Palm/Passion Sunday

COLOR: Purple
PALM SUNDAY SCRIPTURE READINGS: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; Mark 11:1-11
PASSION SUNDAY SCRIPTURE READINGS: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1–15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 (40-47)

CALLS TO WORSHIP

[Note: Calls to Worship 1-3 focus most directly on a Palm Sunday celebration. Call to Worship #4 may be used if you are celebrating Palm/Passion Sunday]

Call to Worship #1:

L: This is the day that the Lord has made!

P: Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

L: Open wide the gates of your hearts.

P: Let the Savior enter!

L: Shout with joy, all you people.

P: The Savior has come forth bringing peace. AMEN.

Call to Worship #2:

L: Let all creation shout!

P: Let us wave the palm branches high. Jesus is coming!

L: He comes in humility to claim God’s own.

P: May he claim us this day and heal our hearts!

L: Hosanna to the Son of David.

P: Hosanna to the blessed Son of God. AMEN.

Call to Worship #3:

[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2109, "Hosanna! Hosanna!, have the call to worship done as directed below]

Choir (singing) [verse 1] "Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Hosanna! Hosanna. All the people sang their praise to him. Hosanna! Hosanna. Came to town upon a donkey’s back; Hosanna! Hosanna! Seemed so lowly but he’s Lord in fact. Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! Hear the people say Hosanna! Save us today. Hosanna! It’s a faithful song. Hosanna! Sing it all night long!"

L: Wave your branches high. Jesus is coming!

P: Blessed is the one who comes in God’s Name!

L: Spread your garments on his path.

P: Prepare the way for the Savior. Hosanna!

Choir (singing) [verse 2]: " Everybody brought their hopes and dreams. Hosanna! Hosanna! Life just isn’t always what it seems. Hosanna! Hosanna! Need somebody who can help us be Hosanna! Hosanna! Liberated from captivity. Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! Hear the people say Hosanna! Save us today, Hosanna! It’s a faithful song. Hosanna! Sing it all night long."

Congregation (repeating with the Choir the Refrain) "Hosanna! Hear the people say Hosanna! Save us today. Hosanna! It’s a faithful song. Hosanna! Sing it all night long!"

Call to Worship #4:

L: The parade today is just the beginning of our hope.

P: We wave our branches and shout "Hosanna!"

L: But there will come a time of silence and of mourning.

P: Help us to be ready for that time, O Lord.

L: Blessed is Jesus, who came into Jerusalem on that day.P: Blessed is Jesus who comes into our hearts always. AMEN.

PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION

[Note: The prayers, litany, and benediction will have the flavor of celebration, the Palm Sunday emphasis. In certain prayers there will be an added suggestion if you celebrate Palm/Passion Sunday. ]

Opening Prayer
Hosanna! Blessed is Jesus who comes in God’s Name! We stand at the gates of our Jerusalem and wave our branches high. We get caught up in the excitement of the parade. Jesus sits astride a donkey, a beast of burden bearing a most precious gift. Let the joy fill your hearts this day as we shout our Hosannas. Praise God for the wondrous ways in which our lives have been touched. Prepare our hearts to worship and celebrate this day!

[Addition for Palm/Passion Sunday: But remember that the shouting will die out and the time of trial will still lie ahead of us. Soon there will be a deathly quiet on the land. Soon the Savior will give his life for us.]

Prayer of Confession
We love parades! We love the excitement, the colors, the noise! Today we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. His followers have stripped branches from the trees and wave them in the air. They have thrown their cloaks in the path of the donkey that his steps might be cushioned. And the scene is wonderful. But there is a reality here. The reality is that although we wave our branches and shout "Hosanna!", we have not always behaved as disciples. Too often we have wandered from the path of Christ and stumbled along on our own, believing our way to be superior. We have turned from those who have needed help, because it wasn’t convenient for us to be of help of service. We have done and said things that are not worthy of disciples. Yet, here we stand, in the parade route, waving our branches. Forgive us, Lord. Help us to turn our lives around and truly serve you. Help us to really mean "Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord!" [ ** ] Let Jesus enter our hearts and transform our lives today, for we ask this in his holy name. AMEN.

[**Addition for Palm/Passion Sunday: And as we are led to the table of forgiveness and to the cross, help us to realize the power of God’s love through the gift of Jesus Christ. Make that love a transforming agent in our lives so that, finally, our celebration may truly reflect our faith and joy in Jesus Christ.]

Pastoral Prayer
Through the shouts and branches, the Savior rides again into our hearts, our Jerusalems, the places that we have fortified, sometimes against even God’s truth and love. Patient God, be with us today as we witness again the entry of Jesus into the holy city. Remind us that our "holy cities", our souls, need to welcome Jesus, truly in celebration and in commitment to his witness to us. We can so easily get caught up in the noise and forget the Savior. We can get so focused on the celebration and colors that we look past the solitary figure on the small donkey. We stand at the gates this day to welcome Jesus. May our welcome of Jesus also be reflected in our welcome of others who come into our midst. Free us from judgment and prejudice, that we may be open to hearing your word through the ministry of Jesus and the disciples. As we have spoken the names of ones who are near and dear to us who need your healing love, O God, help us also to remember that we need a good measure of your grace and mercy. Bring us through this parade into the comfort of your love. [** ] Hosanna! Blessed is Jesus! Blessed is He who has come and who continues to come into our lives forever. AMEN.

[** Addition for Palm/Passion Sunday: Walk with us to the cross. Stop us from running and hiding, from siding with the enemy because we are too afraid to speak the truth of your love. Help us to look up at the figure on the cross, remembering how Jesus was faithful to the end of his earthly life. Cause us to be as faithful in all that we do. Then we can truly shout with the others in the parade.]

Reading:
[Note: this Reading should be staged as follows: The two readers should be at the front of the worship area, sharing the conversation in an excited and animated fashion. The Leader, whose speeches appear in bold print, should be off to one side. If you are using the Palm Sunday format, the reading ends with the final speech of the Leader. If you are using Palm/Passion Sunday format, (see the ** portion), Readers 1 and 2 gradually move to the side for the final speech by the Leader]

Reader 1:Have you heard the good news? Do you know what’s about to happen?

Reader 2: I see lots of people with branches in their hands and there are swatches of brightly colored fabrics being waved. But I am not sure what it’s all about.

Reader 1: Jesus is coming! Isn’t that great?

Reader 2: Well, sure, it’s great! But I still don’t get it.

Reader 1: For so long the people have prayed for one who would release them from bondage. This is the person who can do it. He’s parading into Jerusalem. He will take over!

Reader 2: You’re sure about that? He looks pretty mild to me.

Reader 1:Believe me, he’s not mild. He has done miraculous things. People who were blind can see, and people who were deaf can hear, because he healed them. He even walked on water. What do you think of that?

Reader 2: I’m not sure. I expected that the one who would come would to take over Jerusalem would be clothed in armor with an army which could defeat the enemy. I expected that there would be loud blaring trumpets, not a raggedy group of people waving branches.Leader: Sometimes our expectations and the reality don’t equal each other. Sometimes we have to trust God to do what is right. Maybe the Savior will change life in a new and different way. Maybe the way of peace will be found.

Reader 1: Listen! All I know is there’s a parade, and I’m joining in. I want to celebrate!

Reader 2: I’ll watch for a while. Maybe I’ll join in or maybe I’ll just watch. I’m not making any commitments until I know what’s going to happen. I want to be on the right side.Leader: But what is the right side? For some it would be release from the oppressor. Oppression comes in many forms, in many guises. We can’t always so easily identify the core of the problem. Perhaps for today, the parade will be sufficient. [** }

[** Addition for Palm/Passion Sunday: (leader continues): The sounds are drowned out by the clinking of silver coins and a disciple betrays his teacher. The shouts are driven out by the stomping of boots, the cords that bind as the Savior is brought to the hall of judgment, to be shuttled back and forth between religious and temporal authorities. The branches become broken and ground into dust as the nails are driven into the hands and feet of the One who would save us. Wave the branches, people. Weep. For your Savior is about to give you his whole life.]

Benediction, Blessing, Commission
The road has been long. You have seen much on this journey, but it is not time to quit. There is much to be done. Go in peace, dear people of God. Go ready to proclaim with your lives that Jesus is Lord and Savior. Go to offer God’s love and peace to all. AMEN.

ARTISTIC ELEMENTS

Note: It is a good idea to write a brief description of the visual presentation in the worship bulletin describing the symbols and their meaning.

[The Lenten Services will be progressive in nature, that is, we will create a visual display that will move people through the services of Lent to the Easter Resurrection Celebration. There are several ways in which this visual display can be accomplished. The first way uses multiple levels, both on the worship center and in front of the worship center. Each Sunday and worship service during Lent, the symbols of a barrier and its "key word" will be placed on a riser. All symbols will remain on the riser to which they are assigned. The list will build as the Sundays progress. The second way, more simple than the first, will be using only two or three levels. The barrier for the week or worship service will be put in place each week prior to worship and then following the service it will be removed in preparation for the next week’s worship service. ]

THE TRADITIONAL COLOR FOR LENT IS PURPLE

SURFACE: The surface or structure of this display is created through the use of multiple risers. Create three levels with risers on the worship center. The center riser, placed near the back of the worship table, should be the highest, approximately 12" high. The two other risers should be about 4-6" high and should be to the left and right of the center riser. They should come toward the front of the worship center so that a gap of about 6-8" occurs. The other risers should be placed in front of the worship center. You will need a two risers that are 4" shorter than the level of the worship table. These should be placed in front of the worship table with a space of about 12" between them. The next two risers should be about 6" shorter than the previous risers and are placed in front of them, slightly off center so that they do not look like stair steps. The floor may suffice for the first level, although you may want to make risers about 2-3" high to create slight elevations from the main floor.

FABRIC: Purple is the traditional color for Lent. However it is very effective if you cover the entire worship area in burlap. Landscaper’s burlap, once it is aired out, is a great cover. It comes in 50 foot rolls and can be purchased at any landscape or home improvement store. However, do air it out! Using purple cloth, weave the cloth from the center riser, across the worship table and then down onto some of the other risers. Do not cover all the risers with purple cloth, but rather create a draping effect with it. Puddle both the remainder of the burlap and purple cloth on the floor in front of the worship center. Have a piece of dark material, black or very dark navy blue, approximately 1 yard in length, cover the brass cross on the top riser On the sixth riser (representing Palm Sunday) places some 12" swatches of bright fabric representing the cloaks.

CANDLES: Place a candle on each of the risers, with the exception of the top center riser, the riser on which the suitcase is placed, and the riser which will be used for the "coins". [The coins will be placed on the riser on Good Friday, or on Palm/Passion Sunday, whichever is your focus]. The pillar candle which was in place in front of the top riser is to remain there during most of the Lenten Services. These candles may be purple, the traditional color for Lent. They should be pillar candles about 4-6" in height. On the sixth riser, representing PalmSunday, place a small votive candle, along with the palms and fabric..

FLOWERS/PLANTS: Taking "fan palms" or "Ti" Palms, put the branches near the sixth riser. Some individual palm fronds may be strewn on the floor in front of the worship center.

ROCKS/WOOD: Place some rocks in the setting, in the "valleys" of fabric. The larger rocks that were in place in the Ash Wednesday service may remain at the base of the worship center.

OTHER: Place a brass cross on the top riser and cover it with dark fabric. The cross remains hidden during the first portion of Lenten services. The other items remain on the risers on which they were placed. The "keyword" today is False Expectations.. Today’s gospel lesson focuses on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the waving of palm branches. If it is your tradition to hand out the palm branches, it would be good to give them out early in the service. The Reading makes mention of False Expectations and the preacher may want to allude to these expectations in his/her message. .