Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Hosana “Lord Save us”

  St. Mark 11:1-18
(vv. 5-6) “some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?”  They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.

As we enter the passion week, we may ask why is this week called passion?  Passion comes from the word ‘passio’, which means ‘to endure suffering’.  Christ entering Jerusalem was a humbling experience as we know it is the time in which we remember the suffering Christ had to endure for all of us.  The humility of Christ is recognized here, especially in which we see the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Prince of Peace enter Jerusalem not on a white horse but on a humbled donkey.  The people spread their cloaks on the road along with branches.  ‘Hosanna’ is being sung.  Hosanna means ‘save’, and the people exclaimed this because they recognized that Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy in Zachariah 9:9. The crowd saw fulfillment in front of their eyes but did not understand where the kingship would lead Christ.  It was the same people who once exclaimed Hosanna who ended up crying out in anger ‘crucify Him’ as Christ stood trial.  When we go through good seasons in life, it is easy to praise God.  However, are we able to still praise God in tough times?
 
Going back to the humility of Christ in choosing the donkey, it reminds us of God’s unconditional love.  We all are living in a world that puts conditions and labels to everything around us.  But we think in earthly terms, not able to give full worth to the things and people that we label.  In our eyes, a donkey is considered an insult and a ‘lowly’ animal that is not majestic like a horse or a lion but a big joke of an animal.  Jesus did not look to it as worthless but worthy to carry Him who has authority over all things seen and unseen.  Christ chose disciples who were not people from the elite, but ordinary people used for an extraordinary purpose.
 
As we enter this Passion Week, looking at Christ who entered Jerusalem in all of humility to use a what the world saw a worthless animal to carry the worthiest King of all, Christ took the journey to the cross, where He was willing to see us as worthy to give His whole life for us.  Do we see ourselves and the people around us worthy enough to be recognized as children of God?

Prayer

(vv. 9b-10) “Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!  Hosanna in the highest Heaven!”

 

Thought for the day

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
—Saint Augustine

Rev. Jess M. George
New York Youth Chaplain

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