Recovery Worship
Virtual Recovery – April 5, 2020 – Palm Sunday

Zechariah 9:9 (NRSV)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus’ Entry into Jerusalem
Matthew 21:1-3; Mark 11:4-6; Matthew 21:7; John 12:12-13; Matthew 21:8-9; Luke 19:36-40
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount 
of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of 
you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them 
and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord 
needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they 
were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, 
untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to 
take it.
They brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat 
on them. 
…the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to 
Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, 
shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of 
Israel!”
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from 
the trees and spread them on the road. 
The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the 
Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 
As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole 
multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all 
the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
Some of the [religious leaders] in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your 
disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would 
shout out.”

Prayer/Blessing (tweaked from a traditional Franciscan blessing)
God, bless us with restlessness and discomfort 
about too-easy answers, half-truths, and superficiality 
so that we will seek the heart of God and live it boldly.
God, bless us with anger 
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation 
so that we will work for justice, freedom, and peace for all.
God, bless us with tears and compassion 
for those who suffer, who are excluded, who are hungry, who are at war 
so that we will help them and bring them into the community of life.
God, bless us with defiance 
against systems of oppression and empire 
so that we may work to bring about your kingdom here and now.