Hi everyone,

Welcome to worship for this Palm/Passion Sunday, landing on March 29, 2026!

The bulletin for this service can be found here. You can use it to follow along with the service, or just use the words that will appear on your screen. The sermon can be found both in the bulletin as well as on this page below the video.

For an enhanced worship experience online, you are invited to have a candle in your space, lit for most of the service but extinguished after the sending hymn when the altar candles are extinguished. You are also welcome to participate in communion if you are comfortable, by having something small to eat and drink prepared for the appropriate time in the service. Further instruction will be given then.

May God’s unending presence and love fill you with hope and peace, this day and always!

Let your Word, O God, break open our hearts this day by the power of your Spirit, that we may enter into this coming Holy Week with the same mind that is in Christ Jesus, with whom we pray. Amen.

So I guess cherry blossom season here in the Lower Mainland is in full bloom.  This is a favourite time of year for many Vancouverites and otherwise, as our fair city gets its glow up with the pinkish white leaves that line the streets for just a couple weeks of the year.  And I’ll admit, it is pretty easy on the eyes and it’s a surefire tell that spring is here and that warmer and brighter days are on their way.  So in general, it’s a pretty happy time of the year for those who love summer, a demographic that I am very much a part of.

But at the same time, this season for me is also not all that great, because another demographic that I’m a part of is the folk who love clean and tidy cars.  If you ever lived in a neighbourhood that had these cherry blossom trees or worked on a street that was lined with them or had to ever found yourself in the unfortunate circumstance where you had to park under one of them for any period of time… then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Those pretty pink petal things have to go somewhere when they drop off the tree.  And they’re like sand at the beach, they just get everywhere, and they stay there.  Especially if it’s wet out.  There is no escaping it.  Even if you don’t live or work or have to park by these trees, I’m sure you’ll find yourself driving behind a car that does or had to, and some of that surplus cherry blossom blessing will blow off their car will inevitably land on yours.  And because they’re so thin and light, the wind can pick them up and move them like a whole city block.  So parking at the other end of our lot here at the church, away from the sidewalk and avoiding those trees, won’t make much of a difference as I’m still going to find one or two or 358 of these suckers on my otherwise pretty clean car.

Sigh, it’s a tough life, this Vancouver life.

So while I do get a bit excited when I see that first cherry blossom on the trees as it is the sign for me that summer is coming, I also cringe a little inside as I know I’ll need to spend more time cleaning off wet leaves, picking off the dry ones, and feeling embarrassed that my car isn’t as spic and span as I would normally like it to be.  It’s kind of bittersweet.

Maybe you’re not like me in this regard and you’re just 100% on team cherry blossom and you take picture after picturesque picture and have post after instagrammable post.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  Or maybe you’re on the extreme opposite and you can’t stand the mess these botanical nuisances leave in our yards, on our paths, and on the soles of our shoes.  So even if you don’t share my bittersweet sentiment specifically toward this particular time of year, perhaps you still know what I mean in different areas of life.  Different areas that present a dichotomy of joy and sorrow, situations that are both happy and sad, or moments that are both up and down.

Or even, maybe a Sunday of the church year that starts full of life but moves very quickly to a death.  Where shouts of “Hosanna” transform into shouts of “crucify him.”  Where welcome, honour, and love turn on a dime into exile, curses, and hatred. 

Bittersweet.

So it’s a no wonder that I more often than not struggle with this day.  It’s a no wonder that I usually have a hard time making sense of the dichotomy of this mix of Palm/Passion Sunday.  It’s a no wonder that this is the exact subject of my sermons for this exact day like 90% of the time.

But as I again struggled with this day this time around, one thing stood out to me that never did before, not that I remember at least.  Usually I focus on the Passion Narrative and almost flat out ignore the Triumphal Entry.  I’ll acknowledge the dichotomy but not dwell on it.  I’d scratch my head about putting these two very separate events and themes together in this one problematic day.

What I noticed this time, was that in the first gospel reading we see the crowds, in the hustle and bustle of Jesus entering the city surrounded by the fanfare and welcome, answering the question of “who is this” by proclaiming that Jesus is a prophet.

Jesus, in his humble entry on a humble animal from the more humble door into the city, entered as a prophet.  Jesus brought the message of humility, of compassion, and of salvation for all.  But then compare that with the second gospel reading, which in this shortened version that was selected for today ends with a centurion also proclaiming a truth about Jesus, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

This man, beaten, humiliated, and killed, was not just a prophet, but a king.  In his being belittled, insulted, and spat at, he was given the name above all names.  In the utter scorn from the very people he came to save, it was revealed to all that Jesus truly is the Son of God.

So what does all of this have to do with cherry blossoms?  To be honest, I had a hard time putting this sermon together.  Not only was this past week super busy with it being week 2 of spring break for our kids among other things, but I also found out that a dear member of our congregation is going through yet another significant bout of hardship.  And I’m not blaming anyone as this is of course no one’s fault, but I couldn’t continue on with my sermon as I had planned.

Because… what the heck, God?  What are you thinking?  Why the unnecessary hurt, the uncalled for pain, the very much unwanted brokenness?  Why do you forsake us?  It almost feels like the cries of “crucify him” isn’t just for Jesus from those who consider themselves their enemies, but also for us, from God, who claims to be our Saviour.

We don’t deserve this, do we?  We shouldn’t be put through the ringer and face all this turmoil, should we?  Can’t we ever be protected from all these bad seasons of our lives? 

Maybe that’s the thing, throughout our lives we go through many different seasons.  Some good, many bad, and then there are those that might be seen as a bit of both.  And today reminds me that God is seen in them all.  We might not see it right away.  Our eyes might be covered momentarily by our anger and frustration with our situations.  We might want to blame something or someone just to alleviate this pain.

But if today tells us anything about this crazy, wild, tumultuous life, is that God is with us.  If the season of Lent that leads to Easter reminds us of anything in the ups and downs of life, is that God is with us.  In the dichotomy of these stories and themes we get for this day, we can rest assured that God is with us.

In the beauty of nature.  In the frustration of inconvenience.  In all of life and even in death.  God is with us.

In the moments of calm serenity.  In the times of hectic busyness.  In the weird in between that doesn’t make any sense at all.  God is with us.

In the welcome and prayerful rejoice of Palm Sunday.  In the sorrow and shame of the Sunday of the Passion.  In the brightest and darkest times of life.  God is with us.

God is with us in the blessings and the woes, in the high points and the low points, in the times of plenty and in the times of want, God remains with us and reminds us that even through it all we are called by name to be God’s people.  Not to never face hardship but to know that even in the face of it, God continues to hold us, lift us up, and bring us into the everlasting story of grace, hope, and love. 

Again this won’t take away all the pain, but it does remind us that even in life’s surprising plot twists, we can rest assured and find confidence in the secure promise that through it all, we will remain as God’s children.

In this upcoming Holy Week that will lead us to the glorious resurrection of our Lord, may we see God’s presence with us, feel God’s hand holding us, and know God’s love saving us, in all that we do and in all that we are.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.