Reflections
A New Hosanna
Posted on March 27, 2018 | Posted by Pastor Daniel
Pastor Daniel’s sermon for Palm Sunday (John 12:12-19). Join us for Worship on:
Maundy Thursday (3/29) at 7pm
Good Friday (3/30) at noon and 7pm
Easter Vigil (3/31) at 6pm
Easter Sunrise (4/1) at 6am
Easter Sunday (4/1) at 8am and 10:30
“Today, we wave palm branches and we proclaim hosanna. We pick up the ancient ritual of welcoming a triumphant king into our midst. But we don’t wave palms the way those first century folks did and we don’t sulk in bitter irony about the whole ordeal either. Instead, we wave palms to welcome one who defies expectations. One who frustrates us, who refuses to live up to our definitions, but instead brings about life as we never could imagine.
One who brings life out of water and wine. One who brings life not just to a man dead four days, but to people like us who never believed such things were possible, maybe still don’t. One who does not restore some old kingdom, but instead brings about a whole new sort of kingdom, one based on selfless love and abundant grace. A kingdom that owns no territory and is bound by no territory. A kingdom that burrows it’s way into our cold hearts when we least expect it. A kingdom that brings water to those who thirst, community to those on the margins, a future to those who’d given up all hope.
A kingdom whose king hears shouts of hosannas and grabs not the war horse, but the donkey. A king who marches not to victory, but to death, and through death to a victory we’d never considered, a victory we still struggle to grasp, and yet a victory that occasionally still grasps us and give us life.
So today we take part. Today we join the throngs, but our song is different. Hosanna. Blessed is the one who comes in the name Lord. Amen.”
