Palm Sunday Songs of Praise

Cheltenham is a festival town.

As well as racing,

crowds are drawn to annual gatherings devoted to jazz,

science, literature and the Greenbelt Christian Festival

that also takes place on the town's famous racecourse.

And 2000 years ago in Jerusalem, another festival crowd

gathered - pilgrims preparing for the Jewish festival of Passover.

As Jesus entered the city, people praised him by waving palm branches.

Today, our congregation in All Saints Church

sing their Palm Sunday songs of praise and there's music from Libera,

Mary Jess and Only Men Aloud,

and the Bible's accounts of key moments from Jesus's last week

are read by Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Jesus chose a humble mount

when he rode into Jerusalem - a donkey.

It didn't stop the people acclaiming him, though,

as Mark's gospel describes.

"They brought the colt to Jesus

"and threw their cloaks on it,

"and he sat on it.

"Many people spread their cloaks on the road

"and others spread leafy branches that they'd cut in the fields.

"Then, those who went ahead and those who followed,

"were shouting, 'Hosanna,

"'blessed is the one who comes

"'in the name of the Lord.'"

Jesus's entry into Jerusalem was the first act

in six days of drama that was to lead to his crucifixion.

Our first hymn powerfully captures the scene on Palm Sunday

and the contrast within it -

Jesus's meekness and majesty,

his impending suffering and glory.

The days between that first Palm Sunday and Good Friday

encompass friendship and betrayal,

selfishness and service.

One of the most powerful images is that of Jesus the master

being a servant,

washing the feet of his disciples at their last meal together.

"After he had washed their feet and put on his robe

"and had returned to the table,

he said to them, "'If I, your Lord and teacher

"'have washed your feet,

"'you also ought to wash one another's feet,

"'for I have set you an example

"'that you also should do as I have done to you.'"

WATER TRICKLES

Jesus's example of service is one that continues to inspire people.

In Cheltenham, Ben Lillie runs a project called The Rock,

providing challenging activities for young people,

from urban street sports to essential life skills.

The Rock's, I guess, primary calling and purpose

is to be a hands-and-feet ministry first and foremost.

We come to serve and actually to kind of get down

and into the mess of life with the people that we work with.

We mainly work with young people, pre-16 mainly

and demonstrating signs of behavioural issues or struggles

and those who are actually already excluded from education.

The young people that we work with, in many ways,

are similar to those that Jesus worked and walked with in his day.

The tax collectors of their day were rejected,

and the hoodies of our day are rejected.

That extraordinary model of Jesus kneeling down

and washing his disciples' feet,

his everyday, run-of-the-mill, from-the-street disciples,

that inspires us to work with everyday, run-of-the-mill people

who come into our building and we engage with.

And actually the Bible was so clear when it said,

"Go and do the same, I've given you an example - go and do the same."

One of the times when Jesus most shows his human nature

is in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Facing a cruel and painful death,

he prays to his father that this cup of suffering be taken from him.

They went to a place called Gethsemane.

And he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."

And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground

and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible.

"Remove this cup from me.

"Yet not what I want, but what you want.

Jesus's words reflect his trust in God in the direst circumstances.

Our next piece of music is also a prayer.

It's written by a 19th century clergyman, George Croly.

It too is a cry from the heart.

# Spirit of God, descend upon my heart

# Wean it from Earth, through all its pulses move

# Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art

# And make me love Thee as I ought to love

# I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies

# No sudden rending of the veil of clay

# No angel visitant, no opening skies

# But take the dimness of my soul away

# Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love

# One holy passion filling all my frame

# The baptism of the heaven-descended dove

# My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame

# And Thy love the flame. #

One of the most dramatic scenes of Holy Week takes place

when Jesus is tried as a criminal

in front of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate,

and, though innocent, is found guilty.

Now the chief priests and the whole council

were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death.

But they found none.

This story of injustice still resonates today.

In 2000, Sandi Ncube took part in peaceful protests

against the government in her native Zimbabwe.

..Are crushed and crushed fully.

The Mugabe regime, it is very powerful.

But our demonstrations were peaceful demonstrations

but which were taken over by the local authority.

And they responded through violence.

They took me to the police station.

We were beaten and, er... so many things happened.

People lost their lives, some disappeared.

We never knew where they went.

Well, I was...tortured,

and...you know, horrible things happened as well.

And...it was just horrible.

I was in fear of my life.

If you've never seen the other side of a human being

turning out to be a... a vicious animal,

then...you just...

you just don't trust any more.

I left Zimbabwe in August 2000, and I came here and seeked asylum.

And I got my asylum status. I'm a recognised refugee now.

I've managed to make a life for myself here,

but even though I'm still scared of the police

when I see them in the street!

I think it made me stronger in my faith,

because whatever I did, I said, "This thing has to happen for a reason."

I suppose God has the answers for everything,

and I just put everything in God's hands.

And maybe that made me get to this stage where I am today.

I felt safe here,

and I just thank God every day, to be honest, every day.

Even if I don't say it loud and say, "Thank God,"

I just believe God is there.

# How great a being

# Which doth all beings keep

# Thy knowledge, the only line

# To sound so vast a deep

# Thou art a sea without a shore

# A sun without a sphere

# Thy time is now and evermore

# Thy place is everywhere

# How shall I sing that majesty

# Which angels do admire?

# Let dust in dust

# And silence lie

# Sing, sing ye heavenly choir

# Thou art a sea without a shore

# A sun without a sphere

# Thy time is now and evermore

# Thy place is everywhere

# How shall I sing that majesty

# Which angels do admire?

# Let dust in dust

# And silence lie

# Sing, sing ye heavenly choir. #

The first thing you see

as you approach All Saints' Church from Cheltenham town centre

is the Calvary,

erected in memory of the men from the parish

who fell in the First World War.

The image of Jesus, an innocent man tortured to death

is at the heart of much Christian art and music.

Johann Sebastian Bach's Passion Chorale

depicts the scene in all its darkness.

"When they came to the place that is called the Skull...

"..they crucified Jesus there with the criminals.

"One on his right and one on his left.

"Then Jesus said,

"'Father, forgive them

"'for they do not know what they are doing.'"

Jesus forgave immediately, but for most of us the road to forgiveness -

if we are able to walk along it at all - is a long and painful one.

In 2001, Ray and Vi Donovan's 18-year-old son Chris

was murdered in a random attack by a group of youths.

Well, initially, when we were in the hospital

and they came and told us he'd died,

I was so angry.

I was so full of rage.

I could feel it coming up inside of me.

It felt as if I was totally out of control and...

it really wasn't me.

We got in the car to come home -

it was in the early hours of the morning -

and Ray looked at me and said,

"Vi, as Christians we are going to have to forgive the boys that did this."

I just went absolutely angry at him, I just screamed at him.

I said, "I'm not doing that!"

How did you move from all that anger to forgiveness?

I went to the court a year later and when I saw the families,

when I saw the families and realising that everybody's losing here,

the families of the boys that killed Chris, everybody lost something.

I lost my son but they really have lost their son somehow,

haven't they?

They may get him back physically one day,

but it will never be the same for them.

The compassion began to come back into me. God's compassion for them.

We have a choice.

You see, I realised later

that all of my anger was like having a cup of poison

and I was drinking it and they weren't feeling it, I was.

It was destroying me, who I was,

and Chris wouldn't have wanted that, for me.

So I decide to choose to forgive.

What happened when you met one of your son's killers?

I began to look at him in a closer way and when I met him,

when I walked in that room...

I was able to tell him that I forgive him.

I was able to hug him.

That's remarkable love. Not my kind of love, it wasn't my kind of love.

I probably would have punched him in the face but...

God's love inside of you is so overwhelming

that you can't help but want to give it out.

I felt compassion for him.

He was 15 when he went in prison, he is now 25.

And a man.

When I heard him say, "I'm sorry,"

when I heard him say, "I was a coward,"

when I heard the truth...

..which is all I ever wanted,

I just wanted to hug him.

He's just a boy.

He could have been my son.

"Standing near the cross of Jesus,

"were his mother and his mother's sister,

"Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene."

It must have been the most horrendous thing

to just sit there and be helpless

and just watch your son die in front of you.

It must be the most horrendous thing.

The pain she would have gone through

is quite overwhelming to even imagine...

..but I kind of feel and identify with that now.

That kind of pain.

I try not to dwell on it so much

because it's not a good place to be in.

I try and use it in a very good way, rather than a negative way,

cos everything about this situation is negative

and I'm sure it was true for Mary.

Everything about it was so negative.

She was helpless in this situation and...

..I used it in a positive way.

If ever an image showed a woman consumed by sorrow,

it's the depiction of Mary, cradling her dead son

and it's still a symbol of grief today.

Our next performance

is one of the most beautiful pieces of music about Mary.

It's often used as a funeral anthem.

# Ave Maria

# Gratia plena

# Maria Gratia plena

# Maria Gratia plena

# Ave, ave dominus

# Dominus tecum

# Benedicta tu in mulieribus

# Et benedictus

# Et benedictus fructus ventris

# Ventris tui Jesus

# Ave Maria. #

Christ crucified to draw you to himself.

To find in him a sure ground for faith,

a firm support for hope

and the assurance of sins forgiven.

And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit

be upon you and remain with you always.

-Amen.

-Amen.

Our final hymn is from the poem

The Dream of Gerontius by Cardinal Newman.

It traces the journey of the soul of an aged monk beyond death

into Christ's presence.

"View death confidently," it says,

"in the light of the salvation brought by Christ."

Next week, for Easter Sunday,

Aled is in Portsmouth for a special celebration from St Mary's Church

with glorious Easter hymns,

festive readings and guest singers

Paul Jones, Ramin Karimloo and Laura Wright.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd