Monday, March 23, 2015

Hosanna! O God, save us

Psalm 118:21-29
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.

Lord,
how many times
have I read this passage
and missed it.

So many of these verses are remembered
by the Gospel writers in connection with Palm Sunday.

"Save us, we beseech you!" in English is
"Hosanna!" in Greek and Hebrew!
And quickly followed by,
"Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!"

The crowds on that first Palm Sunday
and we who echo their refrain
are crying out from Psalm 118!

Lord Jesus,
we confess
you are the Stone the builders rejected.
Indeed you are our very Cornerstone,
the foundation on which we stand.

We join the ancient cry:
"Hosanna! Save us, we beseech you, we beg!"
"Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!"

We bind up our festival procession this Sunday
with branches of palms and our very lives
paving the way for the Price of Peace to enter
all the way to the altar that is the Cross of Calvary.

This IS the day that the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be glad!
We give thanks to you, O God,
for your always faithful, self-giving love
endures forever and ever --
not even death can break it.
Amen.

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