Abstract
Introduction
Every Sunday in the kirk, there should be provision made for children to worship alongside the adults. On some Sundays, the worship begins in the kirk and concludes in the Sunday School. On other Sundays, an address from the minister is developed through an activity for the children undertaken during the sermon. On high days and holy days and certainly on Sacramental Sundays, there is an act of worship for all ages.
During Lent, I have always taken the opportunity to develop a particular theme throughout the six Sundays, e.g., growth or journeys, building or shapes etc. At other times, I have told a tale in six parts, e.g., the Pilgrim’s Progress or a homemade tale about the circus. But without exception, this is always developed into a retelling of the Passion story using appropriate visuals and symbols on Palm Sunday.
In Scotland, we are too pessimistic about the weather and so we are disinclined to organise services outside. When we do, people are enthusiastic and enter into the spirit of them wholeheartedly. In my parishes, I developed a short ‘Palm Sunday Procession’, prior to the start of morning worship using the surrounding geography—the manse, the kirkyard and the kirk door.
The children were invited beforehand to make Palm Sunday decorations. We started with palms made out of newspaper but graduated to a very colourful custom introduced by an Italian family in the congregation. Various symbols relating to the events of Holy Week and Easter Day were cut out of colourful card. Strings were attached and the decorations hung from cut branches and carried by the children throughout the liturgy. It certainly added to the festivity.
The beauty of this Palm Sunday liturgy celebrated outside is that it enables us to reimagine the events of Holy Week within the context of our own parish. For a brief moment, the geography of Jerusalem is superimposed upon the parish which becomes for us a holy land. So long as we have our imagination, we don’t need to travel to Israel/Palestine for as James Thomas East wrote in his hymn:
Wise men seeking Jesus travelled from afar, guided on their journey by a beauteous star. But if we desire him, he is close at hand; for our native country is our Holy Land. Every peaceful village in our land might be made by Jesus’ presence like sweet Bethany.
Palm Sunday Procession
1. The House on the hill
Welcome to our Palm Sunday Procession which originally began and ended in Bethany and perhaps a house on the hill!
According to St. Matthew, Jesus approached the city from Bethany at the Mount of Olives and after his triumphant entry and his spectacular visit to the Temple, he returned to Bethany and spent the night there.
Mary and Martha lived in Bethany. Perhaps it was at their house on the hill that Jesus was able to find refreshment in the broken bread and the listening ear, strengthening him to face the ordeal that lay ahead!
On this Palm Sunday, we remember the journey which Jesus made from the hill down to the city of Jerusalem. We make that journey too and shout our loud ‘Hosannas!’
A Palm Sunday song is sung
Collect for Palm Sunday
Lord Jesus Christ,
on the first Palm Sunday
you entered the rebellious city
where you were to die.
Enter our hearts, we pray,
and subdue them to yourself.
And as your disciples blessed your coming
and spread garments and branches in your way,
make us ready to lay at your feet
all that we have and are,
that we too may bless your coming
in the name of the Lord - Amen
Zechariah 9.9
Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion!
Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you!
He comes triumphant and victorious,
but humble and riding on a donkey!
The Journey
With the words of the prophet ringing in our ears, we make our way down the hill and pass through the gate into the kirkyard—waving our palm branches, singing our hosannas and remembering the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
1. Where the path divides
In this ancient graveyard, the path divides. One goes to the right and one to the left. We have a choice. Which one will you choose—narrow or wide, easy or hard, harmony or discord, generosity or greed, life or death?
St. Luke 19.41, 42
Jesus came closer to the city
and when he saw it, he wept over it, saying:
If only you knew today what is needed for peace!
but now you cannot see it!
Prayer for Peace
Lord,
as we stand at the place
where the path divides
we pray for the things
that make for peace—
forgiveness,
justice,
mercy,
an open hand,
a generous heart,
a cheerful spirit,
a love which lives forever!
As we continue our journey up to the kirk door, we sing the last verse of
1. At the ancient doors
St. Mark 10.33, 34
‘Listen!’ Jesus told them,
‘We are going up to Jerusalem
where the Son of Man will be handed over
to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law.
They will condemn him to death
and then hand him over to the Gentiles
who will mock him, spit on him, whip him and kill him;
but three days later he will rise to life!’
The Great Entry
A Song for the Journey
As we prepare to enter the kirk, we sing a song for the journey e.g.’Jubilate’ or ‘We are marching in the light of God’ etc.
Palm crosses are distributed by the children and the song is sung outside and inside the kirk until everyone is seated.
During the opening hymn, ‘
A retelling of the events of Holy Week right up until the burial of Jesus follows the hymn.