Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday, and if attending any Christian church today you may hear something like this, compiled by  Sarah Ciotti. Some churches reenact Jesus' triumphal entry; some pass out palm branches to wave during the hymns. At our service we'll be hearing from Pastor David Mann, our missionary to Haiti.

“9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’” (Matt 21:9)[1]

These holy words have inspired the Church for centuries. Known as the Sanctus, a part of the Eucharist Prayer, Christians have sung the end of this verse since before 400 AD.[2]

The Sanctus, listed below, hints at a juxtaposition innate in sacred mystery; God as Divine as expressed in the first stanza and God as man, riding on a donkey, in the second.[3]

“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts
Heaven and earth are full of your glory
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest”(Sanctus 2010).[4]

Continuing the Holy Week reflection, Jesus’ triumphal entry highlights our need to make our new commitment public. We want to announce it and name it; whether it is a new goal, a project, a new partnership, etc. We long to celebrate with family and friends. Yet, in the joy of announcing our plans, sadness exists. Like in the Sanctus, we hope for something great; yet we know our human nature. What if we fail? What if we can’t bring our commitment to completion? We desire publicity; but we realize the fragility that comes with such an announcement. Hence, today’s paradox.[5]

[1] Revised Standard Version, s.v. “Matthew, The Gospel According To.”
[2] Michael G. Powell, “An Introduction to the History of Christian Liturgy in the West. s.v. ‘sanctus,’”http://www.yale.edu/adhoc/research_resources/liturgy/d_sanctus.html
[3] Ibid.
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation.
[5] Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, “The Mysteries of Holy Week,” Retreat, Pocatello, ID, March 2012.