This Is Our Story: Living in Hope of the Promised Land

Please note:

This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.

It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events.

Radio 4 Opening Announcement:

BBC Radio 4. It’s ten past eight and time to go live to Methodist Central Hall, Westminster for Sunday Worship - the last of our Lenten services. Today is Palm Sunday and the service is led by the Revd Tony Miles. It begins with the choir singing ‘Let sweet hosannas ring.’

CHOIR ‘Let Sweet Hosannas Ring’ (Mark Hayes)

TONY

Good morning, and welcome on this Palm Sunday at the end of a momentous week for so many Christians. It’s also a significant time for us as a church.

Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, is a Church and Conference Centre, opposite the Houses of Parliament.

We’re currently in the middle of a year of celebrations marking our Centenary. Our building was opened in 1912, funded by the generosity of the Methodist people: a million Methodists gave about a week’s wage each in their enthusiasm to mark another significant centenary – the anniversary of John Wesley's death. It was John Wesley who, with his brother Charles, founded the movement that eventually became the Methodist Church.

The Great Hall here was where the first General Assembly of the United Nations met during 1946, attended by representatives from 51 nations. And today, we’re a growing multicultural church, serving our community, through our family centre, other social projects, and by extending hospitality to tourists from across the world.

Through our Conference Centre, we host a wide variety of events and welcome thousands conference delegates. Our magnificent four manual organ has also been recently refurbished enabling a resurgence of the Great Hall’s use as a concert venue – and you’ll hear the organ this morning.

Today is the last of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland’s Lenten series, ‘This is our Story’. The theme this morning is ‘Living in Hope of the Promised Land’.

So on this Palm Sunday, we begin by singing a hymn of worship to our Saviour, Jesus, who came in humility and peace, yet who Christians believe was, and is, the King of Glory.

HYMN ‘At the name of Jesus, …’ (Camberwell)

OLLIE Let us pray,

Almighty God, today we remember how Jesus entered Jerusalem in humility. The people waved palms and shouted, ‘Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord’! And so we join our praises to theirs as we worship you.

We welcome Jesus who you sent as our Saviour, who humbled himself and became our Servant King. But just as the shouts of ‘Hosanna’ turned to ‘crucify’, so we need to ask forgiveness for the times when our praises change into cries of selfish wants.

Forgive us when we fail to recognise your presence in the world, and fail to grasp the true nature of that Love which took Jesus to the Cross. As we bring our frailties and faults to you, transform us, and fill us anew by your Holy Spirit.

Help us to journey with Christ our Lord this Holy Week. In His Name we pray. Amen.

TONY Our first Bible reading is taken from the New Testament and comes from Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5 to 11. It may well be a quote from an early hymn, encouraging Christians to have the same mind as Christ – their journey should also be one of humility.

GENEVIEVE 5In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind as Christ Jesus had, 6who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This is the Word of the Lord:

ALL Thanks be to God.

TONY In our Lenten series, we have journeyed with Moses and the People of Israel for their 40 years of wandering. Now we remember that, before he dies, Moses looks into the future and sees how the Israelites’ journey of faith is nearly completed. We read in Deuteronomy, chapter 34 and verse 4, ‘Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

The evangelist and hymn writer Richard Bewes takes up this theme in our next piece of music. It’s written by our own Director of Music, Gerard Brooks. Afterwards we will hear from the Reverend Martin Turner, the Superintendent Minister here at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster.

CHOIR ‘The Nation of God’ (Words: Bewes Tune: Brooks)

MARTIN (1) When you travel with small children the phrase,

“Are we nearly there?” becomes a familiar litany.

I remember one particularly horrendous journey when our three children were small. We were living in Halifax and heading for a holiday cottage on the North Norfolk Coast, it was when we had travelled just eight or so miles, and were in Huddersfield, that one of our children asked if we were nearly there, and then was promptly sick. That journey was a memorable one for the worst of reasons!

Today on this Palm Sunday we think of the journey of Jesus into Jerusalem, then on to the cross of Calvary’s hill. As we have just heard from Philippians, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death,

even death on a cross.”

And of course during these Lent services our focus has been upon a journey, the journey of Moses and the Children of Israel travelling upon their long and tortuous Exodus passage to the Promised Land. Now at last they are nearly there, as the elderly Moses leans on his staff he gazes across the valley, and sees the Promised Land set out before him. How sad then that he was never to arrive!

The story of Moses is the story of a journey, from a palace to a desert, from captivity to freedom, forty years of wandering in the wilderness, now at last Moses could see what God had promised, but he was never to arrive. He caught a glimpse of what he longed for, but it was never to be his.

Within Methodism the idea of a journey is a strong one.

The man God used to found the Methodist Church, John Wesley, went on the hazardous journey to America, because he thought that by serving God as a missionary he might find the reality of faith. All he found was trouble and disillusionment, so he returned home.

Only later did Wesley find this longed for reality to his faith, and when he did find it, when his heart was, as he put it, “Strangely warmed,” such was his burning desire to tell others of the love of God for them, that he journeyed on horseback for over a quarter of a million miles, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ as he travelled.

I wonder if this sense of restless journeying was one of the forces which shaped John Wesley’s theology, giving to Methodist Christians our strong emphasis, upon

the twin quests for personal and social holiness?

Christians are on a journey of faith, knowing deep in our hearts what we should be, knowing what with God’s help we could be. Like Moses sometimes catching a glimpse of what God would have for our lives and for our society, and that glimpse of the divine giving us the inspiration to move forward in faith and love.

If we are honest we know that we will probably never get there, never walk with God as closely as in our best moments we would like to, never see the full answer to our heartfelt prayer, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” but we are at least on the journey of faith, and to journey towards the love and purpose of God is what following Jesus is all about.

HYMN ‘Captain of Israel’s host and guide’(Marienlyst – Meth. tune!)

TONY The congregation here at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, celebrates a rich diversity, with worshippers from all over the world. Our congregation, as with so many across London, has been renewed by an injection of life and faith from overseas. Many of our members have stories to tell of how God has sustained them on their journeys of faith. We hear one such story, from Jacob Baiden, a church member who came to London from Ghana.

JACOB On New Year’s Eve 1981 Ghana experienced its 5th military coup, and became under the military dictatorship of Flight Lieutenant J.J. Rawlings. Many were arrested, jailed and even executed without trial. Our democratic civil administration and trade unions were suspended. The political atmosphere went from bad to worse, and this led to many Ghanaians fleeing to live elsewhere. After an armed mob attacked the TUC headquarters some TUC secretaries were arrested, others had to go into hiding. Being a former Acting General Secretary of the TUC, I had to take refuge outside of Ghana. I went first to Geneva then on to London to the TUC Head Quarters, where we discussed the situation. As a result letters were written to the military government in Ghana, and I helped other exiles to campaign for democracy. This was very effective and thankfully help came from all angles. Eventually changes were made: free and fair elections were conducted and a civil administration was restored to my peace-loving country. In one sense I’d fulfilled my mission, but I continued to study. I also joined Methodist Central Hall, Westminster in 1983 – happy to meet so many Ghanaian Christians here. It is a really welcoming church, so I decided to take an active part in its life – eventually becoming the Senior Steward. At times it’s been tough being here in London – occasionally we have encountered racism, employment struggles, housing issues, and it’s been hard leaving our families behind and bringing them over to join us. But I’m thankful for the generous help given to me personally from so many people. I now feel I have two homes – the UK and, of course, Ghana, where I remain in close touch with family, friends and Trade Unionists.

I love Jesus and want to serve him– at home here and in Ghana. It is my God who sustains me on my journey.

HYMN ‘Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah’ (Cwm Rhondda) JENI Our Gospel reading from the New Testament comes from Luke, chapter 19, verses 28 to 38. Jesus comes to Jerusalem as King:

28After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34They replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

This is the Word of the Lord:

ALL Thanks be to God.

TONY Our next piece of music is ‘Fling Wide the Gates’. It’s often sung on Palm Sunday, but in its original context in the much loved oratorio ‘The Crucifixion’ by Sir John Stainer, it has the sense of welcoming the King who comes to die on the cross, anticipating Good Friday.

CHOIR ‘Fling Wide The Gates (Words: Revd J. Sparrow-Simpson Music: Stainer)

MARTIN 2 So Moses travelled for forty years, he saw what he was longing for, but it was never to be his.

I wonder what were the hopes of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem that day? Surely there was a deep longing in his heart that this Holy City might indeed become the place of peace which God intended it to be. But perhaps there was also a personal longing that the Kingdom might come here and now, that the suffering which loomed ahead, and threatened to overwhelm him, might not be needed after all.

Just as Moses had done, Jesus saw the promised land ahead of him. Just as Moses, Jesus did not enter what he dreamt of. Instead the joyful shouts of Hosanna were soon replaced with the harsher cries of “Crucify, crucify,” and Jesus entered into a crueller landscape of rejection, ridicule, suffering, and death.

I once met a lady who had watched the film of the Sound of Music more than thirty times, I could never quite see how she gained pleasure from it when she knew the story so well.

We all know the story of Holy Week so well that sometimes it loses it’s impact upon us, but the suffering and sadness of the old Jerusalem were replaced by the resurrection promise of a new Jerusalem, and as we struggle with that sense of unfulfilled longing in our hearts, unfulfilled longing for what we know we could be, unfulfilled longing that the Kingdom of God we pray for

might at last come, as we struggle we need to remember that Jesus spoke of us one day being with Him.

Some are critical of Christians speaking of heaven, it is said to be escapist. Perhaps here in Britain we have it too easy, we would rather settle for the here and now,

but those Israelites knew what it was to long for a better place.

So did those who cried out to Jesus to save them as he

passed by on his palm strewn way into Jerusalem. So do many of the thousands who come to this great city of London with their hopes and dreams, and yet find themselves lost in the midst of the affluent bustle which pushes countless to the wall.

The message of Jesus is a message of hope. Christians encounter that hope as they place their trust in Jesus, Christians look for that hope as they work hard to make the Kingdom of God a reality, but we also experience that sense of not yet arriving because we are still on a journey. That longing that aches within us begins to find its answer in our pilgrimage of faith, but here on earth there is never a final arrival, for that final arrival is in the world to come.

Like Moses we do not arrive in this life, we have to content ourselves with just a glimpse of the Kingdom, but the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, teach us that one day we will not just yearn, not just see in the distance, but rather know and encounter, and on that day there will be no more longing, for all that we have longed for will be ours.

SOLO/CONG. ‘Purify my heart’ (Brian Doerksen)

JO COX + 2 Prayers of Intercession

JOLet us pray

Journeying God, God of exodus and exile, of wilderness and promised land.

We pray for people who feel lost at the moment; for those who have lost a sense of who they are through the behaviour of others towards them - abuse, bullying, redundancy and violence; and those who have lost themselves in the pressures of life that they find themselves struggling with - debt, uncertainty, doubt and work. May we notice people who are scared and marginalised, and help them discover confidence in themselves again.

OMATAYOWe pray for people we journey alongside in our daily lives. Strangers living in our midst: friends, family, neighbours and enemies. Where we need to show more grace, help us to take a deep breath and invest of ourselves more deeply. Help us to laugh, share and tell more stories. Give us courage to be vulnerable, that we may be stronger as we journey together into tomorrow. We pray too for those who exercise power and influence over our lives - especially those who make decisions which will affect the wellbeing and welfare of other people in wider society. We pray especially for Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as they take up their new responsibilities.

HELENWe pray for people for whom the journey through life is difficult at this time; for those undergoing painful and difficult treatments for illness; for those who have recently lost a loved one, and especially for those for whom their journey in this life is ending. When the life is a rough and uncertain, take our anxiety and fear, and bring hope, both in the here and now, and for the promised land beyond the grave.

JOGod of our journey, map out our today, that we might be able to see the way that you are leading us as individuals, communities, and nations. Guide us in our wandering, keeping us close to you and each other by your love and grace. Help us to join with choirs of angels singing praises to the coming king. Help us to build your kingdom here and now, and to live in the belief and hope of the promised land to come. In Jesus' name. Amen.

TONY & ALLOur Father in heaven,

hallowed be your Name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins

as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial

and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power

and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

CHOIR ‘Holy, Holy, Holy Lord …’ (John Bell & Graham Maule)

TONY Let us pray:

ALLLord God, who guided your covenant people through the wilderness to their promised land, bring us, we pray, to that place where we shall join in your praise and share your peace eternally, through Jesus Christ whose kingdom shall have no end and whose reign will be forever and ever. Amen.

TONY As you travel on,

may the Father’s love comfort you,

may the Spirit’s help sustain you,
and may Jesus’ obedience inspire you,

that you may journey well

with hope in your hearts. Amen.

HYMN ‘Ride on, ride on …’ (Winchester New)

Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868)

LM

ORGAN:Valet will ich dir geben BWV 736 (Bach)

Radio 4 Closing Announcement:

Sunday Worship came live from Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. The preacher was the Revd Martin Turner and the leader the Revd Tony Miles. The director of music was Gerard Brooks and the organ scholar was Jeremy Lloyd. The producer was Stephen Shipley.