry. So, this is a week is when we remember that our sinless Saviour took the punishment that we should be receiving. This is the week when we remember that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is the week when we are reminded that we can’t save ourselves, but in the darkness that we face; Christ can and will deliver us. It’s unfortunate that most people were ignorant of Christ’s identity then, and even now. There are three facts from this Palm Sunday event that I want to share with you.

First: Jesus always intrigues people.  We read in our passage that when he entered Jerusalem, the entire city was excited, and they asked: who is this? The crowd was intrigued by Jesus, even though they were confused about his identity. When a local survey team asked people in Cambridge city what historical figure, they would most like to spend a day with, two out of three chose Jesus, including 37 percent of those who claimed no church affiliation. Jesus had such charisma that people would sit three days straight, without food, just to hear his riveting words. Today no one would wait that long, except maybe for football tickets if their team made it to Wembley or outside shopping malls to catch the January sales. Jesus was a fascinating person who displayed a wide range of emotions: compassion for the sick and dying, tears for a dead friend, concern for his disciples and a warm hospitality that dangerously transcended racial and cultural boundaries. These are the same qualities we as his followers are asked to display and practice, especially in these dark days of anxiety.

The second fact is that Jesus is misunderstood by most people: The people of Jerusalem speculated about who Jesus was and most got it wrong on the issue of his identity. They thought he was just another prophet and nothing more. On a different occasion Jesus asked his disciples who people said he was, and they said: John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets.  People then, just like now, have a hard time getting a fix on who Jesus is. A lot of Christians have tried to domesticate and tame Jesus. They have turned him into something resembling a 1960s hippie; a sweet, meek-and-mild Jesus who wouldn’t hurt a fly. When Hollywood tries to present Jesus, they usually create an airbrushed Jesus who speaks in monotone, never smiles, and looks so surreal. But Jesus was utterly exuberant and frighteningly courageous. He enjoyed parties and loved to hang out with the politically incorrect. Some other people have tried to make Jesus the champion of their group’s ideology, but Jesus is bigger than anybody’s political agenda. I am heavily inclined to agree with C.S. Lewis when he said that: Jesus either was who he said he was, i.e. the Son of God, or else he was a madman or a liar. People have usually been wrong about who Jesus is. Try not to make the same mistake.

The third and central truth is this: Jesus becomes King one heart at a time: He wins the world, one heart at a time. He will never be elected by a popular majority. No dictator will ever install him as Lord of all. Every one of us in the privacy of our own hearts and souls must decide who he is. After Jesus questioned the disciples about the crowd’s perception of him, he asked them: but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter responded: you are the Christ of God. Each time a person makes such an affirmation of faith, Jesus is crowned in that person’s life as King. One of my favourite golfers on the professional tour is the American Tom Lehman. He often says: I think of myself as a Christian who plays golf, not as a golfer who is a Christian. What about you? Are you first a Christian and then retired professor, nurse, teacher, an accountant, a career, an EC member? Is the word Christian your most important adjective? When you declare Jesus is Lord, have you revealed the essential you? In his classic novel The Robe, Lloyd Douglas has a character named Marcellus, who has become captivated by Jesus. In letters to his girlfriend Diana in Rome, he tells her about Jesus’ teachings, his miracles, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. Finally, he informs her that he has decided to become a disciple of Jesus. In her response, Diana says: what I fear is that this Jesus character might affect you. The story of his life is beautiful. Let it remain so. We don’t have to do anything about it, do we? Oh yes, Diana we do! This Jesus is still marching down the streets of Wuhan, Milan, New York, London, Madrid, Teheran, Jerusalem, MK, and everywhere else in the world, calling people to decision and touching them at their point of need.

Jesus is the unidentified king who has no crown to wear or a kingdom to rule until each person at a time declares by faith that Jesus is Lord in my life. Maybe Jesus has walked the streets of your life for a very long time, seeking a heart to rule and a life to transform. Maybe today you’ll ask him to enter – maybe! In the meanwhile, our world continues to pain and groan under the weight of the oppressive Corona just like the Israel of Jesus’ time. Many people feel powerless in the face of this pandemic. We see in a devastating way how widely a virus spreads from person to person. But we have confidence that God allows the good that we do, through our prayer and our actions, to make a positive impact on our sisters and brothers everywhere. As Pope Francis said recently: Let us call upon God today, firmly rooted in prayer, for without prayer all our activity risks being fruitless and our message empty! And so, we shout together: Hosanna to the son of David!

Finally, my dear friends, follow the advice and wash, your hands, not of responsibility for the suffering sisters and brothers, no, no, but of the germs that our hands may transmit. May the Spirit of God abide with you.

Amen

An Affirmation of Faith

We believe in the Creator:
the maker of all things

We believe in the Son:
the redeemer of our broken world

We believe in the Spirit:
The sacred wind that binds all things together in the family of God.

Creator Father, beloved Son and living Spirit.

Amen

Intercessions

by Robin Kyd

Lord, although our church building and the Chapel are closed, your people, wherever they find themselves, continue to pray to you day by day. You have promised to hear the prayers of those who ask in your Son’s name, so we pray that you will hear their prayers and meet their needs, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Living God, help us to use this time, while our church buildings are closed, to deepen our understanding that your Church is not a building. As children of the living, loving God, we are the living stones who may come together in community to be the living temple of our living God. Breathe your life into us dry bones, that we may rise up and follow you, in a life of loving service to you and to all the children of our living God throughout the world.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Lord God, in this time of crisis we pray for our health service and the doctors, nurses, and technicians who face an unprecedented demand on their skills and expertise; we pray too for the hospital porters, cleaners, other support workers and volunteers who are all working under relentless pressure. May we support and care for them in whatever ways we can. We pray, also, for all those who have loved ones who are sick, whether at home or in hospital, that they may receive the services and support that they need.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

We pray, too, for all those who are working under difficult conditions to ensure that life can continue as normally as possible for all of us in our isolation: the council workers, refuse collectors, street cleaners, postal workers, delivery drivers, and all those who work in the food industry: farmers and producers, butchers and bakers, those who maintain the distribution networks and the shop workers. We pray for the Police, as they work to protect and safeguard us. Protect them all, and let us find ways to show that we appreciate all that they are doing for us.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Today we are asked to pray for the work of the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA). Although their work is currently suspended, we thank you for the work that they do in providing opportunities for people with many different kinds of disability to benefit from the therapeutic effects of riding. People who are normally confined to a wheelchair are offered a freedom, that many of us take for granted, when they are mounted on a pony and are able to cover terrain that would be impossible in a wheelchair and view the world and nature from a completely different vantage point. Riding is also an exercise that strengthens muscles and improves mobility. It also engenders an ‘I can do this’ attitude, of immense value for their quality of life. For others, who may have social problems there is a subtle but powerful lesson to be learnt about being able to develop a mutually trusting relationship, as that between horse and rider. We give thanks to you for all the wonderful volunteers who share their time and their love of horses and riding with others; they come from all walks of life and are of all ages.

Lord, in your mercy,

Hear our prayer.

Dear Lord, the streets are empty; the crowds have gone home. Yet we stand together spiritually at our doorways to welcome our King, riding on a donkey. We know the way ahead will be difficult for all of us, but we wave our palm branches and shout Hosanna to the King of kings. We throw open our doors and our hearts to welcome you, the one visitor whom we can all welcome and embrace. Bind us all together and to you, our loving God. Grant that we may know that as long as we follow you closely and love and serve you all the days of our life, there is nothing for us to fear and nothing that we cannot face when we put our trust in you.

Merciful father accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen

Song: You are the King of Glory

Played and sung by Adrian Boynton, Director of Music

You are the King of glory,
you are the Prince of Peace,
you are the Lord of heaven and earth,
you’re the sun of righteousness,
angels bow down before you,
worship and adore – for
you have the words of eternal life;
you are Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Hosanna to the Son of David!
Hosanna to the King of Kings!
Glory in the highest heaven,
for Jesus the Messiah reigns.

You are the King of glory,
you are the Prince of Peace,
you are the Lord of heaven and earth,
you’re the sun of righteousness,
angels bow down before you,
worship and adore – for
you have the words of eternal life;
you are Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Hosanna to the Son of David!
Hosanna to the King of Kings!
Glory in the highest heaven,
for Jesus the Messiah reigns.

Glory in the highest heaven,
for Jesus the Messiah reigns.

Mavis Ford (1983)

Holy Communion

Hold the bread in your hand.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed be God for ever.

Hold the wine in your hands.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.

Blessed be God for ever.

The Lord be with you,

and also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God

It is right to give thanks and praise.

It is right to praise you, Father, Lord of all creation; in your love you made us for yourself. When we turned away you did not reject us, but came to meet us in your Son.

You embraced us as your children and welcomed us to sit and eat with you. In Christ you shared our life that we might live in him and he in us.

He opened his arms of love upon the cross and made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.

On the night he was betrayed, at supper with his friends, he took bread, and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to them, saying:

Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

Father, we do this in remembrance of him: his body is the bread of life.

At the end of supper, taking the cup of wine, he gave you thanks, and said:

Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins; do this in remembrance of me.

Father, we do this in remembrance of him: his blood is shed for all.

As we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory, send your Holy Spirit that this bread and this wine may be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.

As we eat and drink these holy gifts make us one in Christ, our risen Lord.

With your whole Church throughout the world we offer you this sacrifice of praise and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.

Amen

Breaking of the Bread

We break this bread to share in the body of Christ.

Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

Invitation

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Blessed are those who are called to his supper.

Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed.

Amen

We take the bread in our hand.

The body of Christ, broken for you.

Amen

We eat the bread.

We take the wine in our hand.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

We drink the wine.

Post Communion Prayer

Lord Jesus, You humbled Yourself in taking the form of a servant, and in obedience died on the cross for our salvation. Give us the grace to follow You and to proclaim You as Lord and King, to the glory of God the Father.

Amen

Blessing

Jesus Christ, the holy one, the chosen one, who comes in the name of the Lord, enter the gates of our hearts and give us vision for the road ahead, making us caring companions to each other.

And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.

Amen

Dismissal

Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.

In the name of Christ.

Amen

Amen Siakudumisa