Hosanna

Sunday, March 29, 2026

The Rev. Amy Aspey

Allied Person of Faith

Quote

“The people were hoping he would be a mighty warrior chief, like their ancestor Much Loved One (David), to set them free from the People of Iron (Romans.) But he did not ride a warhorse on that day, as one might expect. Instead, he rode a small, humble donkey colt. He came weeping over the Village of Peace (Jerusalem), but even this could not silence the hopes of the crowd. The people encircle him, front and back. ‘Hosanna! Set us free!’ they shouted.’”

-Mark 11:8-9 (First Nations Version)

Devotion

On that first Palm Sunday, the gathered community was weary from the oppression of the Roman Empire. Their bodies were exhausted from living in fear of violence, hate and death. Their souls were tired from grief and heartache. It’s not hard 2,000 years later for us to imagine this kind of weariness. What words describe how you feel today?

In solidarity with the suffering of every time and place, Jesus rides into Jerusalem. Maybe, holy anger boosts Jesus onto the donkey, outrage with the unjust systems that prey on the poor, rule by domination, and glorify violence so that victory is equated with blessedness. The Blessed One, who comes in the name of the Lord, intentionally rides a donkey to symbolize peace and that the Kin-dom of God operates dramatically different from the empire. In an act of grace, Jesus rides into Jerusalem knowing that death is the outcome and is willing to die so that all might live. As a servant and not as tyrant, Jesus embodies love in ways that shock those at the first Palm Sunday and in many ways surprise us still. In what ways does Jesus surprise you?

When the crowds shout, Hosanna, this isn’t a superficial ‘praise the Lord.” It’s a cheer. But it’s not cheery. It’s a cry of praise that holds in tension desperation and hope. Hosanna is an ancient cry from the psalms that means, “Save Us.” God, save us. God, deliver us. With branches waved high, the people know that God liberated them before and this is a cry to do it again. Find a spot to shout, Hosanna, from the top of your lungs. As you shout, remember that you do not cry out alone, we cry out together. And God hears us.

Holy week is God’s response to Hosanna! It is the story of how God saves us- both all of Creation forever and ALL of us over and over and over again. Holy Week begins with Jesus riding into Jerusalem armed with nothing but love. This wasn’t at all what the people expected.

In an indigenous translation of Mark 11:8-9, the First Nations Version says, “The people were hoping he would be a mighty warrior chief, like their ancestor Much Loved One (David), to set them free from the People of Iron (Romans.) But he did not ride a warhorse on that day, as one might expect. Instead, he rode a small, humble donkey colt. He came weeping over the Village of Peace (Jerusalem), but even this could not silence the hopes of the crowd. The people encircle him, front and back. ‘Hosanna! Set us free!’ they shouted.’”

Hosanna is a song of praise that rises out of a hope-full and weary people who are longing to be filled. Hosanna is a one-word hymn that is defiant about hope and shouts to God, Save us. Palm Sunday proclaims that God saves us. Not in a way that we expect but in the way that we need. And, my God, the world needs saving.

Hosanna! Jesus, save us from violence. Free us from hate. Deliver us from evil. Liberate us from an obsession with weapons. Save us from exhaustion, cynicism, and consumerism. Deliver us from racism, homophobia, Transphobia, xenophobia, and sexism. Free us from toxic relationships and participation in the perpetuation of injustice. Save us from ways of seeing the world that aren’t aligned with Your vision for us.

Reflection

What makes you cry out? Hosanna!

Action

I wonder if as Jesus prepared himself to enter Jerusalem, he centers himself with the reminder that his identity as Beloved Child of God will survive even this. Look at your beautiful face in the mirror and trust that your identity as Beloved Child of God will survive, too. Always.

Welcome to Holy Week where a weary and defiantly hope-full people cry out and Jesus shows us that Love saves us, every. Single. Time. Hosanna!