Lent Reading Guide - 6th Sunday of Lent - Palm Sunday

Reading Guide for Lent

On Sunday we will only read a Psalm and use the reflection questions to help process the passage.

The 6^th Sunday in Lent

Sunday March 25, 2018

Palm Sunday

Gospel Reading:  Mark 11:1-11

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

11      As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”

⁴They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

¹⁰“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹¹Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Psalm Reading:  Psalm 118

Note:  This is the Psalm that the crowds in Mark 11  sang as Jesus entered Jerusalem.

¹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

²Let Israel say:

“His love endures forever.”

³Let the house of Aaron say:

“His love endures forever.”

⁴Let those who fear the Lord say:

“His love endures forever.”

⁵When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;

he brought me into a spacious place.

⁶The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.

What can human beings do to me?

⁷The Lord is with me; he is my helper.

I look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in human beings.

⁹It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

¹⁰All the nations surrounded me,

but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.

¹¹They surrounded me on every side,

but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.

¹²They swarmed around me like bees,

but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;

in the name of the Lord I cut them down.

¹³I was pushed back and about to fall,

but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴The Lord is my strength and my defense;

he has become my salvation.

¹⁵Shouts of joy and victory

resound in the tents of the righteous:

“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!

¹⁶     The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;

the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”

¹⁷I will not die but live,

and will proclaim what the Lord has done.

¹⁸The Lord has chastened me severely,

but he has not given me over to death.

¹⁹Open for me the gates of the righteous;

I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

²⁰This is the gate of the Lord

through which the righteous may enter.

²¹I will give you thanks, for you answered me;

you have become my salvation.

²²The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

²³the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴The Lord has done it this very day;

let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵Lord, save us!

Lord, grant us success!

²⁶Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

From the house of the Lord we bless you.

²⁷The Lord is God,

and he has made his light shine on us.

With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession

up to the horns of the altar.

²⁸You are my God, and I will praise you;

you are my God, and I will exalt you.

²⁹Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.