Palm Sunday Interactive Liturgy – ‘He kept on walking’
Have someone lined up to represent Jesus. When you begin, have this person walk around the room, and keep walking throughout the whole liturgy.
Leader:
I want you to imagine Jesus and his disciples walking dusty roads from one village to the next, where there were lame people and blind people that Jesus would heal, and then crowds would gather to hear him teach. Then on the way Jesus would have all kinds of conversations with his disciples, trying to help them understand his mission, and his dream for the world.
And all the way, they were heading for Jerusalem. Where Jesus knew he would come up against all the powers, where he would be abandoned, rejected, betrayed, humiliated, flogged, and nailed to a cross. And yet he kept on walking.
On Palm Sunday we celebrate what is often called Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem. I think we easily imagine that the focus of the whole city was on Jesus and that they knew what they were celebrating. The reality is that possibly millions of pilgrims were flooding in for the Passover, and Jesus may not have been the centre of attention. It was his small band of followers who in excited anticipation imagined they were part of a royal procession, and that Jesus would become king. Jesus let them treat him as royalty, even as he arrived on a donkey.
But deep in his heart, he knew that this was also like a funeral procession, or a walk down death row.
After each sentence I read, I invite you to all respond with ‘he kept on walking’.
Leader:
Jesus knew that every step he took was one step closer to his death.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew that before he died he would have to confront the centre of religious power, those who used God’s name to manipulate and control and oppress.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew that he would be betrayed to death by one of his friends and companions on the road.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew that he would be falsely tried by a corrupt and unjust legal system.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew the crowds were fickle and likely to turn on him as they had the prophets before him.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew he would be mocked and humiliated.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew his dearest and closest friends would fail him, abandon him, deny him, and struggle to believe in him.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew he would be flogged and tortured almost beyond what he could physically bear.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew his mother’s heart and the hearts of the men and women who loved him would be broken.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew he would suffer an agonizing death, and face the greatest confusion and darkness he had ever known.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew that if he was faithful to the end, he would know the greatest joy, of bringing redemption to the world.
All: He kept on walking.
Leader:
He knew that when all of it was through, he would return to the One from whom he came, the One who is Perfect Love.
All: He kept on walking.
When I think of Jesus, and his Way of the Cross, I believe that with each step, he was identifying more deeply with us, with all of us, especially the most broken parts of ourselves, and our communities. He was identifying with all the pain and suffering and despair of a really messed up, broken, sinful and lost humanity. He was identifying with all the oppressed and downtrodden ones.
And he invites us to pick up our cross and take this path, the Way of the Cross. He invites us to walk in solidarity with others who are forced to walk a path of suffering, humiliation and death. He invites us to know our own weakness and brokenness and not be afraid to keep walking.
In the next part of the liturgy we reflect on some of the people we have grown to love, the people whose plight has found a place in our hearts and in our prayers, and we imagine them walking this Way of the Cross, in the company of Jesus, and the Spirit of Jesus. With different levels of understanding, maybe, but with growing solidarity. To each of these groups I will say ‘keep walking, keep walking’ and then I invite you to respond with ‘in the Spirit of Christ keep walking.’ And at a moment that feels right to you – in solidarity with those we name in prayer, I encourage you to join the motley band accompanying Jesus, and keep walking.
Leader:
We see our Aboriginal brothers and sisters walking the way of the cross. The brothers and sisters who we have humiliated, crushed, killed, ignored and abandoned.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
Leader:
We see our Burmese brothers and sisters walking the way of the cross. Betrayed by their own people, crushed, imprisoned, killed or scattered.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
Leader:
We see our Sudanese brothers and sisters walking the way of the cross. Struggling to make a future in unfamiliar countries beyond such a bleak and violence ridden past.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
Leader:
We see those who are seeking asylum walking the way of the cross. Treated as criminals or less than human, without a place, or protection, or provision.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
Leader:
We see neighbours battling isolation and depression walking the way of the cross. Carrying the cross of addiction, mental illness, broken relationships and lack of hope for change.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
Leader:
We see those walking aimlessly, lost without a knowledge of God or where their path is ultimately heading. We know Jesus walks with them.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
Leader:
We see the kids, so vulnerable sometimes, and yet amazingly resilient. We see them so easily attracted to Jesus.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
Leader:
We see ourselves in all our messy mix of beauty and ugliness, courage and fear, insight and illusions, love and hate. With all our different personalities and creativity and passion.
Keep walking, keep walking.
All: In the Spirit of Christ keep walking.
We read that for the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross. The joy of bringing us on the journey, and the joy of returning to be with the Father. And there must have been joy in the journey.
Let’s walk to the table and gather around. Jesus celebrated this meal with his closest friends before he was arrested… but he knew that in dying and rising again, he would bring a whole new meaning and power to this meal. That then we would be united by his Spirit, who would tear down the barriers between us and enable us to walk the path in solidarity, to share this meal as true brothers and sisters. That in the breaking of the bread we would recognize that we too are broken and blessed. And in the drinking of the cup we would recognize that all our sins have been forgiven, and we have entered into a covenant, in which God’s Spirit can transform us from the inside out.
NB/ The idea of a liturgy around the phrase ‘He kept on walking’ came from the book Small Surrenders: A Lenten Journey by Emilie Griffin
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