April 2, 2023 Palm Sunday St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
First Lesson: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! 26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Second Lesson: Matthew 21:1-11
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 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!”
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying,
“This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
After the mass shooting of three children and three staff at a PCA Presbyterian church this week a member expressed feeling down, depressed and another one suggested they stop watching the news because it was not helping their wellbeing. I have heard from several of you who say you no longer watch the news because it is too chaotic, depressing, filled with violence, sad. We think how in the world will be get out of this situation and watching news 24/7 doesn’t really help matters. Let me be clear I support being an informed citizen, but not a depressing news junkie. With politics, war, COVID, atmospheric rivers and their aftermath; do you ever just want to throw up your hands and say ”Calgon, Take Me Away!” I know I am dating myself here. But the feeling of wanting to be saved from all the present dysfunction and pain is a real feeling and we want to be saved from all that is happening.
The Calgon commercial reminds us of another time of stress when women were entering the workplace· and still expected to manage the household, too much stress, someone help me. Or how about the late sixties when the war and the draft were real problems causing people to take to the streets to create change. Or back to WWII when we really thought the world would end as we know it. The list could go on and on. But the point being that with every situation we live through we think this is the worst, this is the one that we need to be saved from. It makes sense to feel this way, because the present is the only situation that we can feel, worry about, or change.
The Psalmist had a similar feeling when he wrote, ”Save us, we beseech you, 0 LORD!” (v. 25). In and around this praise moment of GO<L we see a glimpse of a real cry to God for help. Even as God’s steadfast love endures forever, life’s pain and struggles bubble to the surface. “God save us!” Even as we rejoice in the day that the Lord has made, we are reminded that the rejected stone
will become the comer stone. For us as Christians, this foreshadows Christ’s betrayal, death and ultimately his resurrection which is. the foundation of om faith. Because of Christ’s faithful devotion and willing sacrifice, we know the fullness of God’s love and Jesus is the cornerstone. Of course, in this same moment we hear of a procession with branches, much like the branches we waved today. Do you see the thread? During a difficult time in Israel’s history, we have a worshipful praise moment, a foreshadowing of Christ, and a humble cry for help. This is repeated when Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, with people crying to be saved from the Romans. It is the moment we honor when we waved om palms ·today.
What might get lost in· all of this is that the Psalmist was saying Hosanna. The same hosanna the choir sang about. The same hosanna we sing every time we celebrate communion. Hosanna means “Lord save us” but also “Praise God.” The Hebrew words yasha (“deliver, save”) and Anna (“beg, beseech”) combine to form the word that, in English, is “hosanna.” Literally, hosanna means “I beg you to save!” or “please deliver us!” It is a cry for help and a proclamation of praise. Hosanna in the highest announces· our praise for God, a joyful moment of worship and adoration. One commentator writes, “Praise evokes a worldview, one in which God is an active agent in daily life. In other words, praise declares, in the face of alternative conceptions of reality, that the sum of (Israel’s) salvation and the hope for the world is God and God alone” (Working Preacher, Amanda Benckhuysen). “Exc1aiming ‘Hosanna’ is a way to praise God. It reminds Christ’s followers that He can save them and He is the source of their salvation_ We, at times, may be like the Israelites. We may cry Hosanna because we want obstacles or difficulties removed from our path, like the Romans. But Hosanna in worship reminds us that Christ defeated the ultimate enemy: sin and death. (Penny Noyes, Christianity .com)
Hosanna in the psalm was a cry for help, Lord please save us! Hosanna in the gospel is a cry for help to Jesus and a celebration of praise. They are celebrating that Jesus is coming as a king as prophesied, humbled and riding on a colt. Their praise, their shouts of hosanna to the Son of David declares who they believe Jesus to be. Hosanna is both a plea and praise. Kyle Blevins wrote, “No matter which side of the spectrum you are on, we can approach God through prayer or worship the same. When we are at that place of feeling like we are failing or like we can’t go on, we can plead with God, “Please, hear me! Please, talk to me. Please, show me something new.” This is the original use of ‘hosanna.’
On the other hand, when we are connected with God and feel like we are overflowing, we shout praises: “Thank you God! You are so good! Thank you for my life! Thank you for making a way for me!” This is also proper use of hosanna” {Bible study tools.com). Hosanna in the highest! On Palm Sunday we lean heavily into the praise side of hosanna, waving our branches and singing. But maybe the parade has a deeper meaning.
“Go with me now to the year 1942. The first American troops are marching into London. We are entering the conflict known as World Wax Il. The people of London are cheering the American soldiers. The friendly reception exhilarates the young soldiers. They sing as they march. Suddenly the troops tum into a main street and a strange hush falls over the scene. The happy songs die on their lips. They are looking for the first time upon an area in London that has been blown to bits. They see the great wounds on the city inflicted by falling bombs. They suddenly realize the city has suffered terribly. In these young soldiers’ hearts, one moment celebration; the next, great sadness. The triumph and the tragedy. Palm Sunday. Good Friday” (King Dun Collected Works, Sermons.com) HOSANNA!
Plea and Praise, beseeching. God for help and shouting joy for our salvation, all in the same breath, all in the same hosanna. Moving into Holy week we transition from hosanna praise waving our palms into hosanna pleading with God.
One. commentator writes; “When we wave our palms and boldly cry out, ‘Hosanna,’ do we dare imagine what we really want God to save us fro.tn? Save me from anger. Save me from cancer. Save me from depression. Save me from debt. Save me from the strife in my family .. Save me from boredom. Save me from the endless cycle of violence. Save me from humiliation. Save me from staring at the ceiling at three am. wondering why I exist. Save me from bitterness. Save me from arrogance. Save me from loneliness. Save me, G save me from my fears ..
In viewing Palm Sunday from that angle, we can begin to see the potential for some real depth in this. celebration, for embedded in our quaint pageantry.is an appeal to God that originates in the most vulnerable places inside of us; and it bubbles, almost beyond our control to the surface. ‘Hosanna.’ ‘Save us.’ Please God take the broken places that will treat us apart and make them whole. We beseech you, God, jump into the water and drag our almost-drowned selves to shore. ‘Save us.’ ‘Hosmma”‘ (ScottBl&ckJobnston, Save Us. Sermons.com)
Come to the table pleading for God’s salvation, leaning into the pleas for God’s help. For it is from this vulnerable place, this raw place, that we, will find the greatest joy of our Lord when we taste the pure joy of communing with our broken and resurrected Lord. HOSANNA!
