The following is the text of the sermon I preached when I led Evensong on Sunday, 13 July; at Church — St Mary the Virgin, Godmanchester.
It was quite disconcerting when I first started to speak; I looked into the relatively small congregation (19), to see three Priests and a Bishop looking back at me. I think I may have gabbled the first paragraph a little, as nerves kicked in. Sometimes (often), as much as I know I shouldn’t, I doubt my worthiness — this was one of them.
Jesus at the Temple
Luke 19:41—20:8
Lord God, take my words and speak through them, take our minds and think through them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you, you who are Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Luke’s Gospel
In the reading we just heard from St Luke’s Gospel, we have his account of the events that took place on Palm Sunday — Jesus’s final entry into Jerusalem, a few days before his arrest, trial and crucifixion. In Luke, the story’s a bit shorter than the accounts given to us by Matthew, Mark and John; for example, it doesn’t mention the spreading of palm branches on the road by Jesus’s followers.
But Luke’s account does something very useful. It highlights the character and qualities of the Son of God, whose attitudes and feelings, we as Christians are encouraged to imitate. So let’s take a few minutes to see what Luke’s story of Palm Sunday, tells us about this man Jesus that we must try to follow.
Tags: Bravery, Church, Compassion, Evensong, Jesus, Sermon, Social Justice
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