This week (website only)

For Palm Sunday (Gospel of Mark)

This week the cry goes “Hosanna” then “die”;
followers run, and one will just lie;
voices are silenced and some whisper “why?”;
but most of Jerusalem shout “crucify!”

This week the way goes from welcome to fear;
turning the tables, the end is now near.
From widow to soldier the cost becomes clear:
nothing is simple when Jesus is here.

This week it feels like the hope slips away;
falling asleep at the end of the day;
gone into hiding with nothing to say;
hangs on a cross with no words left to pray.

This week the truth of God’s grace will be known;
as fig trees are cursed and money is thrown.
(Strange are the ways that God’s presence is shown.)
A seed in the ground dies and new life is grown.

Words: Anne J. Sardeson © potsofpossibility Holy Week 2018
Music: Anne J. Sardeson © potsofpossibility Holy Week 2018 Download PDF
Metre: Irregular

Permission is granted to reproduce this hymn for worship purposes with the copyright details included.

Ideas for use

This hymn is designed to be sung unaccompanied, with a steady rhythm that suggests the unremitting tread from Palm Sunday towards Gethsemane and Golgotha. That rhythm can be supported by the beat of a drum, or even the stamping of feet - singers marching on the spot.

Consider singing each verse quieter than the last - beginning with a loud “Hosanna” then “die”, fading as "hope slips away", and concluding with a whisper-quiet final verse in which "a seed in the ground dies and new life is grown".

More information

The Revd Anne Sardeson is a Training Officer for the United Reformed Church Thames North Synod. She is also a musician and hymn writer.

In Making a hymn - how to go about it, Anne describes the thinking that lay behind the writing of this hymn.