April 5th Service
On Line Service due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Saint John’s Pulpit (April 5 - , Palm Sunday) – "Hosanna, O, Save Us!" Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

"Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

"Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" 11 The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Hosanna: Saving Grace

Can you believe that it is the first Sunday of April? Also it is Palm Sunday, a beginning of the Holy Week. In this sanctuary, there are Cross, pews, Communion set, piano, organ, baptismal fountain, but no people here. We know that Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem with warm and passionate welcoming by people. However, this year Palm Sunday, no one waves hands and speak out “Hosanna.” Please welcome Jesus who is entering the city of Jerusalem with your heart and mind.

Palm Sunday always reminds us of one big word. It is "Hosanna!” Many people know that this word means joy, praise, and adoration. But its original meaning is somewhat heavy and serious. It means "O, save us." You can see this usage in 2 Samuel 14:4.

When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and did obeisance, and said, "Help, O king!" 2 Samuel 14:4 NRSV

The original meaning of Hosanna was from the same context where we exactly experience now. Please look at the world. Nay, look around your neighborhood. Don’t you feel that we need to fall on our face to the ground and do obeisance and say, "Help, O God!" like the woman of Tekoa? Yes, Palam Sunday 2020 asks us to go back to the original Hosanna seriously. In the text today, when people saw Jesus who was entering the city of Jerusalem, they shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Yes, they believed that Jesus is the only Saviour. In verse 9, for the last part, we find this expression- Hosanna in the highest! What does it mean? Even for angels in the Heaven, let them shout Hosanna (O, save God). Simply speaking, we all need Jesus, our Savior.

Hosanna, what lesson can we learn from this word today? Here is a very simple rhetoric again. The whole world can be saved by Jesus only. Please remember that only Jesus is our Savior. Let's shout "O, Save us, God!"

Hosanna: Purifying Grace

Let me tell about another meaning of Hosanna. What did people do when they saw Jesus who was coming to the city? Palm Sunday always reminds us of a very popular scene by people It is in verse 8.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Matthew 21:8 NRSV

However, this popular scene was not for Palm Sunday only. It was done before Jesus was born. Let's read one verse from 2 Maccabees 10:7 (The Book of Maccabees is one of Apocrypa- Old Testament books not included in the Bible).

Therefore, carrying ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place. 2 Maccabees 10:7

How do you feel about the verse above? Is it beautiful? Yes, but it is from a sad history in Israel. When Antiochus IV Epiphanese persecuted Jewish people and swept into Jerusalem (B.C. 175), his main focus was to eliminate the religious tradition of Jews and to force assimilation to Greek ways. Jewish was forced to eat pork, and their temple turned out to be a red-light district. When Maccabbees and Jewish people recovered their temple and religious tradition, all Israel people gave God their song of praise and thanksgiving. God cleaned and purified their temple!

Don't you think that we find a similar lesson from this verse when we look at this world? We now see that the whole world is mourning and suffering. In a certain point, an ultimate cause of all these things is from our responsibility because we have not kept this world clean and pure!

This Palm Sunday, what is our prayer? What should we pray for? Jesus is entering our life place now. Just as people shouted 'Hosanna,' we are asked to shout the same word seriously. Jesus, o, save us! Jesus, clean this world and purify us!

The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!" Matthew 21: 9 NRSV