SUNDAY OF THE PALMS

PALM/PASSION SUNDAY  A Meditation Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, is a feast day that commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It falls on the Sunday before Easter, marking the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent.
		CALL TO WORSHIP Holy, holy, holy, God most High. Heaven and earth are filled with your glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed are all who come in your Name. Hosanna in the highest. PRAYER OF THE DAY O God of mercy and might, in the mystery of the passion of your Beloved and Anointed One you offer your infinite life to the world. Gather us around the cross of the Christ, and preserve us until the resurrection of all. Blessed are You and blessed is Your Kin-Dom, now and forever. Amen. SCRIPTURE  Zechariah 9.9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!     Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you;     triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey,     on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Psalm 118.1-2, 19-29 O give thanks to God Most High, for God is good,    and God's steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel say : “Your love, O God, is everlasting!” Open to me the gates of righteousness,     that I may enter through them     and give thanks to God. This is the gate of God Most High;     the righteous shall enter through it.  I thank you that you, O God, for you have answered me     and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected     has become the chief cornerstone. This is God's doing;     it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that God has made;     let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we plead, O God Most High.     O God, we pray to you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God.     We bless you from the house of God. The Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immorta lOne is God,     and God has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches,     up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;     you are my God, I will extol you. O give thanks to God Most High, for God is good,    and God's steadfast love endures forever. Mark 11.1-11 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent off two of the disciples with this instruction: “Go to the village straight ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find tethered there a colt on which no one has ridden. Untie it and bring it back. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing that?’ say, ‘The Rabbi needs it, but will send it back very soon.’ ” So they went off, and finding a colt tethered out on the street near a gate, they untied it. Some of the bystanders said to them, “What do you mean by untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them take it. They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks across its back, and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. And everyone around Jesus, in front or in back of him, cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of our God! Blessed is the coming reign of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple precincts. He inspected everything there, but since it was already late in the afternoon, he retired to Bethany accompanied by the Twelve. —Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible. Sheed & Ward. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION —ADAPTED FROM WORSHIP IN THE HOME, ELCA  O God of majesty, mercy and might, hear and heed our fervent prayers: for the church around the world, that the faithful be nourished by your presence in the word. O holy God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. For the earth, that it be saved from pollution and disregard; for endangered animals, that they and their habitats be protected; for scientists, that their knowledge of your earth will guide our society’s choices. O creating God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. For peace throughout the world; for an end to terrorism and religious violence; for all elected leaders, that they serve the common good. O mighty God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. For the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus; for the fearful and the sick and their families; for medical personnel and hospitals. O compassionate God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. For all who are facing the criminal justice system; for those wrongly accused of crime; for those who are incarcerated, that they be kept safe. O righteous God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. For those whose needs we know, for those whose needs are hidden; for all who are sick, for the hungry, for the dying; for those we name here. O benevolent God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. And finally we pray for ourselves: (SILENCE) O loving God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. Into your hands, gracious God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy. O eternal God, we pray to you: save us in your steadfast love. Ride On, Ride On In Majesty! —CLICK HERE— 1. Ride on, ride on in majesty! Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry; O Savior meek, pursue your road with palms and scattered garments strowed. 2. Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die: O Christ, your triumphs now begin o'er captive death and conquered sin. 3. Ride on, ride on in majesty! The winged squadrons of the sky look down with sad and wond'ring eyes to see th'approaching sacrifice. 4. Ride on, ride on in majesty! Your last and fiercest strife is nigh; the Father on his sapphire throne expects his own anointed Son. 5. Ride on, ride on in majesty! In lowly pomp ride on to die; bow your meek head to mortal pain, then take, O God, your pow'r and reign. Benediction O Sovereign One whose Kin-Dom is to come: may your reign become real through the works of our hands and your love become alive in our hearts. Amen.