Hosanna

 

Hello. Happy Palm Sunday. Is that a thing? I'm not sure. Just a quick call in really. We have a funeral to sort out this week. Well, I say sort, most of the stuff has been done but we just have to attend really. What to wear has proved a bit of a conundrum. My Mum didn't really leave any instructions but her friend who lives on the Isle of Man has insisted that we don't wear black. I have one or two issues with that

1) This funeral is small enough as it is. The last thing I want to do is turn up dressed up as clowns or something or look as if we were just passing and have called in on the off-chance.

2) I'm not sure where her friend got this idea that my Mum would want a celebratory mood. She may have preferred crying and throwing yourself on a funeral pyre. We don't know.

3) To be frank she won't be there and neither will my Mum so surely it is down to us.

I'm not sure if I ever told you but a few years ago, I went to the funeral of a company owner who used to supply the charity I work for. I knew the church quite well and she was a nice lady. It seemed a good opportunity to pay my respects on behalf of my company. As I came straight from work, I wasn't really dressed for a funeral but I was smart enough. As it turned out, I thought I had come on the wrong day. Everyone was very brightly attired. (And I mean VERY). Some people were in fancy dress with balloons taped to their hats. This must have been her wishes I suppose and it can work - I remember seeing a young man's funeral where everyone wore football shirts of his favourite team and it was very moving. However, this had a bit of an air of everyone being glad to see the back of her - which I know wasn't the case. It's all a tightrope and no mistake. You knew where you were when it was black or nothing.

This morning, as I say, it was Palm Sunday and we were all given a cross and a bit of greenery (see above). Then, when we sang "Hosanna" everyone was encouraged to wave their greenery as per the original event. I'm not very good at that sort of thing as you know but I gave it a go. HOH was stewarding on the door this morning so he didn't have to do it (Proof, he said, that (a) there is a God and (b) He loves him). 

We have a lot of services in the run-in to Easter. There's some kind of meeting every night. One is in the Taize tradition, which I don't know much about, I don't know if you do. I'm thinking it is more meditative than the usual type of worship. I have to say that Good Friday is my favourite Easter meeting. I am quite a shallow cheery kind of person, a bit prone to not thinking quite as deeply about things as maybe I should do and Good Friday makes me slow down and think about the sacrifice. Our pastor was saying this morning that if you only come to church on Sundays, you would get Palm Sunday which was all jiggy and jolly and then, the next Sunday - Easter Sunday - all jiggy and jolly again. You might never know what had gone on in the middle. (I don't think that it was emotional blackmail to make you come to church more often - well not completely) 

For most people, Easter seems to have moved on to chocolate bunnies, lamb lunches and Mission Impossible on the Telly. If you want to watch The Greatest Story Ever Told (which, I'll be honest, I don't particularly) I think you have to be on your setee and in position at about 8am on Good Friday and that's probably your lot then. Also, don't get me going on M and S's chocolate Darth Vader and Mini Daschunds. It's not a vote winner, thinking about the dark rather than the dawn but good for us, I think.