Along the Way…Hosanna!

Sermon Mark 11:1-11 March 29, 2015 Palm Sunday

Along the Way…Hosanna!

There are some things we want to hang on to for a while.

The taste of a delicious pastry.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee.

The feel of the warmth of the sun on our cold bodies as it beams through the window. The joy in our souls as we hear the children singing.

We want these things to linger and stay with us because we know they do fade away and we don’t want to lose the power of these moments on our lives.

These moments can move us into new directions and set us on new paths. They can because these moments bring us hope.

They fill us with wonder.

They renew us in spirit.

Good things feed our bodies and our souls!

Today we can hang on to the moment of the crowd.

Jesus entered into Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. This was the time that many pilgrims came to the city and the whole place erupted every year as the parade of visitors came to celebrate and remember all that God has done for them throughout history.

                       

                            It was not unusual for shouts of hosanna-“God save us”-to take place.

 It was not unusual for to shout blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Because as these pilgrims made their way to the city the people lined the streets excited to see their coming and they shouted and cheered much as we do when we have our town parades and we cheer from the sidelines. the crowds and pilgrims were preparing to celebrate Passover, God rescuing them from Egypt, so Hosannas meaning God save us were filled with remembrance of God’s love and power to save!

But this year, there is one that comes and enters riding on a donkey. One who comes ceremonially, regally, and as a king. Jesus gets on a donkey that has never been ridden and everyone there knows that this means he is serious about claiming kingship!

The crowds burst forth with hosanna not as they have in the past-singing, “God save us” but his time they shout to the One, this Jesus, “God save us.”

The crowd is blessing Jesus!

They are recognizing him as the One who can change the course of the way life is for them. Even if they are not sure how this will happen or what will take place for him to lead them, they seek him and praise him with shouts and cries and worship.

We can shout hosanna.

We can be caught up in the moment of awe and wonder at the One who enters ceremonially, royally, riding on a donkey.

We can be witnesses to this moment as if it is happening today.

Who is this?

We might not know how to answer this if someone waving a branch next to us asks us. We might be the one asking the question.

Who is this? This is Jesus!

Perhaps that is all we know.

This is Jesus and we and the crowd are calling out, “blessed is he.”

And perhaps for today that is enough.

For tomorrow is Monday, Holy Monday and we know what happens next, we’ve read the text. Holy Week happens next and those days are the rest of the journey along the way to the cross and to the empty tomb with Jesus.

So, for today, let us hang on to the hosannas.

We can, sing, cry, worship, prepare and invite this moment into our lives.

We can sing out to God.

We can raise our voices in ways we never have before. Could you imagine your neighbor hearing you sing? Ok, so maybe some us of wouldn’t want our neighbors to hear us sing-but then again why not? We don’t mind if they hear us shouting cheer for our sweet sixteen basketball teams, or for college football teams, for our kids little leagues. We can even wave our palms as visibly as we wave our team banners!

We can cry out to Jesus, “Hosanna-God save us!”

We can cry out in loud voices of adoration. We can recall all the psalmist’s words through the ages of how God has heard the cries of God’s people and guided them to safe haven.

We can worship.

We can bow down in prayer, sit in silence, and stand in praise.

We can prepare.

We can prepare our minds and our hearts for the rest of the journey, all the way to Easter. We can prepare because we’ve held on to the hosanna today knowing the God of our salvation has entered in.

We can invite.

We can invite ourselves to participate in the gift that these hosannas bring. Even if we don’t have all the answers. Even if we are not quite sure of who this is. We can invite the one who we call blessed to be part of our life along the way. Who is this?

This is Jesus!

So, as this poem reminds us…

Hold on to the Hosannas

(inspired by the events in Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11,

Luke 19:29-44, John 12:12-19)

Let us stay with the Hosannas for a while

Let us let them keep on ringing in our ears

Hosanna!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord

Instead of rushing on to hear the cries

that came later in the week

Let us stay with the Hosannas

Maybe once we have heard those

in a new way

we will be ready

to make the rest of the journey

A journey that was hastened

and given new purpose

by those Hosannas

For those Hosannas were not

simply the innocent cries

of palm branch waving children

Those Hosannas were the war cries of adults

tired of the oppression

of occupying forces

Those hosannas

were the hopeful cries

of a nation seeking liberation.

Those Hosannas

were an investment of hope

in one they thought would deliver.

Those Hosannas

that we have sanitized over the years

rang out in clear insurrection

sealing the fate

of one who rode on a donkey.

so, let us stay with the Hosannas

Let us wrest them from the lips of children

and allow them to ring in our ears

and spew from our mouths

as a call to action

a call to justice

a call to love.

Let us stay with the Hosannas

even as we journey

with the Christ

who carried those Hosannas

all the way to the cross

and ensured their fulfillment

as the justice and love of God.

Let us stay with the Hosannas.

— written by Rev. E. Crumlish of Castlehill Church, Ayr.

Amen.