This week we see the culmination of our Lenten reflections, and we walk alongside Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross. We begin by waving our palms in recognition and joy at the figure riding on a donkey.

And then, as the tumult fades, we see the powerful message of humility in his readiness to face what he must, in his washing of the disciples’ feet and sharing of the last supper with those who would betray and deny him, in his refusal to speak against his accusers, in his last words of love.

In our Palm Sunday service within the church, there is no sermon. A dramatised reading of the Passion is read instead. You might read and ponder upon one or all of the Biblical accounts of the events leading to the crucifixion.

You might come to the church to reflect upon the ‘Stations of the Cross’ on Wednesday, to one of the Last Supper services on Thursday, and/or follow the cross from the church to the top of Beeston Hill on Friday.

You might light a candle. You might sit in silent contemplative prayer, or play music or a film of the Passion. Whatever you do, you will surely become aware of the spiritual depth that this Holy Week leads you into.

As the troubled Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, the disciples slept. Will you stay awake during his last hours, watch and pray, as he asks of you?

Amen.

Julie Rubidge

Lay Minister