Journey through Holy Week with Neland

Easter
by Ed de Guzman

EASTER SUNDAY

Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
On Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has triumphed over sin and death. In Christ, all will be made alive! (1 Corinthians 15)

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 
¹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; 
    his love endures forever. 
²Let Israel say: 
    “His love endures forever.” …  

¹⁴The Lord is my strength and my defense; 
    he has become my salvation. 
¹⁵Shouts of joy and victory 
    resound in the tents of the righteous: 
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! 
¹⁶    The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; 
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” 
¹⁷I will not die but live, 
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done. 
¹⁸The Lord has chastened me severely, 
    but he has not given me over to death. 
¹⁹Open for me the gates of the righteous; 
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. 
²⁰This is the gate of the Lord 
    through which the righteous may enter. 
²¹I will give you thanks, for you answered me; 
    you have become my salvation. 
²²The stone the builders rejected 
    has become the cornerstone; 
²³the Lord has done this, 
    and it is marvelous in our eyes. 
²⁴The Lord has done it this very day; 
    let us rejoice today and be glad. 

Gospel Reading: John 20:1-23 
The Empty Tomb 
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 
³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. 

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 
¹¹Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 
¹³They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” 
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 
¹⁵He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 
¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 
¹⁷Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 
¹⁸Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. 

Jesus Appears to His Disciples 
¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 
²¹Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²²And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 

Prayers 
Risen Jesus, no one saw it coming, but your march out of the tomb has changed everything.  This day leaves me breathless in wonder – death is conquered, hope lives, love wins, salvation is here!  Give me profound delight as I enjoy your resurrection life and deep devotion as I follow your resurrection way.  Christ is risen, hallelujah! Amen.   
(by Phillip Reinders, based on Heidelberg Catechism 45, in Seeking God’s Face) 

Holy God, hear our prayers. … 
We are tempted to believe the kingdoms of men are too much for us – too much for you – God. But, the Resurrection … new life … breath … new bone … new muscle … a new way of being in the world … Resurrection is your promise. 
(by Lisa Sharon Harper, from the Network Lobby Lenten Toolkit) 

Presence
by Mary Jane Pories

Holy Saturday

This is a strange day. Yesterday we remembered that Jesus died on the cross for us. Tomorrow we will celebrate his resurrection. Today? Today we rest. May God’s grace and courage be with us in this day. 

Psalm 88   
¹Lord, you are the God who saves me; 
    day and night I cry out to you. 
²May my prayer come before you; 
    turn your ear to my cry. 

³I am overwhelmed with troubles 
    and my life draws near to death. 
⁴I am counted among those who go down to the pit; 
    I am like one without strength. 
⁵I am set apart with the dead, 
    like the slain who lie in the grave, 
whom you remember no more, 
    who are cut off from your care. 

⁶You have put me in the lowest pit, 
    in the darkest depths. 
⁷Your wrath lies heavily on me; 
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.  
⁸You have taken from me my closest friends 
    and have made me repulsive to them. 
I am confined and cannot escape; 
⁹    my eyes are dim with grief. 

I call to you, Lord, every day; 
    I spread out my hands to you. 
¹⁰Do you show your wonders to the dead? 
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you? 
¹¹Is your love declared in the grave, 
    your faithfulness in Destruction? 
¹²Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, 
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? 

¹³But I cry to you for help, Lord; 
    in the morning my prayer comes before you. 
¹⁴Why, Lord, do you reject me 
    and hide your face from me? 

¹⁵From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; 
    I have borne your terrors and am in despair. 
¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me; 
    your terrors have destroyed me. 
¹⁷All day long they surround me like a flood; 
    they have completely engulfed me. 
¹⁸You have taken from me friend and neighbor— 
    darkness is my closest friend. 

Gospel: Luke 23:56   
Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.  

Prayer 
“In the Breath, Another Breathing” 
For Holy Saturday 
Let it be 
that on this day 
we will expect 
no more of ourselves 
than to keep  
breathing 
with the bewildered 
cadence  
of lungs 
that will not  
give up the ghost. 

Let it be  
we will expect 
little but 
the beating of 
our heart, 
stubborn in  
its repeating rhythm 
that will not 
cease to sound. 

Let it be 
we will  
still ourselves 
enough to hear 
what may yet  
come to echo: 
as if in the breath, 
another breathing; 
as if in the heartbeat, 
another heart. 

Let it be  
we will not 
try to fathom  
what comes 
to meet us 
in the stillness 
but simply open 
to the approach 
of a mystery 
we hardly 
dared to dream. 

(a blessing from Jan Richardson’s book Circle of Grace) 

Golgotha: Night
by Bruce Herman

Good Friday 

On the Friday we call “Good,” Jesus was crucified for our sin.  The Son of God died and was buried. 

Psalm 22:1-15
¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 
    Why are you so far from saving me, 
    so far from my cries of anguish? 
²My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, 
    by night, but I find no rest.  

³Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; 
    you are the one Israel praises.  
⁴In you our ancestors put their trust; 
    they trusted and you delivered them. 
⁵To you they cried out and were saved; 
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 

⁶But I am a worm and not a man, 
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people. 
⁷All who see me mock me; 
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads. 
⁸“He trusts in the Lord,” they say, 
    “let the Lord rescue him. 
Let him deliver him, 
    since he delights in him.” 

⁹Yet you brought me out of the womb; 
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 
¹⁰From birth I was cast on you; 
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 

¹¹Do not be far from me, 
    for trouble is near 
    and there is no one to help. 

¹²Many bulls surround me; 
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 
¹³Roaring lions that tear their prey 
    open their mouths wide against me. 
¹⁴I am poured out like water, 
    and all my bones are out of joint. 
My heart has turned to wax; 
    it has melted within me. 
¹⁵My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, 
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; 
    you lay me in the dust of death. 

Gospel  Luke 23:26-49 
The Crucifixion of Jesus 
²⁶As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”  and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ 
³¹For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 
³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^[c] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 
³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 
³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 
³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. 
³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 
⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 
⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 
⁴³Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 

The Death of Jesus 
⁴⁴It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. 
⁴⁷The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. 

Prayer 
O sacred head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,  
now scornfully surrounded with thorns, your only crown. 
O sacred head, what glory and blessing you have known! 
Yet, though despised and gory, I claim you as my own. 

My Lord, what you did suffer was all for sinners’ gain; 
Mine, mine was the transgression, but yours the deadly pain. 
So here I kneel, my Savior, for I deserve your place; 
Look on me with your favor and save me by your grace. 

What language shall I borrow to thank you, dearest Friend, 
For this, your dying sorrow, your mercy without end! 
Lord, make me yours forever, a loyal servant true, 
And let me never, never outlive my love for you.  
(Medieval Latin Hymn)  

The Last Supper
by Jen Norton

Maundy Thursday

Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples and gave them a new mandate: Love one another. Then they went out to the Garden of Gethseemane to pray, and Jesus was arrested there.

Psalm 116:1-2,12-19
¹I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
  he heard my cry for mercy.
²Because he turned his ear to me,
  I will call on him as long as I live.

¹²What shall I return to the LORD
  for all his goodness to me?
¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation
  and call on the name of the LORD.
¹⁴I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
  in the presence of all his people.
¹⁵Precious in the sight of the LORD
  is the death of his faithful servants.
¹⁶Truly I am your servant, LORD;
  I serve you just as my mother did;
  you have freed me from my chains.
¹⁷I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
  and call on the name of the LORD.
¹⁸I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
  in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹in the courts of the house of the LORD—
  in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD.

Gospel John 13:18-38
Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
¹⁸“I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned[a] against me.’
¹⁹“I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. ²⁰Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
²¹After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
²²His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. ²³ One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. ²⁴Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
²⁵Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
²⁶Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” ²⁸But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. ³⁰As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
³¹When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³²If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
³³“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
³⁶Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”
³⁷Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
³⁸Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

Prayer
Things are changing … But with you, O Lord, one thing never changed. Ironically, you and your accusers had the selfsame goal, and by your very silence, steadfastly, you went as it was written of you. Human beings strategized; human evil sent you to your cross. But something huger hovered over the occasion, something of your own volition:
Love.
(Reliving the Passion, Walter Wangerin)

Consider participating in Neland's Maundy Thursday service at 7pm (in person or via livestream).

You may also want to visit the artist's page for her reflection on the "Last Supper."
Jen Norton Studio: Last Supper

The Thirty Pieces of Silver
by János Pentelei Molnár, 1909.

Wednesday of Holy Week

During this week, Judas went to the religious leaders with a plan to betray Jesus.

Psalm 55: 1-14, 23b
1 Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; 2 hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught 3 because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked; for they bring down suffering on me and assail me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. 5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. 6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert; 8 I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”

9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it. 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.

23b But as for me, I trust in you.

Gospel Reading: Luke 22:1-6
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

Prayer
"Thou Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being, we humbly confess that we have not loved Thee with our hearts, souls and minds, and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us. We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive. We love our friends and hate our enemies. We go the first mile but dare not travel the second. We forgive but dare not forget. And so as we look within ourselves, we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against You. But Thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know Your will. Give us the courage to do Your will. Give us the devotion to love Your will. In the name and spirit of Jesus, we pray. Amen."
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Icon of Woman Anointing Jesus
Chapel of the Casa Incontri Cristiani, Capiago, Italy

Tuesday of Holy Week

We find Jesus in Bethany, sharing a meal with friends, when a woman anoints him with precious perfume.

Psalm 23 
^{1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2}    He makes me lie down in green pastures, 
he leads me beside quiet waters, 
³    he refreshes my soul. 
He guides me along the right paths 
    for his name’s sake. 
⁴Even though I walk 
    through the darkest valley,  
I will fear no evil, 
    for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff, 
    they comfort me. 
⁵You prepare a table before me 
    in the presence of my enemies. 
You anoint my head with oil; 
    my cup overflows. 
⁶Surely your goodness and love will follow me 
    all the days of my life, 
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 
    forever. 

Gospel Reading: Mark 14:1-9  
Jesus is anointed at Bethany  

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ²“But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” 

³While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. 

⁴Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages^[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. 

⁶“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” 

Prayer  
Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you, 
And desire nothing, save only you. 
Let me humble myself and exalt you. 
Let me think of nothing except you. 
Let me die to myself and live in you. 
Let me accept whatever happens as from you. 
Let me banish self and follow you, 
And ever desire to follow you. 
Let me fly from myself and take refuge in you, 
That I may deserve to be defended by you. 
Let me fear for myself, let me fear you, 
And let me be among those who are chosen by you. 
Let me distrust myself and put my trust in you. 
Let me be willing to obey for the sake of you. 
Let me cling to nothing, save only to you, 
And let me be poor because of you. 
Look upon me, that I may love you. 
Call me, that I may see you, 
And forever enjoy you. 
Amen. 
(Saint Augustine)  

Jesus Teaching in the Temple by James Tissot

Monday of Holy Week

Jesus returns to Jerusalem and teaches in the temple. The religious leaders question his authority and begin their plot to kill him.

Psalm 66:1-2, 13-20
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2     Sing the glory of his name;
    make his praise glorious. …

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
    and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats.

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
    let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
    and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!

Gospel Reading - Matthew 21:18-27
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, I want to walk with you through this week, to be present to the tumult of all that you experienced, to wait with you, to watch as rough hands took hold of your all too human flesh, as you experienced betrayal and rejection. Let me see you, and weep that such a thing ever happened to you, O spotless Lamb. Amen.
(from Bless the Lent We Actually Have, Kate Bowler)

Palm Sunday Triumphal Entry by Emmanuel Nsama, 1969.
Mural in the chapel at Njase Girls Secondary School, Zambia.

Palm Sunday

Our Sunday Begins with a Psalm of Praise and the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem, to shouts of "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Psalm 24:7-10 
⁷Lift up your heads, you gates; 
    be lifted up, you ancient doors, 
    that the King of glory may come in. 
⁸Who is this King of glory? 
    The Lord strong and mighty, 
    the Lord mighty in battle. 
⁹Lift up your heads, you gates; 
    lift them up, you ancient doors, 
    that the King of glory may come in. 
¹⁰Who is he, this King of glory? 
    The Lord Almighty— 
    he is the King of glory. 

Gospel Reading - Mark 11:1-11
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King 
¹As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” 
⁴They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, 
“Hosanna!” 
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  
¹⁰“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” 
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 
11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. 

Prayer
This is a time to be with you, Lord, in a special way, a time to pray, to fast, and thus to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha, and to the final victory over death. 
I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life. 
The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. There are not times or places without choices. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you. 
Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place. Give me the strength and the courage to live this season faithfully, so that, when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life that you have prepared for me. Amen. 
(“A Lenten Prayer,” by Henri Nouwen)