Wingham United Church

March 29, 2026

Palm Sunday

Give Thanks

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Matthew 21:1-11

          Palm Sunday is one of those special events that challenge a preacher to come up with a new message year after year. The gospel lesson each year is the same story, but told from different viewpoints, Mark, Luke, and, this year, Matthew. The differences are minor. The story so familiar. What new insights are there to be gained?

To add to the challenge, unlike most weeks, instead of four suggested scripture readings, there are only two, and every year, the other reading is exactly the same. So, in an effort to find something new, I focused more on that other reading this year, although I certainly won’t ignore the gospel lesson. The lection for today is Psalm 118, verses 1-2 and 19-29, as it is every Palm Sunday, yet, surprisingly, our Voices United doesn’t even attempt to present it in that format.

          If you look it up in your bibles and compare the reading to our psalter, you will find that, although Voices United says in includes verses 1-4 and 19-29, in fact, it omits verses 1 and 29, which are exactly the same, creating a set of brackets in which the rest of the psalm is contained. To me, this is the best, and perhaps the most important part of the whole reading for us.

                          Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
                          His faithful love endures forever.

          Psalm 118 is intended to be used as a processional, sort of like a parade. The faithful would gather outside the city gates. Together they would shout that verse that our hymn book omits.

                          Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
                          His faithful love endures forever.

          Then the priest, attempting to build the excitement and enthusiasm, would call out “Let Israel now say:”

          And the crowd would respond “His faithful love endures forever.”

          The priest would call out “Let the House of Aaron say:”

          And the crowd would respond, probably with a lot more enthusiasm that we typically muster here on Sunday mornings: “His faithful love endures forever.”

          The priest calls for all the faithful to cry out again, and the crowd would respond even louder, “His faithful love endures forever!”

     Then the call and response continue on. What follows, verses 5 through 18, which is identified as “Part 2” in Voices United, is a litany of challenges, hardships, and struggles the Israelites endured on their way to the Promised Land, and a reminder of how God helped them overcome each. This would be sung as the people made their way through the city streets to the gates of the temple. Our Palm Sunday scripture skips over that part and moves directly to the triumphant entry to the temple, but those verses we skip over today are important to fully understand what this represents.

     When we pick up the reading at verse 19, we have arrived at the gates to the temple, and the crowd cries out, “Open for me the gates where the righteous will enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.” The preceding verses serve as a reminder of all that Israel has to be thankful for.

     Then the priest proclaims, “These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.” Back and forth the conversation continues as the faithful enter the temple, into the Promised Land, and into the presence of God. The Jews have many such traditions, all intended to remind them of what they have to be grateful for, of all the many and enduring blessings they have received from God.

     Easter serves a similar purpose for Christians. Each year, we take a whole week, starting with Palm Sunday, to acknowledge what we have to be thankful for and to remember Christ’s great sacrifice on our behalf. Psalm 118 is so fundamentally associated with Palm Sunday because there are so many connections between its words, written centuries before, and the events and associations of Easter.

     For instance, as the faithful enter the temple, they proclaim that “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” To the Jews, that stone is the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, redeemed from slavery and built up into a powerful nation, but it later becomes associated with Jesus, rejected by leaders of that same temple and put to death as a troublemaker, but later raised up to be the very foundation of a new understanding of our relationship with God.

     Later in the Psalm, the priest calls out, “Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” to which the crowd responds, “We bless you from the house of the Lord.” As Jesus rides into Jerusalem on what we ironically call Palm Sunday, although scripture makes no mention of palms, the crowds shout that same prayer: “Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” There is a recognition in this that Jesus is indeed the one sent from God, their Messiah.

     Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem in many ways re-enacts the procession carried out for years previous, the triumphal entry of the faithful into the city of God. But there are also differences. Unlike the parade of Psalm 118, led by a priest and choreographed to celebrate Israel’s history, Jesus’ ride into town sparks a spontaneous celebration that infuriates and terrifies the priests and other temple leaders. When they hear the crowds shouting, “Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” they realize they have lost this running battle they have had with Jesus and his followers. All of their attempts to discredit him have failed. The crowds now see the truth, and the temple leaders have lost their power.

     Jesus, though riding on a donkey, a sign of humility and peace, has won the hearts and devotion of the people. Had he ridden into Jerusalem in a golden chariot pulled by great white stallions, he could hardly have had a greater impact or generated a more powerful response among the people. That is largely because the ancient prophet had foretold centuries earlier, that the One sent by God to save God’s people would arrive riding on a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9) The crowds know this prophecy well and they shout it out as Jesus rides along.

     Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem whips the crowd into such a frenzy because there is so much happening in this moment that reminds them of all the promises that have been made over the years regarding the Messiah, their Saviour. All the miracles he has performed, including his most recent and profound act, that of raising Lazarus from the dead, have caused many to believe. This parade, with all its reflection of their ancient prophecies, sways the last of the skeptics and solidifies the faith of so many others.

     What he does next only builds upon this affirmation of his identity. He goes to the temple, accuses the temple leaders of turning his Father’s House, a place meant for worship and prayer, into a “den of thieves,” a marketplace for venders and money changes to turn a profit at the expense of those coming to worship God. He clears the temple, demonstrating his passion and zeal for the House of God, and finally pushes the temple leaders beyond the brink.

     His triumphant entry into the city, so reflective of so many of the ancient scriptures verify his identity as Israel’s Saviour. The exuberance of the crowds as they, too, recognize all these signs they have so long been waiting to see, and finally the authority with which Jesus enters the temple and claims it back as His Father’s House leave the Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests no other alternative. There attempts to discredit Jesus, to destroy his reputation, to sew doubt in the minds of those who follow him have all failed. This day makes that obviously and painfully clear. There is only one other option. Jesus must die, and he must die in such a way that also destroys his image and reputation. It must be public, and it must be done by the most humiliating means possible. The conspiracy they have been whispering about for weeks must now be turned into action.

     They fail to realize that even this desperate act fulfills the ancient prophecies and only serves to reaffirm what the crowds have come to know. Psalm 118:27 says, “Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords to the altar.” Their attempt to destroy Jesus only raises him higher. The people of Jerusalem, Israel and Judea, and eventually the whole world will know the truth, and shout along with our ancestors:

                          Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
                          His faithful love endures forever.

Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv