Holy Communion for Palm Sunday: celebrant the Revd Tola Badejo. Junior Church takes place at the same time in the hall.

First reading: Isaiah 43. 16 – 21
Gospel: Luke 23 (complete)

The Church of England lectionary gives alternative readings for Palm Sunday: one set is focused on the events of Palm Sunday itself, with Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and the other on the Passion narrative, which otherwise would not appear in a Sunday communion service. This year, we are following the latter, and the Gospel is Luke's complete account of the Crucifixion and the events leading up to it.

In this Gospel, Christ lays himself open to human experiences we must all hope to avoid: not only a lingering and agonising death, but one that comes as a result of false accusation, biased evidence, fickle public opinion, and the brutal actions of a weak governor attempting to appear strong. The painting above - the outer panels of the Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald - was made for the chapel of a monastic hospital, where it was intended the reassure the afflicted that Christ fully shared their suffering.