The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday-Rev Melanie Lemburg

Palm Sunday 2021

March 28, 2021

 

Hosanna

By Steve Garnaas-Holmes

    Hosanna!
               Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Holy One! 
               Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
         Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
                   —Mark 11.9-10

“Hosanna“ doesn’t mean “Hooray!”
It means “Save us!“
It’s not a cry of triumph,
it’s a plea in desperation.
Of course, aimed at a leader who can protect us,
it becomes an affirmation.
Our Hosannas signify victory
only because Jesus has saved us
in our desperate weakness.
This is no time to strut
but to kneel,
to bare our tender need,
in honest pleading
that we still need saving,
and in awe and gratitude
for the grace we are continually given.
Maybe “Hosanna” is more like
“Wow! Thanks. We needed that”
on steroids. [i]

        Today we move through two different dramatic stories.  We begin with a triumphant procession and proclamation of Jesus as King.  And we end with Jesus’s death on the cross as if he were a criminal.  We begin with cries of “Hosanna”, the triumphant plea to save us; and we end with cries of “Crucify him”, slipping away in silence and sorrow. 

        Today marks the beginning of the holiest time of our church year, which culminates in Easter.  As we move through this service today or as we move through the week to come, each one of us is offered the invitation:  that this is the time to kneel, to bare our tender need, in honest pleading that we still need saving, and in awe and gratitude for the grace we are continually given. 

        Hosanna, Lord.  Save us.
 

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[i] Steve Garnaas-Holmes.  Unfolding Light www.unfoldinglight.net,  March 23, 2021