Dear Friends,
I don’t know about you but it feels as if Winter has finally lifted it’s grip and Spring has arrived in all it’s glory. Suddenly the blossoms are blooming, the butterflies and bees are pollinating and the warmth is inviting us to celebrate. Often this transition into spring happens much earlier in Lent, but this year I have been struck by how closely the church season is mirroring the natural world in its celebration of new life and hope.
This week, on Palm Sunday, we will be celebrating the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. I thought you might like to read this poem about Palm Sunday, which some of you might be familiar with. “Palm Sunday” by Malcolm Guite
Now to the gate of my Jerusalem,
The seething holy city of my heart,
The saviour comes. But will I welcome him?
Oh crowds of easy feelings make a start;
They raise their hands, get caught up in the singing,
And think the battle won. Too soon they’ll find
The challenge, the reversal he is bringing
Changes their tune. I know what lies behind
The surface flourish that so quickly fades;
Self-interest, and fearful guardedness,
The hardness of the heart, its barricades,
And at the core, the dreadful emptiness
Of a perverted temple. Jesus come
Break my resistance and make me your home.
This Sunday we will jubilantly sing Hosanna as the crowds did all those years ago. We will be full of the hope of God alive in the world as a “humble king” coming on a donkey to “bring peace and humility”.
And we will know that to be true.
And we will pray that to be true today, in our world.
Then, as we hear The Passion narrative and move into Holy Week, with Jesus in his obedience to the cross and his glorious resurrection, we continue to pray for peace to come on Earth. And so I invite you to pray this prayer which I have prayed at home every day for many years. It is part of my Following Jesus exhibition which will be hung in the art space on Monday until the end of April. I hope it blesses you.
God of light
Be with us in the dark times
When we struggle to see the way
Help us to feel your comfort ever with us
To know our worth in the world
To hear your voice leading us each day
To praise you as we emerge hopefully into safety
Remind us to celebrate your love that knows no end
And to transform that celebration into action for those less blessed than ourselves
Blessed is Jesus who comes in the name of the Lord
Amen
Emma Major, LLM