Palm Sunday reflections

I am still recovering from the operation to remove my gall bladder but both Doreen and I felt well enough to journey the 14 miles to Yelvertoft for the joint Palm Sunday service.  David Lake, the vicar, gave an excellent address drawing parallels from a visit of Margaret Thatcher to the place where he used to live, her popularity and the way in which that popularity vanished.

It reminded me of a zany Palm Sunday family service I led at Herstmonceux several years ago.  I had set up some of the men in the church.  As I welcomed people to the service one man started singing "You'll never walk alone"!  I asked why he was behaving so strangely and he informed me he was a Liverpool United fan and proceeded to tell me how well  the team was doing.  I politely said it was alright to be a football fan but we were here to remember what Palm Sunday is all about so I asked him to take his seat again so I could proceed.  I started to welcome people again and another man started chanting "Come on your Reds!"  I asked what he was doing and got much the same story but he was a Manchester United fan.  Again I listened to his enthusiastic description of team performance and then reminded him we were here to remember what Palm Sunday was all about and urged him to take his seat.  As I once more began my welcome yet a third man interrupted me. This time he was an Arsenal supporter.

By now most people had realised this was a set up but we were all in for a surprise.  As I tried to welcome people for the fourth time a woman who I had never seen before rose to her feet and shouted out "Crystal Palace"!  With a look of mild annoyance I led her through much of the same dialogue as with the other three interrupters.  What a gift she was!  She came from south east London and was a Palace supporter and apparently had not realised I was merely trying to create the same kind of enthusiasm as was exhibited on that entry into Jerusalem.

Jill, as I discovered she was called afterwards, became a good friend.  I think she's still a little embarrassed when she remembers that Sunday but she was a wonderful unexpected treat.  Sometimes greatest order emerges out of chaos - just as the Bible and mathematics affirms.