Mark 11:1-11
When they were approaching Jerusalem, at
Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his
disciples and said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and
immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never
been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, `Why are you doing
this?' just say this, `The Lord needs it and will send it back here
immediately.'" They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside
in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them,
"What are you doing, untying the colt?" They told them what Jesus had
said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and
threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on
the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields.
Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Blessing
of the Palms
It is right to praise you, Almighty
God, for the acts of love by which you have redeemed us through your Son Jesus
Christ our Lord. On this day he entered the holy city of Jerusalem in triumph,
and was proclaimed as King of kings by those who spread their garments and
branches of palm along his way. Let these branches be for us signs of his
victory, and grant that we who bear them in his name may ever hail him as our
King,and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life; who lives and reigns in glory with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflections: The painful irony of
this service is the way it begins in jubilation and ends in betrayal.
I
hope I am not alone in not knowing that two
processions entered Jerusalem the day Jesus rode in to waving palm branches and
fanfare. His was a procession of “peasants,” Biblical scholars John Dominic
Crossan and Marcus Borg, and it proclaimed the Kingdom of God.
At the other end of the
city, another procession entered the gates, a procession of the strong: Pontius
Pilate, accompanied by cavalry and soldiers. This procession, in honor of
imperial power, however, has fallen into obscurity. Who would have guessed that
the enduring power rested in poverty and humility, and not in armaments,
status, and an economy of scale? Naturally, as Christians, we choose Christ's procession. Or like to think we would have; but in our everyday life, which procession do we continually find ourselves joining?
Prayer
before Entering the Church Doors
Almighty God, whose most dear Son
went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory
before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the
cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Liturgy of
the Word
Collect: Almighty and everliving God, in your tender love for the
human race you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our
nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great
humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and
also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reflections:
What does it mean to “walk in the way of his suffering”?
First, Lesson: Isaiah 50:4-9a
The
Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a eacher, that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens-- wakens my ear to listen
as those who are taught. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not
rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and
my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult
and spitting.
The
Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my
face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates
me is near.
Who
will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me.
It is the Lord GOD who helps me; who will declare me guilty?
Reflections: “Who will contend with
me?” Is he kidding? Anyone and everyone. The entire passage is a graphic description
of contention! And yet, the speaker has not been shamed, has not been disgraced
or defeated. As St Paul will say many
centuries later, “Nothing can separate me from the love of God.”
Psalm 50:4-9
He calls
the heavens and the earth from above * to witness the judgment of his people.
"Gather
before me my loyal followers, * those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice."
Let the heavens
declare the rightness of his cause; * for God himself is judge.
Hear, O my
people, and I will speak: "O Israel, I will bear witness against you; * for I am God, your God.
I do not
accuse you because of your sacrifices; * your offerings are always before me.Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave
him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Reflections: In this lyrical
passage from Philippians we see what it is to be God: not to grasp at power,
but to pour oneself out. Jesus didn’t win glory because he emptied himself, but
he poured himself out because his very nature was glory. And this is what Paul
calls forth from us, as well.
Gospel: Mark 15:1-39
As soon as it was
morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and
the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to
Pilate. Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered
him, "You say so." Then the chief priests accused him of many things.
Pilate asked him again, "Have you no answer? See how many charges they
bring against you." But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was
amazed.
Now at the festival he
used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man
called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during
the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them
according to his custom. Then he answered them, "Do you want me to release
for you the King of the Jews?" For he realized that it was out of jealousy
that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up
the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them
again, "Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of
the Jews?" They shouted back, "Crucify him!" Pilate asked them,
"Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more,
"Crucify him!" So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released
Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be
crucified.
Then the soldiers led
him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters);
and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple
cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And
they began saluting him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They struck his
head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking
him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then
they led him out to crucify him.
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in
from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of
Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha
(which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh;
but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among
them, casting lots to decide what each should take.
It was nine o'clock in
the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him
read, "The King of the Jews." And with him they crucified two
bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him,
shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and
build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!" In
the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him
among themselves and saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let
the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may
see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
When it was noon,
darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three
o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloi,
Eloi, lema sabachthani? which means, "My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?" When some of the bystanders heard it, they said,
"Listen, he is calling for Elijah." And someone ran, filled a sponge
with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying,
"Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." Then
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was
torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him,
saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was
God's Son!"Reflections: What did the centurion see?
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