Help, Hooray, Hope & Hosanna
Every year, the major dictionaries select a word or words of the year that have made their way into our everyday language and they typically reflect events and social trends of the period. I suspect one of the phrases to be added to lexicons this year will be the oxymoronic phase we’ve all been using “social distancing.” Each generation makes its own contributions to the way we use language. In particular, it seems, virtually every generation, even every sub-generation has its own specific word for “cool.” Words like swell, nifty, groovy, righteous, boss, wicked, fly, fresh, dope, gnarly, the bomb, hunky dory, phat (with PH), sweet, fab and more mark not only a generation, but often your social location as well. I remember in my adolescent years, a word that was often used to mean cool was the word, “bad.” Probably popularized by the Michael Jackson song of the same name, “bad” came to mean something pretty close to its opposite. We said, “oh, that is baaad,” by which we actually meant, that is pretty cool. You can see how this sort of shift in the language could be confusing to people not in the know.
Well, something similar has happened to the word Hosanna and it has forever altered the way we understand Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday has always seemed like a bit of an odd holiday to me. It feels like wearing mismatched clothing. It just doesn’t match with the rest of the season. Kind of like celebrating April Fools Day in the middle of a pandemic. Lent is supposed to be the long steady descent and bleak journey down into the depths and the dark night of our souls, culminating in the complete despair of the arrest, conviction, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. Putting a celebratory Palm Sunday into the midst of that feels disconnected. If it feels disconnected to you too, it is because we don’t really understand the word Hosanna and therefore, we don’t really understand what the people were saying. And the difference is like someone using the word “bad” to mean cool, while someone else understands them using that word in the more common sense — bad meaning, not good.
On Palm Sunday, in particular, we use the word “Hosanna” to be a shout of praise. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem was a parade and we imagine the crowds were cheering him on. Hosanna, the way we use it, is something like the equivalent of “hip, hip, hooray!” Well, this is not what the word Hosanna originally meant. The word Hosanna, comes from the Hebrew word “Hosa” which means “save.” The “na” part makes it an imperative, so the meaning of “Hosanna” is not anywhere close to “hip, hip, hooray,” but rather, “save, now.” Save us urgently. We need saving now. And so when the crowds shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David,” it was likely an urgent plea. In 2nd Samuel, 14:4, a similiar phrase, “help, now” was also used in connection with King David, as it is in our passage this morning with a woman of Tekoa who was a widow and her sons were fighting, resulting in the death of one of them. She was at the end of her rope and all she could say was “help, now.”
It feels like we are in that kind of a situation now too. We need masks and ventalitors now. Government relief checks, now. Containment of this virus now. Adjustment to our new normal, now. To say that we need “help” doesn’t quite convey the urgency of the situation. “Help, now” gets a little closer.
I want to read back over this passage, but before I do, let’s let go of any preconception we may have from the traditional understanding of Palm Sunday as a “triumphant” celebration of Jesus riding into Jerusalem to cheering crowds. And instead, hear this as an encounter between desperate people, who were after all, under Roman occupation, eager for help in their lives. And when your hear the word Hosanna, hear that original meaning, “Help! Now!”.
Reread Matthew 21:1–11
Those gathered in Jerusalem cried out, “help now” not only to Jesus, but to God. When we hear “Hosanna” only as a word of praise, this is easy to miss in the text. Not only did they shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” but also “Hosanna in the highest heaven.” That sounds like just an intensification of their praise. Yet, it was a cry of “help, now” to God.
I know the traditional understanding of this event is a temporary moment of celebration and triumph. But that interpretation simply isn’t clear in the original text.
And it seems that the entire character of this story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem really pivots on what this word “Hosanna” actually means. What did the people who shouted it mean? And perhaps most importantly for us today, what do we mean when we shout “Hosanna.”
What if the word Hosanna that God gives to us this morning is big enough to include both? What if the etymology and the living history of this word actually gives us a unique and even paradoxical set of spiritual tools to prepare us for this very moment. A world facing an unprecedented health and economic challenge, the end of the season of Lent — “Help, now!” Yet, also coming into focus is the coming resurrection and even glimpses of that kingdom Jesus so often spoken of, as we see new levels of generosity and support emerging from our communities. “Hip, Hip, Hooray!” And today we are given one word that can hold both of those very real spiritual feelings together — “Hosanna”
Hosanna to the Son of David
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Help, now! God — we are scared, in over our heads, we don’t know what to do, we feel a deep sense of loss.
Hip, Hip, Hooray — we have seen the helpers. We have seen our community, our nation, and our world pull together. And most of all, we know that Easter is coming and no matter how high the death count goes, it will not have the final word, for you, O God, have conquered death.
Hosanna
Not only does the word “Hosanna” hold these two meanings together, but they actually each help to answer the cry of one another. Many people, ourselves included and in our communities are crying out, “Help, now.” We’re quarantined, adjusting new new rhythms and lifestyles, going without pay, reliant on assistance for the first time ever, sick or worried about getting sick and in many other ways, crying out from deep within, “Help, now!” Yet, in the long run, in the grand scheme of things — the pain of all these things — worry, suffering, and yes, even death, we believe can be healed by Jesus Christ. Jesus points to a better way of life than that of anxiety and worry and invites us into that abundant life here and now. Jesus walked through suffering himself, worse than any of us could likely even imagine. And he came through it without bitterness and a heart still filled with love, saying to God, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And in the central claim of the Christian faith, we believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Through him, death is not the final word for us either. And so no matter what happens in our state of crying out “Help, now!” we have reason still to proclaim, “Hip, Hip, Hooray.” Hosanna. And that very “Hip, Hip, Hooray” that celebrates the coming of Jesus Christ is an answer to the cry o desperation, “Help, now!” And this is yet another reason to shout, “hip, hip, hooray!” And that very sense of hope is “help” given by God “now.” Not only can it lift spirits, it can actually be measured and efficacious physiologically in the body. That hope is “blessed.” It is the one that comes in the name of the Lord. It is no longer just a cry of lament, but an answer to that prayer. “Here’s help, now.” And that exchange pushes the spirit towards the “Hip, Hip, Hooray.” That we might all have hope that Easter is coming. COVID-19, the quarantine, an economic depression, sickness and death will not have the final word. Because God is making all things new. Glory be to God. Hosanna to the son of David. Hosanna in the highest heaven! Amen.
Would you pray with me?
