Make Way for the King!

It was Palm Sunday on Sunday 17 April. We were celebrating Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but were also considering the whole story of Christ's Passion. The two themes were linked in the palm crosses that everyone received as they entered church. The palm leaf reminded us of the palm leaves and other objects that the Jerusalem crowd strewed in front of the donkey, carrying the Messiah. Twisting the palm leaf into the form of a cross reminded us that five days later that crowd would have rejected Jesus and he would be dying for us on the cross.
In our first hymn, "Make Way" children and their parents followed our Rector, Michael Rusk, around the church, waving their Palm Crosses. We then had a prolonged reading of all of the Passion story from St Matthew's Gospel. In his sermon, Michael Rusk reminded us of the centrality of the cross in our faith and the importance of being known as Christians. He encouraged us to leave our palm crosses in prominent places which might encourage others to ask what they meant, so that we could explain our faith.