From Rev’d Vicky – revvickyfalvey@gmail.com
Palm Sunday Reflection: Matthewe 21: 1-11
There is no sermon as this Sunday is a Family Service.
The following is taken from the Parish Newsletter for Sunday 29th March 2026.
Palm Sunday, as told in Matthew’s Gospel, is a moment of gathering, celebration, and joyful expectation. Crowds line the streets, waving branches and shouting “Hosanna!” as Jesus enters Jerusalem. It is a scene full of hope and anticipation—but it also invites us to ask an important question: was Jesus the King they were expecting?
The people longed for a ruler who would bring immediate change, strength, and victory. Yet Jesus came in humility, riding on a donkey, embodying a very different kind of kingship—one marked by peace, sacrifice, and love.
Palm Sunday is both a celebration and a threshold. On this same day, in church, we will also hear the Passion story, reminding us that the road ahead leads not only through praise, but through suffering. Holy Week holds together deep contrasts: shared meals with friends, the pain of betrayal, the anguish of the cross, and the silence of the tomb.
It can be tempting to move quickly from the joy of Palm Sunday to the triumph of Easter morning. But in doing so, we risk missing the depth and richness of the journey in between.
This week invites us to walk more closely with Jesus—to be present in both the highs and the lows. Whether by attending services or through personal reflection, may we take time to enter fully into this sacred story.
As we cry “Hosanna” and look toward “Alleluia,” may we be a people who journey faithfully through it all.
Rev’d Vicky Falvey
Curate, St Mary’s Fairford
Updated 30th March 2026