Weekly Reflection
March 29th to April 4th
Palm Sunday / Holy Week
Readings: Matthew 21:1-11; Psalm 118,1–2, 19–28
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 fulfill 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.”
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures for ever.
2 Let Israel say:
‘His love endures for ever.’
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;*
let us rejoice today and be glad.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures for ever.
* For verse 24 I actually prefer other translations, some of which render it as:
24 This is the day that the Lord has made,
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Day is called Holy Week as it contains the most significant and holy events at the end of Jesus’s earthly life and ministry, the events which culminate in His Crucifixion, death and burial.
Palm Sunday – the day when we celebrate the coming King. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in fulfilment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9; in so doing He symbolically identified himself as the Messiah, the One who was to come who would redeem Israel; this phrase means that He would rescue them from their sinful, Satan-influenced lives, and restore the original relationship with God that He had always designed them to have. As we know, the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus followed by His Ascension, would lead us in due time, to Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all people in fulfilment of Joel 2:28-32; this in turn would lead to Gentiles like us being welcomed into God’s Kingdom – Hallelujah!
But let us not get ahead of ourselves; we have yet to go through the difficult time of Holy Week.
The people celebrated and fêted Him, but when we look at the events of the coming week we see a somewhat different train of events. Jesus cleanses the Temple, clearing out those buying and selling creatures for sacrifice, and those involved in changing pilgrims’ money into the correct coinage required for the Temple tax to facilitate these transactions (Matthew 21:12-13); during this week Jesus teaches in the Temple in parables and He disputes with the religious leaders, who question His authority (Mark 11:27-12:44); Judas agrees to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). Then on Maundy Thursday He eats the Last Supper with His Disciples (Matthew 26:26-28), during which Judas leaves and goes to the Chief Priests to batray Him (Matthew 26:14-16). This is followed by His arrest in Gethsemane and trial by Pilate. Then on Good Friday, Jesus is crucified (John 19:1-42).
Thank you Jesus, that you died for me and for my sin.
At the moment of His death “the veil of the Temple is torn in torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51-53). From top to bottom indicates that it could only have been done by a divine hand as it was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide – there is no way any human agency could have done this.
On Holy Saturday, the day between the Crucifixion and Resurrection; Jesus is lying in the tomb. In Christianity this is traditionally a day of quiet reflection as we wait for His glorious Resurrection on Easter Morning.
I have also written a Meditation for Holy Week and you will find a link at the end of this paragraph. I originally conceived it as a play or as a dramatic reading for Palm Sunday, but it was not practical to do this in our Church; however if any of you from other churches wish to use it, either on Palm Sunday or Maundy Thursday, please feel free to do so, with any local changes you may feel are appropriate.
https://www.charismata25.org/dhw.html
Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.
Prayer of Saint Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 13th Century