For Sunday, April 5, 2020, Readings: The
Liturgy of the Palms: Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29; The
Liturgy of the Word: Isaiah
50:4-9a,
Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Mt 26:14-27:66
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Psalm 31:9-16, Philippians 2:5-11, Mt 26:14-27:66
The crowds that
went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of
David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the
highest heaven!” [Matthew 21:9]
Hosannah, Lord,
hosannah! Lord, send us now
success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord… [Psalm 118:25-26a]
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a
teacher... Morning by morning he wakens...my ear...The Lord God helps me...and
I know I shall not be put to shame. [Isaiah 50:4, 7b]
But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord.
I have said, "You are my God. My times are in your hand...in your
loving-kindness save me." [Psalm
31:14-15a, 16b]
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ
Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God...And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death...[Philippians 2:5-11]
Then [Jesus] went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples. "Sit here while I go over there and pray"...Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So you could not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak." [Matthew 26:36, 40-41]
Then [Jesus] went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples. "Sit here while I go over there and pray"...Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So you could not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak." [Matthew 26:36, 40-41]
Hosanna! The perfect short prayer, for
these and other times, that we didn’t know that we knew.
How strange “Palm Sunday” is this year as
I write in the midst of the Coronavirus/ Covid-19 Pandemic. With churches closed,
the festival-like processions with waving palms and joyful hymns don’t lend
themselves to online liturgies with no congregants. For those of us in Christian
denominations that follow the Revised Common Lectionary, it almost seems more
appropriate, just now, to move directly into the second part of this particular
Sunday’s usual worship practice, the Passion narratives. However, these two
parts are inextricably interwoven and significantly more cohesive and substantive
when taken together than when separated. It is human nature to only want the
fun part, yet as we know all too well, in the span of mortal life we cannot
overlook the difficult in favor of only the pleasurable. And, that is why the shout
of HOSANNA! is more important than ever, on this day and on every day.
Hosanna, pronounced “Hoshana” in the
Hebrew [Old] Testament, comes to us today in Psalm 118 appointed for the “Liturgy
of the Palms,” in verse 25-26 (NRSV): Hosannah, Lord, hosannah! Lord, send us now success. Blessed is he
who comes in the name of the Lord;
we bless you from the house of the Lord.
In original Aramaic, the language Jesus would likely have spoken, the exclamation
was “help, save, I pray.” The words of the Psalm become clearer with that in
mind if we shift to “Help, Lord, Help! Lord, send us now success.” In the Jewish
Study Bible (of the Jewish Publication Society and published by Oxford Press
1985/1999), verses 25-26 read as O Lord,
deliver us! O Lord, let us
prosper! May he who enters be blessed in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the House of the
Lord.
Christian usage in the Christian [New] Testament
has become an exclamation of special respect for the one who saves us. Neither definition
excludes the other and so to proclaim Hosanna! is to recognize,
celebrate, and respect Jesus as our Lord and Savior even as we ask him to help
us.
As we continue to stay at home to
prevent further spreading and/or incurring this new plague, we are given a
fresh opportunity, perhaps never undertaken before, namely, to read the full texts of today’s
readings without at once listening to the recitation by another. We begin with the acquiring of the animal for Jesus to ride, the
choice of which has significance. As Jesus was accused later in the week of
proclaiming himself "King of the Jews," riding into the city of
Jerusalem on a donkey symbolized that he was coming in peace,
as a ruler would do to show a peaceful arrival rather than a warrior King
riding in on a horse bent on war. Then the procession with palm branches
celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem just on the heels of his
miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead just two miles away. The greetings of hosanna are a recognition that he is a Messiah who will remove and save them
from the oppression of Rome.
The Passion narrative develops the details of his
Last Supper, betrayal by Judas, and the machinations of the Chief Priests whose
local standing and power among the Jewish hierarchy and Rome were clearly
threatened by this acclaimed and unorthodox prophet and miracle-worker. All of these
elements were carefully noticed and recorded by the Roman occupiers and the
Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council who had its own police force and trial court. How
easy, it seems, to go from enthusiastic cheers of the crowd to the strongly
manipulated and equally enthusiastic and deathly jeers by the same people mere
days later.
Two thousand plus years on, it is still a story for our own time. How easily
are we turned from waving palms to throwing punishing stones by a few
well-placed headlines or Facebook comments because we simply followed the crowd?
Jesus enters the chaos of his times as
he enters the chaos of our own. As Lutheran Pastor David Lose has noted:
“The tragedy of the
day is that the people are half right. He did come as God’s
Messiah. But they misunderstood what that meant – not “regime change” by
violence, but rather the love of God poured out upon the world in a way that
dissolved all the things we use to differentiate ourselves from others and the
formation of a single humanity that knows itself – and all those around them! –
as God’s beloved people. The other tragedy of the day is that the religious and
political authorities are also half right. Jesus was a threat. For that matter,
he still is. He threatens our penchant to define ourselves over and against
others. He threatens the way in which we seek to establish our future by hoarding
wealth and power. He threatens our habit of drawing lines and making rules
about who is acceptable and who is not. He threatens all of these things and
more…Jesus’ resurrection…affirms that God’s love is stronger than hate and
God’s life is stronger than death…[Still, in this day,] he continues to
threaten our reliance on anything – our wealth, position, political identity,
good works, relationships or, for that matter, our limitations or life
tragedies – anything other than God’s mercy. What’s hard about
this message is that we all have come at times to seek our identity and secure
our future on things other than God. The blessing of this message is that none
of these other things are up to the job. No matter what we trust in, we will be
disappointed, as only God’s Word can declare us as not just acceptable but as
blessed and beloved. Jesus’ journey to the cross shows us just how far he was
willing to go to demonstrate to us God’s unconditional love and acceptance. And
once you hear that message of grace, mercy, and love, then whether you name it
Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday, or just the Sixth Sunday in Lent, there is
suddenly good reason to shout our hosanna with all the joy and hope we can
muster.”*
Let us pray in distance
and together, this day and always: Hosanna!
*Click here for the full text: [http://www.davidlose.net/2017/04/palmpassion-sunday-a/]
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son
of God, in this year of years, our usual way of living has changed as quickly
as those who turned from Hosanna to Crucify Him. Grant us the
willingness to walk consciously through
this Holy Week with fresh eyes, and, the uncomfortable awareness of how often
we, too, have slept in Your presence.
O
Lord our GOD,
RESPONSE: Our
times are in Your Hands
~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, lighten the hearts and
enlighten the minds of all who govern in this Community, this Nation, and this
World, that they may seek the cause of healing humanity
through global cooperation. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Lord our GOD,
Our
times are in Your Hands
~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, cradle in Your benevolent arms all
who are sick, desperate, or hopeless, and give peace of heart to those who care
and worry. We now join our voices to pray aloud for those in need…
O
Lord our GOD
Our
times are in Your Hands
~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, ease the burden of
grief in these dark times, as those we mourn now live in the eternal radiance
of everlasting resurrection in You. We pray especially for…
O
Lord our GOD
Our
times are in Your Hands
~ Jesus, Son of Man, Son of
God, we pause in this moment to offer You our
other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud
or silently…
O
Lord our GOD
Our
times are in Your Hands
~ Jesus,
Son of Man, Son of God, embrace
and enrich those You have called to lead us in Your Church through this sacred
week and beyond. Inspire their words, their prayers, and their souls, that
they and we together, may draw ever closer to You. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
The Celebrant adds: GOD Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, in
Your loving-kindness sustain our hope and save us from this time of trial, that
humbled in our human form, we may seek and serve Christ in ourselves, in each
other, and in all of humankind. We ask through Jesus, our Strength and our
Redeemer; and the Holy Spirit, the Wisdom of our Souls, who together with You
are One God, now and forever. Amen.
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