“Triumphant in his glory now, his sceptre ruleth all.
Earth, heaven and hell before him bow, and at his footstool fall.”
Before we can sing this verse of the well-known hymn, we must accompany Jesus in to Jerusalem and witness the saga of Holy Week as it unfolds.
On Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, the priest’s vestments are red – the colour of triumph and victory.
On that day Jesus rode into the city on a donkey and was met by a crowd who hailed him as a King, a Messiah, who they thought was going to lead them into battle and overthrow the cruel and oppressive Roman rule. They cheered, chanted “Hosanna to the Son of David” and waved palm branches.
However, Jesus does not work that way, he came to bring a kingdom of peace and assurance of a place with him in heaven.
The people soon realized their mistake and quickly turned against him.
So many of us, when Jesus does not answer our prayers in the way we want, turn our backs on him. Judas, when he turned away from the Lord betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver.
Holy Week, that starts with the excitement of Palm Sunday, then takes us through the more sombre events that lead up to Our Lord’s Death and Resurrection
All the statues and crucifixes in church are draped in purple.
On Maundy Thursday we relive the story of the Last Supper when Jesus gave us the Blessed Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
On Good Friday we remember the momentous events of the day on which Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified.
I love these services; they are very solemn but are a lead into the glorious event on Easter Sunday when the sound of the bells and choir announce that the Lord is Risen!
If you can, please come and join us and take communion on each of these days.
May the loving Christ give us all a wonderful Holy Week and a blessed and happy Easter.
“Triumphant in his glory now,
His sceptre ruleth all.
Earth, heaven and hell before him bow
And at his footstool fall.”
Before we can sing this verse of the well-known hymn, we must accompany Jesus in to Jerusalem and witness the saga of Holy Week as it unfolds.
On Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, the priest’s vestments are red – the colour of triumph and victory.
On that day Jesus rode into the city on a donkey and was met by a crowd who hailed him as a King, a Messiah, who they thought was going to lead them into battle and overthrow the cruel and oppressive Roman rule. They cheered, chanted “Hosanna to the Son of David” and waved palm branches.
However, Jesus does not work that way, he came to bring a kingdom of peace and assurance of a place with him in heaven.
The people soon realized their mistake and quickly turned against him.
So many of us, when Jesus does not answer our prayers in the way we want, turn our backs on him. Judas, when he turned away from the Lord betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver.
Holy Week, that starts with the excitement of Palm Sunday, then takes us through the more sombre events that lead up to Our Lord’s Death and Resurrection
All the statues and crucifixes in church are draped in purple.
On Maundy Thursday we relive the story of the Last Supper when Jesus gave us the Blessed Sacrament of his Body and Blood.
On Good Friday we remember the momentous events of the day on which Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified.
I love these services; they are very solemn but are a lead into the glorious event on Easter Sunday when the sound of the bells and choir announce that the Lord is Risen!
If you can, please come and join us and take communion on each of these days.
May the loving Christ give us all a wonderful Holy Week and a blessed and happy Easter.
This week, on Ash Wednesday, we set off together into the period of Lent – the forty days of reflection and preparation that lead up to the greatest Feast of the church’s year – the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday.
What is Lent for? It is, as we have said, a period of preparation, we need to make ourselves ready, to be in a fit state to greet the glorious news that Jesus has risen!
How do we make ourselves ready? What do we need to do? In the past we have talked about giving something up; however shouldn’t we also be thinking more about giving something, doing something extra? Perhaps making the effort to come to the Stations of the Cross or to attend an extra Mass.
The Stations of the Cross tell the story of a journey that started with Pilate washing his hands and finishes with the body of Jesus being laid in the tomb, but as we know this is not the end of the story.
I love the Stations; I remember as a lad gong to the church each week after school, hoping that I would be asked to carry the cross!
Let us use this time in Lent to take a look at ourselves, let us remember in the story those who were prepared to help Jesus as he struggled to carry his cross; Simon of Cyrene and Veronica; and ask ourselves whether if we saw someone in such a state whether we would be prepared to extend a hand of friendship. In our world today are we extending a hand or are we keeping our arms folded and just looking on?
God Bless