Fr David King – sermon notes

Palm Sunday 29/3/26

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today we stand at the gateway of Holy Week, holding together two powerful moments from the Gospels: the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the solemn, unflinching account of the Passion in Matthew 26:14–27:66.

At the beginning, we hear the joyful cries of the crowd: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Cloaks are laid on the road, palms are waved, and Jesus is welcomed as King.

And yet, as the Passion unfolds, the tone shifts with startling speed. The cries of “Hosanna” give way to “Crucify him!” The one who is hailed as King is mocked, rejected, and led to the Cross.

Palm Sunday holds these two realities together—the glory and the suffering, the welcome and the rejection—and invites us to see in them not contradiction, but revelation.

For the truth is this: Jesus is indeed King. But He is not the kind of King the crowds expected.

As Saint Paul writes in Philippians 2:6–11, Christ Jesus, “though he was in the form of God… emptied himself, taking the form of a servant… and humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death—even death on a cross.”

Here is the heart of the Gospel. The kingship of Christ is revealed not in power, but in humility; not in conquest, but in self-giving love.

And so, as we listen to the Passion, we are not simply hearing a sequence of tragic events. We are witnessing the outworking of divine love—a love that does not turn back, even in the face of betrayal, denial, injustice, and suffering.

The Passion narrative places before us a series of deeply human responses to Jesus—and in them, we may recognise ourselves.

There is Judas, who betrays Him.
Peter, who denies Him.
The disciples, who abandon Him.
Pilate, who refuses to act on what he knows is right.
The crowd, swayed by fear and manipulation.

These are not distant figures. They are mirrors held up to our own lives.

How often do we, like Judas, allow our devotion to be eroded by lesser loves?
How often do we, like Peter, falter when our faith is tested?
How often do we, like Pilate, choose what is expedient over what is true?

And yet, even as we see ourselves in these failures, we are also drawn to the figure at the centre—Jesus Himself.

He does not retaliate.
He does not defend Himself.
He does not turn away.

Instead, He walks the path set before Him with quiet resolve, entrusting Himself to the Father. In His silence before His accusers, in His endurance of suffering, in His final cry from the Cross, we see a love that is steadfast and unyielding.

This is the love that redeems the world.

And this is the love that calls to us.

Palm Sunday, then, is not simply a day of remembrance. It is an invitation—an invitation to follow Christ more closely, to walk with Him through the days that lie ahead.

In the Anglican tradition, Holy Week offers us a sacred rhythm of prayer and reflection. Through the liturgies of these days—through Scripture, silence, and sacrament—we are invited to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s Passion.

I encourage you: do not let this week pass as though it were ordinary.

Make time to return.
Make time to listen.
Make time to pray.

Walk with Christ to the Upper Room.
Watch with Him in the garden.
Stand at the foot of the Cross.

For it is only by walking this path that we come to understand the depth of His love—and the meaning of His victory.

The Passion ends in stillness. A stone is rolled across the tomb. All seems lost.

But we know that this is not the end of the story.

Beyond the Cross lies the Resurrection.
Beyond the silence, a new song will be sung.

And so, as we leave this place today, let us do so not only with palms in our hands, but with a renewed commitment in our hearts.

To follow Christ in humility.
To trust Him in suffering.
To remain with Him, even in the darkness.

For the One who goes to the Cross is the same One who is exalted, as Saint Paul declares, so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

May we be among those who not only confess Him with our lips, but follow Him with our lives.

Amen.