“This who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” (Mark 11:9-10 NIV)
Jesus was descending down what we now refer to as Palm Sunday Road. The temple was in sight and people crowded His path: before and behind Him. They all shouted the same thing: Hosanna!
Hosanna isn’t a word we use much. It’s important to recognize that it means two things:
- Please save us!
- Salvation, thank You!
Hosanna is both an inquiry and a review. It’s an ask and thank you, all wrapped up in one simple word.
I think about the crowd packed into the narrow street, laying down cloaks and waving branches. Some were there because they had already received from Jesus’ ministry: healed, set free, sighted, dispossess, restored. Others were there because they believed that Jesus would be their next King. Jesus rode through a throng of needs presented and needs met, yet the unified cry of the crowd was “Hosanna!”
Hosanna is the repeated prayer of the believer. Jesus please, Jesus thank You. We flow from ask to gratitude over and over again. This is our relationship with our living Savior: request followed through with thanksgiving. We are brave enough to ask and confident enough to say “Thank You.”
It’s a good prayer for a pandemic. Simple enough to memorize, powerful enough to employ. Covid 19 has infiltrated every part of our lives, has it not? Three birthdays have come and gone in our household since March, each one a stark reminder that the world is still not quite right, not what it used to be. I hear stories from friends and colleagues; accounts of students starting college in such a strange season, pews emptying as fringe folks fall off completely. I know people who have lost jobs and some who have gained jobs. And more than a handful of friends have said a final goodbye to parents, joining an exclusive club with most expensive dues. I read the BBC and see entire countries struggling to contain and mitigate a virus we still know so little about. Don’t even get me started on the arguments: pro-mask, anti-mask, it’s a hoax, wash your hands! It seems there is no soul unaffected by this invisible foe.
It feels like a good time to shout “Hosanna!”
Please save us and/or thank You for saving us – it all rings true in this season. We’ve made it this far, but who really knows how far we’ve yet to go. We are in as deep of need and gratitude as the people originally gathered on Palm Sunday Road. Their borrowed prayer may be just the invocation to get us through today.
“Lord, save us! Lord grant us success! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:25-26 NIV)
Lord, we’re so glad we can ask and so sure we can be grateful. You’ve met our needs over and over, why would today be any different? You’ve sustained us through this trying time. We are grateful. We present our request again, confident in Your ability to save. Hosanna! Amen.