Lent calendar prayer and reflection for 9 April - Palm Sunday

I set my face like flint, I know I shall not be shamed.

Isaiah 50:4-7

Today we walk with Jesus to the shadow of the Cross.

Jesus’ heart is full of sorrow in the garden of Gethsemane. He knows his friends will desert him. When he is handed over, the soldiers twist him a crown of thorns and mock him as though he is nothing. Perhaps Jesus even feels abandoned by God, as he cries out, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (Matthew 26:14-27:66)

Yet Christ endures all of this. I imagine he holds his head high, trusting and praying and holding onto God. In this way, he reveals his divine dignity, both fully God and fully human.
Christ’s passion is an immense sacrifice of love for each one of us, setting us free.   

Prayer for Palm Sunday

Loving God, we watch as silent shadows sweep across the earth. For all those who are living as slaves today, in refugee camps or in merciless working conditions, we pray we may hold hope in our hearts for the coming of dawn. Amen.