Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday – Sing Hosannah
Who is this coming into Jerusalem? Who is this about whom the crowds are singing and shouting - Sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna to the King of Kings? This is Jesus, our Saviour and our King. This is the start of our “Passion Story”, the start of our “Passion Week”. This is the start of our preparation for that greatest of feasts within our church and faith calendar – Easter.
This is a week full of passion; full of the deepest and strongest feeling but how many of us are focused solely on the suffering and death of Christ; are taking the ‘passion’ as being only this?
What about the passion in which or through which he lived his life? The passion of HIS story, HIS teachings. The passion of HIS relationships with those around him, especially those on the outskirts, the edges of society. The passion of his engagement with them in spite of the laws, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and anyone else. The passion of his love for God his Father and that of God for him His only Son.
When we think of Holy Week and the Passion, I think that we need to take time to take in all of the passion associated with Christ and let this then lead us up to his capture, his trial and suffering and his eventual death on the cross. It is only when we take in and consider the full passion story that we can take a full sense of his sacrifice for us and for all mankind.
Jesus orchestrated his arrival into Jerusalem, right down to his arrival on a donkey – which unfortunately we cannot replicate today as we have done in previous years. Similarly we cannot replicate the crowds with the waving palms and the shouts of, “Hosannah to the Son of David.” He arranged for the opportunity for a last chance to eat and speak with his disciples so that he could show them his passion for them and allow them to see the chance to remember this passion in every future breaking of the bread.
Sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna to the King of Kings. Who feels like singing that today or to put it another way, who doesn’t? As we struggle to deal with the virus running through our society today, with the ever-increasing infection rate and ever-steadily-climbing death toll I know that singing can feel like the last thing on our minds or in our hearts.
But isn’t this the exact time when we should sing out, shout out our praise and our thanksgiving for Jesus and to God our Father. Isn’t this a time for us to connect with the passion of our Lord and Saviour. The passion of his life, his message, his sacrifice and his saving of humanity. Jesus showed his passion in his openness to others, his willingness to engage with them in whatever their circumstances. His passion for them, for all humanity shone through every contact he had, with every conversation he had and with every prayer that he made.
When we look around us today, isn’t this Holy Week the most appropriate time for us to look at how we can engage our own passions for the good of others. The most apt time for us to identify those on the edges who may need help – the old, the lonely, the housebound and yes – the sick, and to show that passion in our deeds, in what we do in and for those around us. Phone or email or text someone and let them know that they are loved and missed. Ask if they need any shopping or medicines: make a contact that shows to them that they matter to others, to you.
We come to tell our story, we come to break the bread, we come to know our rising from the dead. We come to share our passion. We come to echo the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We come to show that we recognise the passion with which he lived his life as well as the passion of his suffering and death. We celebrate with our every breath his life, his living, his passion and his love for us all.
We come to sing and shout this passion from every house and hilltop, “Sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna to the King of Kings.”
Give Me Joy In My Heart Hymn
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
Give me joy in my heart, I pray;
Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising,
Keep me praising till the break of day:
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of kings.
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King.
Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
Give me peace in my heart, I pray;
Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving,
Keep me loving till the break of day:
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of kings.
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King.
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Give me love in my heart, I pray;
Give me love in my heart, keep me serving,
Keep me serving till the break of day:
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King of kings.
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna,
Sing hosanna to the King.