Palm Sunday - Holy Week
Let us pray (in silence) [that through this week we may share in Christ’s dying and rising]
pause
Almighty and everliving God,
in your tender love towards us
you sent your Son to take our nature upon him,
and to suffer death upon the cross;
grant that we may follow the example
of his great humility
and share in his glorious resurrection:
through him who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
There is a particularly strong tendency on Palm Sunday and in Holy Week following to reduce our celebration to a factitious play, complete, if at all possible, with actual donkey. There is drama in liturgy, certainly. But this is not merely a recalling of some past events in the hope of generating some spiritual emotion. We are participating in the celebration of the mystery – a mystery made present in this very celebration. There was an actual, past, historical event – and the effect of it is made present in our lives now. We are not merely pretending that Christ is entering Jerusalem now, Christ is presiding at his last meal now, Christ is dying now, Christ is rising now. Those are past events. Yet this paschal mystery of death and resurrection needs to be present now at every moment, empowering and giving meaning to every moment. As we celebrate the paschal mystery this Holy Week the hope is not merely that we might see Christ die and rise again – the hope is that we will die and rise again. That we will experience Christ’s death and resurrection as a reality in our own lives. And in that of our community.
This is a key given in today’s collect that might unlock the doorway into this week. The collect is clearly sourced in the traditional Palm Sunday Epistle, Philippians 2:5-11. The collect goes back to the Gelasian (#329) and Gregorian sacramentaries (#312) for Palm Sunday as:
Omnipotens sempiterne deus qui humano generi ad imitandum humilitatis exemplum salvatorem nostrum carnem sumere et crucem subire fecisti concede propitius ut et patientiae ipsius habere documenta et resurrectionis consortia mereatur
Literally translated: Almighty and Eternal God, You Who had Your Son, our Saviour, take on human flesh and undergo the Cross, in order to offer to the human race an example of humility to be imitated, kindly grant, that we might deserve both to possess the teachings of His patience and share in His Resurrection. (source)
Cranmer for 1549 added “of thy tender love toward man” as well as altering the petition: ALMIGHTIE and everlastynge God, whiche of thy tender love towarde man, haste sente our savior Jesus Christ, to take upon him oure fleshe, and to suffre death upon the crosse, that all mankynde shoulde folowe the example of his greate humilitie; mercifully graunte that we both folowe the example of his pacience, and be made partakers of his resurreccion; thoroughe the same Jesus Christ our lorde.
It has been noted that this collect very tightly expresses the doctrine of the Atonement – taking in the sweep from Christ’s incarnation to his death. The NZ version loses the centrality of Christ’s humility in this vision of the Atonement found in the original collect and going back to the Philippians hymn. The American BCP retains this original insight and enhances the realisation that the word “patience” includes suffering, not merely endurance. It is not just Christ who dies and rises this week. We pray that we will:
Almighty and everliving God,
in your tender love for the human race
you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ
to take upon him our nature,
and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us the example of his great humility:
Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering,
and also share in his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Adapted by the Sisters of St Helena as:
Almighty and everliving God,
in your tender love for humanity
you sent Jesus to take our nature upon him,
and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us an example of great humility:
Mercifully grant that we too may walk in the way of the cross, and share in the resurrection;
through the one who is our Saviour and Redeemer
and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
• Introduction and context for readings Palm/Passion Sunday, 16 March 2008 (not just a summary)