PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION A
SING HOSANNA!
MT. 21:1-11
MESSAGE
Have you ever noticed that some words in the liturgy and prayer come to us untranslated from their original tongue? Words like Amen, Halleluiah, and Hosanna are not English but Hebrew and we use them unaltered as we pray individually and communally in church.
As we enter into this very solemn Week, we hear how the people broke branches off from trees and waved them at the passing Jesus seated on a donkey, while shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.”
Hosanna was originally a cry, a shout, a plea for help! It meant “Lord, hear my cry; help me; save me!” So at the start of Holy Week, we repeat what the followers of Jesus said as he entered Jerusalem. Did they know that soon, the Lord would truly hear their prayer and save them from their sins by dying on the Cross and giving his whole life for them, and for us?
Holy Week is full of observances, of traditional and dramatic gestures of faith. Some people yearn to celebrate this week out of obligation, some because of custom, and others due to curiosity. But it would truly be meaningful to return to the practice of the early disciples who saw in Jesus the face of the Saving God, the God who hears their prayer, the God who comes to save from sin and every evil. They shouted: Hosanna: Lord, hear us and save us! And they meant it.
We will relive the past events and journey today with Jesus in our life as he goes through his passion, death, and resurrection. We will renew our faith in the greatest love the world has ever known, when God gave all he had, his own Son, the treasure of his heart, to save the rest of his sons and daughters from perdition. May we be guided by a simple word we usually do not pay attention to, the word Hosanna, and make this week a meaningful one of prayer, repentance, conversion, and faith.
REFLECT
This Holy Week, pray sincerely and repeatedly, Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna to the Son of David! Use this expression as your mantra of love for the God who comes, of thanksgiving for the new life he gives, and of supplication for grace to live in his presence every day of our lives. May this week transform us into a Hosanna people ready to become a Halleluiah community of faith.
