BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
PALM SUNDAY
April 10, 2022
Theme: “Being Stones that Won’t Keep Silent”
The video recording of this service can be found here.
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104
Gathering Music: Light of the World is Jesus arr © Mark Hayes
Piano: Abe - Feb 2016
Song #1029313 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Welcome & Centering for Worship
Rev. Kim Vidal
Good day everyone! My name is Rev. Kim Vidal and on behalf of BCUC, I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ on this Palm Sunday. Today marks the entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem with the crowd waving palm fronds and leafy branches and spreading their cloaks on the ground. We are glad that you have joined us in our worship service today.
We have reopened our sanctuary for an in-person worship service at 10 am. If you are comfortable attending the service, you are more than welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, we highly recommend getting fully vaccinated and still being mindful of the health protocols like masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. Take note that our worship service today continues to be offered via Youtube, by email and by telephone.
Please be reminded of the Holy Week schedule and mark it on your calendar. We hope that you can join us on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Details are in the announcements.
A friendly reminder to please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check the many announcements on our website, including Sunday School resources for your children, at bcuc.org. There are many opportunities to participate and offer your support to the various Lenten initiatives: the Lenten SOSA appeal to support FAMSAC; Hymn-Sing and Memorial Flowers to remember your loved ones. Details are posted in the announcements.
Friends, on this Palm Sunday, know that we are all connected and embraced in God’s love. Pray for each other and take comfort and inspiration from the words of Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble.” Let us gather in worship and welcome Jesus in our hearts.
Lighting of Christ Candle
Acolytes: Nicole Beaudry & Gerald Okolowsky
(Richard Bott, gathering, L/E 2016, Year C. Used with Permission)
(Light the Christ Candle)
On this Palm Sunday, as we wave palm branches
and journey towards Holy Week,
we will not let the Christ-light
or the Christ-love be hidden.
Even on our way to the cross,
in the best, in the worst,
Christ’s light shines!
Sung Response: Don’t Be Afraid - More Voices #90
Susan Feb 2021
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger, my love is stronger than your fear.
Don’t be afraid. My love is stronger and I have promised, promised to be always near.
Words © 1995 John Bell & Graham Maule; Music © 1995 John Bell, IONA GIA Pub
Song #98424 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Call to Gather
Rev. Lorrie Lowes & family
(Richard Bott, Gathering, L/E 2022, Year C. Used with permission)
Here he comes!
Voices 1, 2, 3: Who?
The Messiah! The Christ! God’s chosen one! Hosanna!
Voices 1, 2, 3: Hosanna! Hallelujah!
He’s at the gates now.
He’ll be arriving any minute.
Have your palm branches ready!
Voices 1, 2, 3: Hosanna! Hallelujah!
That’s right!
Here comes Jesus the Messiah!
Hey, ho, away we go,
Riding on a donkey!
Voice 1: Wait! Why is Jesus riding on a donkey and not on a horse?
Voice 2: Why does he look so quiet in the middle of our parade?
Voice 3: Where is his army? Has he come to save the people?
Riding on a donkey.
No shouts of rebellion.
No army.
Just a message.
God’s kin-dom is coming and God’s kin-dom is here.
Just a message.
Voices 1, 2, 3: Love one another as I have loved you.
Prayer of Approach (In Unison)
(Laura J. Turnbull, Gathering, L/E, 2022. Used with permission)
God of celebration, we line up with the crowd to herald the coming of your chosen one. May the enthusiasm we feel this day continue into the shadowed and difficult days of Holy Week. Journey with us on this Palm Sunday so that we are strengthened for the most holy of weeks. With voices of hope, we shout, “Hosanna!” Amen.
* Hymn: Hosanna, Loud Hosanna - Voices United #123 – BCUC music team
1 Hosanna, loud hosanna
the happy children sang;
through pillared court and temple
the lovely anthem rang:
to Jesus, who had blessed them,
close folded to his breast,
the children sang their praises,
the simplest and the best.
2 From Olivet they followed
'mid an exultant crowd,
the victory palm-branch waving,
and singing clear and loud;
the Lord of earth and heaven
rode on in lowly state,
content that little children
should on his bidding wait.
3 "Hosanna in the highest!"
That ancient song we sing,
for Christ is our Redeemer;
earth, let your anthems ring.
O may we ever praise him
with heart and life and voice,
and in his humble presence
eternally rejoice.
Words 1873 Jennette Threlfall; Music trad 18th century German
Song #97922 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Storytime
Rev. Lorrie
Today is Palm Sunday! It’s the day we march into the sanctuary waving our palm leaves. Oh! Didn’t anyone tell you that you need a palm branch to wave this morning? Sorry! I guess I didn’t think about telling you ahead of time. Can you find something close by that you can wave around when the time comes?
You know, that’s a bit like what happened on that day when Jesus entered Jerusalem. People didn’t know till the last minute that he was coming. When they heard that he was on his way, they thought, “Oh, my goodness! Jesus is coming! We need a parade!”
They didn’t have time to organize the bands and the baton twirlers and floats and flags, so they used what they could find close by. They used leaves from the trees around them – and we think those were probably palm trees. They cheered! HOSANNA! BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! And they spread their cloaks on the ground to make a special path – kind of like the red carpet that movie stars walk on at the Oscars. They were excited and they needed to show it!
Parades are a great way to celebrate, aren’t they? We use them to celebrate special holidays. We use them to celebrate when our home town teams win big championships. We sometimes have a parade when someone important comes to town - like the Queen - and we want everyone to know that we like what this person is doing for us.
Today we are celebrating that day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowd went wild! They were really liking the message that he was preaching. He was giving them hope that things would get better in the world. They shouted “Hosanna!” which can be translated as “God saves!” It sounds like a good thing for us to shout today too! It is a cheer that is full of hope – the kind of hope that is needed when a tough time seems to go on and on.
There haven’t been many parades over the past couple of years – at least not the kind where people crowd together on the side of the road while colourful floats drive by and marching bands play music while clowns dance in the street and sometimes elves hand out candy canes while we excitedly watch for Santa to appear… I miss that fun!
There have been times when people created a sort of impromptu parade, though, to thank the frontline workers during the pandemic or to celebrate the birthday of someone in a nursing home or hospital. At those times, people made lots of cheerful noise by singing or cheering and banging pots and pans.
I think it’s still important to celebrate the things that are important in our lives, don’t you? We seem to have forgotten a bit lately – maybe because the big change we were hoping for, the end of the pandemic, hasn’t happened yet. Maybe we need a parade to celebrate how well we’ve done in handling these tough couple of years and to celebrate our hope that an end to this pandemic is coming if we all keep doing our part in keeping each other safe. So, today, let’s celebrate the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem when the people were filled with excitement and hope, just like us.
Let’s pray – and then grab whatever is close that you can use to wave around – or use your hands to cheer – and, right after the “Amen”, shout “Hosanna!”:
This morning, God,
Even though we aren’t all together in the church,
We still want to shout “Hosanna!” like the people who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem.
We want to send that same message of hope and faith to this hurting world today.
Amen
HOSANNA!!!
Hymn: Sanna Sannanina - Voices United #128 (An African Version of Hosanna)
Sanna, sannanina, sanna, sanna, sanna, (2x)
Sanna, sanna, sanna, sannanina, sanna, sanna, sanna (2x)
Words & Music: traditional South African, arranged © 1993 Nicholas Williams
Song #75948 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Prayer for Illumination
Reader: Keith Bailey
God of the journey, let your grace, let your love, let your hope flow through your Word to us. Let your Word transform us today and always. Amen.
The Gospel Reading: Luke 19: 28-40 (NRSV)
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, “The Lord needs it.”
35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”
40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
May these words renew us and give us assurance of hope in this time and in this place.
Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “Being Stones That Won’t Keep Silent!”
Rev. Kim
Prayer: Nothing can separate us from God’s love. As we commemorate Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, may our silent hearts of stone be transformed so that we may shout Hosanna! Blessed is Jesus who comes in the name of God who is love. Amen.
On our trip to Nicaragua in 2015, we visited the crater of the historic Volcano Masaya, a famous tourist spot just outside Managua. On the way there, we dropped by a museum for a tour, informing us of the history of the volcano as well as other relevant seismological information. I learned that in the days before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Masaya Volcano was worshiped by the local people as they viewed that any disturbing behaviour of the volcano was signs of displeasure from their gods. In the 16th century, the Spanish colonizers called the Masaya Volcano the "Mouth of Hell" and placed a wooden cross near the top of the crater to rid the volcano of the demonic spirits who were thought to inhabit it. Since then, there have been at least nineteen eruptions, with the last one taking place in 2008. Towards the end of the tour, a large lava rock grabbed my attention. This rock was emitted in Masaya’s biggest eruption which occurred almost 6,500 years ago. On top of the rock was a caption that says: “The Stones Also Speak” which reminds me of the last verse in today’s text: “if the disciples were silent, the stones would shout out.”
If rocks and stones could indeed speak, they'd have a lot to say. Think of fossil rocks that have layers of dinosaur-era oil and natural gas between them, or those rocks that have been blown out of volcanoes, or those that have been washed down oceans and lakes and rivers, pushed by glaciers and flash floods. Think of Mt. Rushmore where the heads of the four famous US presidents were sculpted to represent the founding, growth and preservation of the United States. Or the spectacular Canadian Rockies, which is made up of layered sedimentary rock such as limestone and shale that speak of God’s wondrous creation? What would those rocks and stones say to us?
The story of Palm Sunday was captured by the four gospel writers. Each one has their own version of the story. Mark, who wrote some 50 years after the first Palm Sunday, tells us that Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem was not a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment event. Mark spends more time telling us about the preparations than about the event itself. Matthew wrote his account around 60-70 years after the event and can’t seem to decide between a colt and a donkey. Matthew has the disciples bring both a donkey and a colt and Jesus sits on them and rides them into Jerusalem. I wonder how Jesus did that! The crowd spread their cloaks and leafy branches on the road. John, who wrote his own version some 70 to 80 years after the event, the leafy branches are named as branches of palm trees. Waving palm branches in ancient times was a tradition that conquering military leaders were welcomed home from battle. The Gospel of John hints that Jesus is a conquering hero and this particular parade is an ironic antithesis to a military parade. As the crowd waved these branches in that procession, the crowd chanted words from Psalm 118: “Save us, we beseech you, O Lord.” “Save us” in Hebrew is hosanna. That phrasing was typically followed with the words: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Luke gets around to telling the story at the same time as Matthew. The colt in Mark becomes a donkey. The crowd did not wave palm fronds or leafy branches but spread their cloaks on the ground. There was no mention of hosanna and Jesus was proclaimed as a king. It was only Luke who mentioned the stones that would not be silent. Luke has a fascination with stones. At one point, he reports that John the Baptist, in his call for repentance, warns Israel that “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” It was Luke who said that Jesus laments over Jerusalem, the city “that kills prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” And on yet another occasion, when some were admiring the temple and the beautiful stones that adorned it, Jesus warned that there would come a day when not one stone of the temple would be left on top of another. You will also remember that one of the temptations in the wilderness that began those forty days of Lent was the temptation to turn stones into bread. And perhaps the most notable reference to stones in the Lukan gospel has to do with that stone that was rolled away from the entrance to the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid in death, but pushed aside at Easter.
In today's reading, we hear of the Pharisees commanding Jesus to silence his disciples and followers when they got carried away, perhaps making a noise that Jesus is king! But Jesus answered them with a daring remark, “I tell you, if my disciples were silent, even the stones would cry out.” There is a certain relentless quality to what unfolds from this point on. Jesus is someone determined to follow God and be God’s voice to the people. He has a cause. He becomes a cause, a stoppable movement that rocks the world. Even the stones cannot keep from crying out that certain truth.
If the stones cried out, what exactly would they say? The crowd who welcomed Jesus exclaimed, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of God!” If the stones cry out, the first thing they would say is a shout of praise to Jesus who was a new and different kind of king. They would proclaim that the reign of God was near. They would dare tell everyone about the compassionate care of Jesus. They would boldly announce that Jesus was the one who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, offered movement to the paralyzed and inspired hope in the discouraged.
The stones would sing out about the kind and inclusive way Jesus spoke to women, children, the poor, and the oppressed. The rocks would proclaim Jesus' wise teachings. They would tell how Jesus challenged those in authority, by pointing out their hypocrisy and holding them accountable. If the stones cry out, they would say that Jesus was a peaceful reformer not a violent military leader. The stones proclaim that Jesus didn't abuse power or hoard any power for self-gratification. Jesus was and is willing to share power with anyone who desires to live in the right relationship with God, with others and with all of creation. If the stones cry out, they will shout that Jesus did not condemn others like those who were about to condemn and stone a woman accused of adultery.
Can you hear the stones proclaiming these things? Sometimes the world’s noise is so deafening we cannot hear the subtler voices that need to be heard. The city’s sounds, for instance, are so distracting. The vehicles speed their way to workplaces, schools, busy streets and homes. The police sirens and ambulances on their missions of intervention, rushing to the scenes of emergency and violence, of fires and accidents. There are arguments everywhere and audio systems so loud they shake the windows and our eardrums. Our community has its sounds, its shouts and cries. Far away from here, there are cries of grieving people and the sound of war in Ukraine that shatters the silence of the night, and turns laughter into tears, and joy into sorrow. Were we silent, I suppose, the very stones themselves would cry out, for the violence and hatred that has been spilled upon them, for the shattering they have endured, for the cries and grieving they have heard from so many. When we listen with our very own hearts, the stones have their stories to tell.
Imagine that you are holding a stone in your hand. What would that stone tell you right now? Is it asking you to be an instrument of love for those who are grieving and lonely and vulnerable? Is it telling you to offer peace by being a peacemaker for the world? Is it provoking you to open your heart and hands in offering compassion and justice? Is the stone shouting at you – challenging you to follow the ways of Jesus? Is the stone giving you an important message that God is love and nothing can separate us from that love, in that love, ever?
Sadly, a few days from now, that love will be tarnished by greed and violence. The crowd will shout “Crucify him!” and another act of injustice will take place. Jesus will be put to death. But come next Sunday, after the events of this coming Holy Week, there will come another shout, a joyful expression of resurrection, a truth of which even the stones will speak, when the stone is rolled away from the empty tomb.
Friends, take heart! On this Palm Sunday, let the stones speak to you. Listen with your heart. Do not let the stones do the shouting alone. Take up the challenge. Be the stones yourselves. God will not allow us to be silent in the face of injustice, violence or death! Hosanna! Blessed is Jesus who comes in the name of God. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Rev. Kim Vidal
God of all times and places, our Lenten journey brought us today to enter the Holy Week. As in Jesus’ time, the people waved palms and leafy branches and spread their cloaks on the road in praise of Jesus, the movement leader who entered Jerusalem in the name of God. Like stones that won’t be silenced, we see the crowds shouting hosanna! which was replaced a few days later with “crucify him!”
What would it be like if we were among the crowd that day? Will we offer our loud praises and recognize the leadership of Jesus? Will we offer our solidarity with the peasants and not be intimidated by the presence of political, religious and military powers? Will we run away and hide in fear of being crucified for being voices of protest? O God, help us to remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem bearing his teachings of non-violence, of truth to power and of love beyond the grave. With the grace of Your spirit, enfold our daily lives with insight and clarity that we may know your presence within each of us. In this Holy season, help us to fast from resentment, hostility, and apathy and instead feast on love, peace and joy that you lavishly offer for our journey to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
God of healing, gently touch the lives of those needing comfort and wholeness in distressed lives and souls, particularly those who have been affected by the COVID pandemic and from other diseases. With love and earnest concern, we pray for those carrying heavy burdens. Use us to comfort those who have suffered deep losses in their lives. Heal those who are troubled and distressed. Assure those awaiting medical results with good news. Disturb us to afflict the comfortable and comfort those afflicted, particularly those who have felt discriminated against, marginalized or ostracised because of the colour of their skin, or their ethnicity or religious beliefs. Remind us to stand with the people of Ukraine as they seek to free themselves from the horrors of war. O God, teach us to be advocates of your unconditional love. Through your light, we become light. Through your love, we are able to love.
Prepare us now to enter into the Holy Week with a heart willing to change and a heart ready to accept your forgiveness. And with grateful hearts, let us unite as we sing this prayer that Jesus taught us:
The Lord’s Prayer (Sung) - Voices United #959
BCUC Choir
Our Father, in heaven, hallowed be your name.
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil,
for the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours, now and forever.
Music © 1986 David Haas, GIA publications
Song #01814 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Invitation to Offer
Rev. Lorrie
On that first Palm Sunday, the disciples went into the village to find what Jesus asked for, with only these words, “The Lord needs them.” May we respond today and always with our gifts, our time, and ourselves, because the Lord still needs them.
(Wanda Winfield, Gathering L/E 2018, p 36. Used with permission)
I now invite you to offer your gifts of time, talents and resources as expressions of your gratitude to God’s blessings and your commitment to the work. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the mailbox by the kitchen door of the church or mail them to BCUC. You can also send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
* Offertory Prayer (In Unison)
(Laura J. Turnbull, Gathering, L/E 2022, Year C. Used with permission).
God of the journey, we present gifts
– our very best and our very selves.
May all we share be graciously received.
In the name of the giving Christ, we pray. Amen.
*Hymn: I Danced in the Morning - Voices United #352
BCUC Music team
1 I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
and I came from heaven and I danced on the earth;
at Bethlehem I had my birth.
Refrain:
Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
and I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,
and I'll lead you all in the dance, said he.
2 I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
but they would not dance and they would not follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
they came with me and the dance went on. R
3 I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame;
the holy people said it was a shame;
they whipped and they stripped and they hung me high,
and left me there on a cross to die. R
4 I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
it's hard to dance with the devil on your back;
they buried my body and they thought I'd gone,
but I am the dance and I still go on. R
5 They cut me down and I leap up high;
I am the life that will never, never die;
I'll live in you if you'll live in me;
I am the Lord of the dance, said he. R
Words © Sydney Carter 1963; Music: Shaker Melody adapt. and harm. © Sydney Carter 1963
Song #01248 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Sending Forth
Rev. Kim Vidal
The God who rejoiced with Jesus
as he was acclaimed by the Palm Sunday crowd,
celebrates with we us we journey through the Holy Week.
The God who stayed with Jesus
as he endured agony and death on that dark hill,
will stand with us in the testing times of life.
Jesus, our leader, you are eternally faithful.
With open hands, we wait on you.
With open hearts, we receive you.
Go in peace this day
and in the days to come. Amen.
Online Departing Music: Be Thou My Vision
Abe – June 2020
arr © Mark Hayes Song #BP1919 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214.
All rights reserved
Live Departing Music: Lord, I Stretch Out My Hands to You
BCUC choir
© Althouse Song #39992 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214.
All rights reserved