Pine (Palm) Sunday Prayer

April 15 - Lent 6 (Palm Sunday)

Source of all being, Eternal Word, Holy Spirit -
Today we enter into a week called holy;
drawing nearer to the events that shook up
history and invite us into faith.
It is a day of rejoicing and singing your praises.
We wave our pine boughs,
our hemlock branches, our cedars,
and lay them down before you.
eagerly wanting to
demonstrate our devotion.
We confess that we are so easily
caught up in excitement and expectation
that we forget to look more deeply
at what is really going on around us.
Your presence and your work
among us is not shallow or simple.
Have mercy on us, O God,
when we don’t understand.
Faith is messy stuff.
Help us to lay down our
misguided expectations of you,
of others, of ourselves.
We pray with confidence
of your love and compassion for us
and for the entire universe,
Open our hearts wide enough
to hold the beauty and praise
along with the pain and darkness
of life, and death, and new life.
Amen.

- Wendy Janzen, 2019