Our Great Help

Lord,

Today, as we begin the liturgical rhythms of Holy Week, we root ourselves in your enduring and faithful love. We entrust ourselves to you and your steadfast work. For this Palm Sunday, as we consider a King—the hope of all nations—who enters Jerusalem on a lowly, young donkey amid shouts of praise, he is also the One who will eventually be mocked and rejected by the same people who cried out, “Hosanna!” The One who could have been adorned with all the riches of the world will, in a short time, be crowned with thorns. And, instead of being exalted and lifted up for all rulers of the earth to bow before your might, you will be lifted up on a cross in humility, scorned, beaten, and bruised.

For us—your beloved—the ones who bear your image and whom you call friend, co-laborer, your Body, and your Bride—we stand in awe.

There is no one like you. You, our King, who comes to us in humility, driven by passion and love! The Perfect Shepherd, arriving as the Sacrificial Lamb. It is you we worship and honor this morning. It is to you we lift our songs and shouts of praise.

Yes, you are our God! And as David proclaimed, “Our future is in your hands!” You are our salvation, our great help! You are the One who brings the perfect peace we long for. You are the One who takes the weight of all our sin and delivers us from that terrible, dark burden.

You, our God, are our hope—our safe place, our Rock, our calm amid chaos, our strength in times of anxiety and fear.

We are blessed by your perfect work and submit ourselves to it. You have gifted us with your Spirit, our Helper, for troubled times and your resurrection work in this world. We know how this story goes, for at your name—Jesus—everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will confess that you are Lord! So, we, your ambassadors, live into that promise, joining with your redemptive work to make all things new.

For those among us who are sick, we pray for their healing by your mighty hand. For those in times of trouble and affliction, we ask for your holy mercy and provision to rush in. For those in sorrow, we pray for abiding comfort and your tangible presence. For the exhausted, burnt out, and burdened, we seek holy relief and refreshment. And for those who have lost hope, we pray for a rekindling of the embers in their hearts.

Now, we come before you, Jesus, as a community—your people—in quietness. Guide us.

Amen.