BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
PALM SUNDAY Theme: “Jesus: A Movement Leader” [1]
March 28, 2021
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: Bless the Lord, O My Soul - More Voices #46 - BCUC music team
(Photo Parade prepared by Rev. Lorrie Lowes)
Welcome & Announcements Rev. Kim Vidal
Good day everyone! I welcome and greet you wherever you are on this Palm Sunday. One year ago, on Palm Sunday last year, we posted our very first service on Youtube. So today is our first anniversary for our online worship service. I can’t believe how the year went by so quickly. And the gathering slides certainly showed us how our children have grown and some of us, older and wiser. If you were able to pick up a palm frond from the church, please make sure you use it as part of your worship centre. If not, you may use a piece of cloth or a leafy branch. Use them as symbols of Palm Sunday commemorating Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem. Join in the procession!
Since Ottawa is in the red zone, we are able to gather in the sanctuary for a modified worship service at 10 am with a maximum number of 28 people invited to gather. The Public Health strongly recommends staying at home but if you wish to attend, please call the office to register and be reminded that the usual health protocols will be in place which include masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell.
We continue to offer our worship service in audio, video and text formats with the weekly announcements, online meetings, events and other updates. Check our website at bcuc.org to access the service. You can also listen to the service via telephone by dialing 613-820-8104. Please continue to reach out by connecting with each other through emails, phone calls and prayers.
I would like to highlight some announcements:
As we enter Holy Week in the coming days, please note that text of the service for Maundy Thursday on April 1st and Good Friday on April 2nd will be emailed to you and the audio recording will be posted on our website.
We will celebrate Easter Sunday on April 4th with an Agape Meal online and a communion during the modified onsite service.
If you would like your favourite hymn sung in memory of a loved one or in celebration of a joyful occasion, please let the office know. With a suggested minimum donation of $30, your hymn request will be featured in one of the Sunday services until May 23. Proceeds from this fundraising will help enhance our worship experience. Please send your name, hymn request and dedication to the office via email. Donations can be made by e-transfer, cash or cheque payable to BCUC with the note: “Hymn-Sing”. Thank you for supporting this initiative.
LENTEN APPEAL 2021: This year the SOSA committee has chosen to help people from the social housing neighbourhoods of West Ottawa to experience a weekend at Camp Otterdale.
Participants will be contributing but they will also need sponsorships of $50 per person. Please consider how you can help an individual or family to experience a much-needed break this summer. You can send in your donation via cash or by cheque payable to BCUC or by etransfer with the note: Lenten Appeal 2021. Please call the office for more details.
We are also receiving Memorial Flower Donations in memory of your passed loved ones. You may offer a minimum donation of $10 and a virtual flower display with your loved ones’ names will be included in the online version of the service on Easter Sunday. Some live flowers will be placed in the Sanctuary. Please send your donation including your memorial request to the Church Office by March 31. For payment options, please send in cash or cheque payable to BCUC with the note Easter Flowers.
I invite you to participate in the Prayer Circle every Wednesday at 8 pm. Wherever you are, light a candle and say a prayer for the world, your community including our congregation, your family, your friends and yourself.
And finally, Join us for a Zoom Fellowship today at 11 am.
For all other announcements, please check our website.
Despite continued physical distancing and self-isolation, we are indeed the church! 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 wave palms, branches or cloths, as we welcome Jesus, our movement leader. Let us gather in worship.
Lighting of Christ Candle Acolytes: Wightman Family
We light this Christ candle to remind us of the light of truth.
May this light enflame our hearts with God’s grace;
keep us in the radiance of Christ’s presence;
and fill our hearts with the Spirit of hope.
Sung Response: Don’t Be Afraid – More Voices #90 - Susan TeGrotenhuis
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
Opening Words Rev. Kim Vidal
There was a time when Lent was a dangerous time for Jews. There was a time and still a time when Christians were incited to hatred and violence against Jews. But there was a time before time, indeed the foundation of Christian time, when there were no Christians. At this time, a charismatic Jew named Yeshua also known as Jesus, came to celebrate the Passover. Jesus drew large crowds as he popularized the teachings of the liberal, Jewish school of thought. There was a time when Palm Sunday told a different story.
The first gospel writer Mark, written about 20 years after the first Palm Sunday, gives us a sense that Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem was not a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment event. Mark spends more time telling us about the preparations for Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem than about the event itself. My reading of the passage made me think that this parade was intended as a peasant protest against Rome, an organic movement that operates with secret codes and a network of Jesus supporters operating "under the radar." It would seem that Jesus and his peasant followers intentionally set themselves in stark contrast with the powerful display of Roman military. It was like a modern-day demonstration or an organized protest against the powers-that-be.
Based on historical probes by some NT scholars, like Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, particularly the political and religious atmosphere when Rome ruled Judea from 31 BCE to 37 CE, they tell us that there could well have been two processions on that day in Jerusalem, on what we now call Palm Sunday. The first one, we know so well, called “the peasant procession”– the one we commemorate today with the waving of palm and leafy branches and spreading cloaks on the road. Coming from the other direction into Jerusalem, according to Mark, we remember Jesus riding a colt, accompanied by his peasant followers and disciples shouting Hosanna which literally means, “God save us!”
But Borg and Crossan reason, that, with crowds of devout Jews flowing into Jerusalem to celebrate The Passover Festival, particularly their liberation from Egypt, the Roman military led by Governor Pilate would put on a display of force, of pomp and circumstance, to deter the Jews from getting any ideas about trying to fight for liberation from Rome. Pilate’s entrance to Jerusalem would have been impressive - a visible manifestation of Imperial Roman power, a show of strength designed to prevent any thoughts of insurgency or violent rebellion against Roman rule. There would have been the sound of marching soldiers on foot, cavalry on horses, leather armour, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, and sun glinting on metal and gold. It would have been designed to make the people feel afraid and powerless.
Scene 1 – TeGrotenhuis Family
1: Did you hear? The Messiah is coming!
2: Coming here?
1: Yes – coming to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Festival of the Unleavened Bread!
2: Well, let’s grab some palm branches and wave them high! Let’s give the Messiah the best welcome we know!
Call to Gather Rev. Lorrie Lowes
Jesus, a light of the world, bringing hope for the future;
one who will set us free.
Welcome Jesus! Hosanna!
Jesus, a bearer of justice,
one who will overturn oppressive rulers and colonial powers.
Welcome Jesus! Hosanna!
Jesus, a compassionate healer, who shares our pains,
who understands and comforts.
Welcome Jesus! Hosanna!
Jesus, a movement leader,
who wipes all tears away and ushers in a peaceful kin-dom.
Hosanna to Jesus! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of God!
Hosanna in the highest!
Prayer of Approach: (written by Ken Wotherspoon, Gathering, LEP, 1987.)
As the gates of the city swung open to welcome Jesus,
so may our hearts be opened to God’s Spirit among us.
As Jesus wept for the people, so may we weep for those
who suffer at the hands of those who have forgotten how to love.
Let our worship today express the joy and sorrow,
the laughter and weeping of that first Palm Sunday. 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
Scene 2 - TeGrotenhuis Family
1: I don’t know about this. Something’s making me feel a bit uneasy.
2: Yeah – I know what you mean. There’s too much hype for my liking.
1: Something always goes wrong when crowds get too excited.
2: And they’re definitely too excited!
Scene 3 – Berard Family
1: Look at this guy – he’s attracting quite a following.
2: And have you heard about what he’s teaching?
1: A bit. What have you heard?
2: He’s shown blatant disregard for the Sabbath. He even encourages his disciples to work on the Sabbath.
3: I heard that he seems to mock the laws –it’s like making fun of Moses’ teachings.
4: He follows those liberal teachings of Hillel, you know.
3: Hillel?
4: You know – the Rabbi who summed up the whole Torah into one sentence.
3: Ha! Oh yeah – how did that go?
4: Hillel said, “What is hateful to you, do not do unto your neighbour. This is the entire Torah, all the rest is commentary.”
1: I think I heard this Jesus say something like that.
2: Darn right. Jesus is spreading the same liberal garbage and attracting hordes of people. And look at how they practically worship him. Talk about blasphemy!
1: It does seem to be getting pretty out of hand.
2: (Shouting) Hey, Rabbi! Order your disciples to stop!
4: Jesus said, “I tell you, if these people were silent, the stones would shout out. ”
(Luke 19:40)
1: Well, I guess he put you in your place.
2: No one makes fun of me like that and gets away with it. These people need to know what he’s really like. It’s the only way they’ll understand.
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
Scene 4 – Lorrie & Neil Lowes
1 – Lorrie: Someone just told me that Jesus said you should hate your family?
2 –Neil: What?
1: Yeah, apparently, he said to turn your back on your own family,
spit on the dust and shake your sandals and leave them
if they don’t give all they have to some beggar walking by.
2: I guess there’s another side to Jesus that isn’t so angelic!
Prayer for Illumination: Reader: Keith Bailey
God of the journey, whose Word silences the shouts of the mighty, quiet within us every voice but your own. Speak to us through your Word of hope and courage, that by the power of your Holy Spirit, we may welcome Jesus’ entrance into our hearts. Amen.
The Gospel Reading: Mark 11: 1-11 (NRSV) Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
11 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
May these words renew us and give us assurance of hope in this time and in this place.
Thanks be to God!
Hymn: And On This Path - More Voices #8 - BCUC Music team
1. And on this path, the gates of holiness are open wide, (3X)
Open wide! (3X) The gates are open wide!
2. So enter in, the gates of holiness are open wide, (3X)
Open wide! (3X) The gates are open wide!
3. And on this path, the gates of holiness are open wide (3X)
Open wide! (3X) The gates are open wide!
Words © 2000 Lynn Bauman, Music © 2003 Linnea Good, Borrealis Music
Song # 99739 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
Scene 5 – Lorrie & Neil
1: Jesus is running into some serious trouble. I don’t have a good feeling about this. He’s being constantly challenged by the scribes who are trying to discredit him and yet he’s giving incredible wise responses.
2: Yeah – today I heard Jesus sum up the Torah by saying, “Love God with your whole being, and love your neighbour as yourself.”
1: Ha! As long as that neighbour is not a scribe!
2: Maybe that was his point. How do we love someone we totally disagree with?
1: I don’t know, but he sure ticked them off at the temple yesterday. He actually sat there and watched who put how much into the treasury! I’m sure glad he didn’t watch what I put in. Anyway, all of these highfalutin professionals came up and made it fairly obvious how much money they were putting in. Then, this widow, who had nothing, came up and put a couple of coppers in. Jesus then called a bunch of us over and said, “You see that poor woman? She just gave more than the rest of them put together because she gave all she had.”
2: Gee, he’s gonna get himself killed. And I think he knows it. Wow! I’d give my life to stop that from happening.
1: Honestly, I don’t know if I can do that!
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 after 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? Or will we run away and hide in fear of being crucified or worst, get killed for our voices of protest? O God, help us to remember that Jesus entered Jerusalem bearing his teaching of non-violence, truth to power and love beyond the grave. Forgive us when we are lost in confusion and doubt. 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-19 pandemic especially those who lost their loved ones from this virus 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. Today, we remember Jean Watson and family in the death of her brother-in-law, Ken Watson this week. 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, marginalized or ostracised because of the colour of their skin, or their ethnicity or religious beliefs. On a cheery note, we pray for those celebrating happy occasions and moments of joy. We ask for your blessing upon Rev. Lorrie Lowes and Nicole Beaudry who both celebrated their birthday on March 27. O God, teach us to be advocates of goodness and embrace us all with your unconditional love.
Passionate God, reach into our hearts and our minds and spark us into action. Move us to see the needs of your hurting world. Where there is poverty, help us to share our wealth. Where there is war and division, help us to share your peace. Where people grieve, help us to share your compassion. For it is in you, O God that we are changed. Through your light, we become light. Through your love, we are able to love. Through your generosity, we give.
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
The Offering Invitation Lorrie
In times of stress, in times of angst, we do not know what to do.
In times of need within this world and this community, we feel overwhelmed.
In times of abundance, in times of poverty, we ask God how we can give to this church, to the wider community, to our family and friends and to the world.
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 slot 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:[2] (together)
Like palms of rejoicing, like cloaks on the ground,
we bring these gifts and offer them here.
Let both gifts and the givers be lifted up,
blessed, and sent forth to do your will. Amen.
Scene 6 – Berard Family
1 : He’s losing it! He’s done for.
2 : Yeah – I can’t believe he killed a fig tree. And just because it didn’t have any figs on it. It’s not even the season for figs!
1: And what he did in the temple! Whipping people and turning over their tables! They didn’t know what hit them!
2: What side of the bed did he get up on this morning?
Scene 7 – TeGrotenhuis Family
1: Jesus definitely had a bad day today.
2: You know, I think he’s going through huge stress right now. I heard him talking an awful lot about death and the end times. I think he knows that something terrible is about to happen.
1: Maybe he’s trying to warn us about something.
2: I don’t like how those temple leaders are talking. They really feel threatened by him, and I think they’re out to get him.
1: What can we do? I thought this was going to be a happy day!
2: Well, Jesus made his point. He told us to stay alert, to watch, to pray. Maybe that’s all we can do right now.
Closing Words Rev. Kim Vidal
The image of Pilate's procession of military power and imperial control might have given us a different perspective when we read the story of Jesus and his peasant followers entering Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. A procession of rag-tag group of peasants and common-folk waving branches and cheering on their leader who is doing his best to keep his seat on an unbroken colt. Could it have been more than a spontaneous welcome for a beloved leader?
What are we, 21st century Christians have to do with Palm Sunday? Why do we wave our palm fronds and shout our hosannas? Why do we continue with this tradition that started 2000 years ago? Like the first century peasants who followed Jesus’ way of life, we too must have felt the urge to join the Jesus Movement, perhaps joining a march of protest or a statement of some sort – a march offering our voice in many forms: voice against the evil of bigotry and hypocrisy of our culture; voice to question our obsession and greed for material goods; voice to advocate against hatred, injustice and violence we might inflict, or perhaps voice to support those who are affected by COVID-19 pandemic that held us helpless and isolated in many ways.
A good question to ask is this: Where is God’s grace in this Palm Sunday story? I think grace is found in the sense of freedom and liberation that Jesus offered to his first century followers that continue to inspire us today. Jesus points a way of being in the world that proclaims love in many forms– his calm, non-anxious presence that offered God’s grace to the people - his humility and his message of peace and non-violence that gave the people comfort and made them follow him.
Friends, on this Palm Sunday, Jesus, the movement leader is on his way to his death. He will be crucified few days after entering Jerusalem; after he encountered the powers-that-be; after he and his followers have voiced their protests against oppression and their “NO” to the status quo. This is why the story of Jesus riding into the center of power of his time has such resonance in our own time. The first Palm Sunday offers us a way to reshape our own stories that they may embody the same hope: hope of compassion, hope of healing, hope of genuine freedom and justice for all. In this one moment, we can make a way for Jesus, the movement leader. We can throw our cloaks on the ground with humility and sing our songs of hosannas and celebration, yes, even our songs of pain and protests. Palm Sunday allows us to entrust our uncertainties and our fears in God’s grace, in every circumstance and in every, holy week of our lives. May this Palm Sunday be one more act of witness, one more step in our journey of following Jesus’ Way—one that leads to healing and life for all. Thanks be to God. Amen.
*Thanks to the BCUC Lectionary Group for their invaluable insights and reflections on Palm Sunday and to Borg & Crossan’s book, The Last week.
*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. Amen.
Departing Music: Sleepers, Wake - Voices United #711 - BCUC Choir
Written in the 16th century by Pastor Nicholai during a plague in Germany
Dedicated to all COVID-19 victims and sufferers (Bill McGee)
1 'Sleepers, wake!' the watch are calling,
their notes from Zion's watchtower falling:
'Awake, awake, Jerusalem!
Midnight comes, no longer slumber,
nor let dull sleep your senses cumber.
Wise virgins, haste, or do you dream?
The bridegroom draweth near!
Arise, your lamps show clear. Hallelujah.
Yourselves array this marriage day
to meet the bridegroom on his way.'
2 Zion hears the sentries singing,
her heart within for joy is springing,
she wakes, she speeds with glad surprise.
For her God comes down all glorious,
in grace most strong, in truth victorious,
her light is come, her star doth rise.
Welcome! thou worthy crown,
Lord Jesus, God's dear Son, hosanna!
We join the throng that streams along
and fills thy banquet hall with song.
3 Let all creatures sound thy praises,
now earth its voice with heaven raises,
with harps' and cymbals' joyful tone.
Gates of pearl swing wide before us,
thy guests who join that blessed chorus
of angels that surround thy throne.
No eye hath seen, nor ear
was yet so blest to hear such rejoicing!
Henceforth may we eternally
sing hallelujahs unto thee.
Words: Philip Nicolai 1598, trans, Jay Macpherson 1970 Music: Hans Sachs ca 1513, adapt. Philip Nicolai 1599, harm Johann Sebastian Bach 1731 Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-733214. All rights reserved
11 am – ZOOM Fellowship
[1] The skits in today’s service is adapted from a liturgy written by Loraine Mackenzie Shepard published in the Gathering, Lent/Easter/Pentecost, 2007.
[2] Kate Crawford, Gathering Lent-Easter 2014.