Open the Gates

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, have participants answer, “If you were designing a parade float, what would it promote?”

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 and Luke 19:28-40.

• Palm/Passion Sunday shines a light on the crowds that shouted, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” on Sunday and “Crucify him!” just days later. The worship notes for this Sunday remind us that “withineach of us is the capacity to claim Christ and reject him almost at the same time.” Can you think of ways this happens in our lives? [One example: We faithfully attend church on Sundays and just as faithfully avoid the kind of costly discipleship Jesus teaches about in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) on Mondays.]
• The Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler, associate professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, offers this observation on today’s reading:
• The people gave their all in joy to pave the way for the coming of the Kingdom. Imagine the type of commitment and the excitement it takes to remove your clothes from your body and cast them in the street. Some of these people were poor and may only have owned one cloak, yet they cast them on the ground so that their new king would have a royal pathway on which to walk.
• Sadler raises this question:
• What would this world be like if we were so excited about our relationship with God that we committed all of our time, talent, and treasure to spreading the Gospel, to feeding the inner city poor, to visiting and praying for the sick and shut-in, to comforting the discouraged who struggle with drug abuse and other addictions, to seeking justice for those treated unjustly by the prison system, and to sharing hope with hopeless young men and women?
• Jesus enters Jerusalem on a humble colt, promoting an alternative to Pilate’s kingdom of power and violence. Jesus’ kingdom centers on peace and love. How does this alternative kingdom remain a threat to the established powers today? [It challenges government preoccupation with military might and police action as an answer to our problems.]
• In Luke 19:39, the Pharisees demand that Jesus get his disciples under control. It brings to mind the late John Lewis’s admonition to ‘get into good trouble, necessary trouble.’ How is this complaint against the disciples a compliment to Jesus’ disciples then and now? [Their devotion to Jesus makes waves and causes a necessary disturbance.]
• “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” It is the beginning and concluding refrain in Psalm 118. How does this psalm invite us to embrace radical gratitude and intentional celebration as a cornerstone of our lives? [The psalm focuses on all that God has given us.] What are some practical ways we can incorporate celebration into our daily living?

Optional Activity – listen to this week's playlist song “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen.

We have arrived at Holy Week. We followed Jesus into Jerusalem amid joyful multitudes who hailed him as a king, yet we know Friday is coming. The triumphant multitudes will not stick around long. Yet, God’s steadfast love never fails. So, as we move into this holiest of weeks, listen to “You Will Be Found” from the musical Dear Evan Hansen and consider: “How does God’s steadfast love find you, even when you feel lost?”

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. (Pause for participants to pray silently.) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. (Pause again for participants to pray silently.) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Rev. Joe Hamby is the Director of Community Education at Roof Above, a comprehensive homeless service provider in Charlotte, NC. In his first career, Joe was a youth pastor at several United Methodist churches in the Western North Carolina Annual Conference. Joe’s other ministry interest takes him to Cabarrus Regional Juvenile Detention Center twice a month.