Mitch Lewis

Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, "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!" Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. (Mark 11:8-11)

Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets,
no more need for hidin', takin' it to the streets.
-- Michael McDonald and The Doobie Brothers

When Jesus entered Jerusalem before his Passion, he proceeded to the temple. As he went, his followers cried out, "Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Mark tells us that they spread their cloaks and branches on the road.

What does the word "Hosanna" mean? I think most people assume that "Hosanna" is word that means "Praise God," or something of that sort. It is in fact a Hebrew verb with a particle of entreaty that together mean something like, "Save us, we pray."

Some commentators have likened Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to a political demonstration. The people are crying out, it is said, for God to save them from the Romans. Mark's reference to the "coming kingdom of our Father David" reinforces this point, the argument goes. Jesus was directly challenging Roman authority.

The Romans were very wary of the threat of a Jewish uprising, especially during the major festivals when the population and the passions of Jerusalem would swell. The Romans considered the Jerusalem temple to the center of gravity for any threat, so the Roman garrison literally looked down on the temple precincts from its barracks in the Antonia Fortress.

The problem is that there is little in any of the gospels that puts Rome at the center of Jesus' intentions. Most of the material between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his crucifixion is aimed at establishing Jesus' authority over God's people. There are many run-ins with various Jewish leaders and sects; there are none with Romans until after Jesus is arrested. The conflict with Rome is a subset of the larger issue of Jesus claiming sovereignty in every sphere of creation.

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The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say' 'Father, save me from this hour'' No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. (John 12:25-27)

Jesus is troubled, but resolute in the face of his coming death. His faith sets the example for all.

Those who cling to life, Jesus says, will lose it. The truth is that all will lose it. The death rate is 100%. In Western cultures, the young can understand this intellectually but not emotionally.

I spoke with one our older civilian employees the other day after he received an award for over 40 years of service to the people of the United States. He is one of the few folks in the command who is actually older than I am. I knew he was a Vietnam era vet, but I asked him if he actually served in Vietnam. It turns out that he did, during the Tet offensive, as an 11B (Infantryman) walking point. "I was 17 years old,' he told me. 'What do 17 year-olds think? They're invincible."

As the years pass, however, the truth of our mortality begins to sink in. I remember hearing Tony Campolo talk one time about his growing awareness of his mortality. It's like listening to a faucet drip, he said. At first you hardly notice it, but as time passes on, it's all you can hear.

Except at Lord's appearing, death will come to all. Some will die at the end of a full-life, at least as full as this age can offer. Others will die tragically with their lives unfinished, their deaths mocking the goodness of creation and the meaning of existence. Still others will die doing something they think is important, spending their lives for a cause greater than themselves.

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Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. (John 12:31)

On the cross, Jesus utterly defeated Satan and the power of sin and death. How can this be?

We shouldn't be too surprised. With God's help, Gideon put the Midianites to flight with only a handful of men armed with torches, trumpets and clay pots (Judges 7:16-25). That?s not much force to bring against an army.

David stood before Goliath, a youth armed with rocks and shepherd?s sling opposing an immense warrior equipped with latest in iron-age armor and weaponry. And we know how that turned out. David slew the giant and Israel chased down the fleeing Philistine army (1 Samuel 17). "It is not by the sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's," David says.

In the same vein, then, we Jesus, alone on a cross, facing off with the prince of this world, the enemy of all enemies and not just another petty tyrant. And Jesus wins. "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out," John quotes Jesus concerning his coming crucifixion.

This is more than we can take in. Jesus' death looks like a defeat, not a victory. Gideon's army may have been small, but it chased the Midianites from the field and destroyed them. David stood in the giant's shadow, but his missile felled the "uncircumcised Philistine," enabling the Israelites to pursue their enemies and strike them down.

Does Jesus' death have the same effect? Does Jesus' death drive out the prince of this world, rob him of his power and ensure his destruction? That precisely is the witness of the New Testament, and particularly the witness of John the evangelist.

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"Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:27-28)

Somewhere in my childhood, I remember asking why we wore good clothes to church on Sunday. The answer, as I recall, was that God deserves our best; we wear our best clothes as a way of honoring God. I've heard the same argument made about sanctuary carpets and pew upholstery. I understand that impulse - to honor God with the best that humans have to offer (even if I don't really care what people wear to worship, as long as the clothes themselves aren't worn to make oneself the focus of attention). I also think it misses something essential about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:23-24)

Tertullian said that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church (Apoligeticus, Chapter 50). In The Lost History of Christianity, however, Philip Jenkins documents how the blood of martyrs sometimes just means the death of the church.

John tells us that it is not just martyrdom in general that gives the church life, but specifically that it is Jesus' death from which the church grew. It is the event that defines who we are.

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This post is a "Great Thanksgiving" or Eucharistic prayer for use on Palm Sunday. We're focusing on the Liturgy of the Palms this Sunday, without the readings from the passion narrative. I wanted a Eucharistic prayer that borrowed heavily from the Palm Sunday narrative, with its "Triumphal Entry" themes of praise and salvation, dominion and victory. I also wanted echoes of other Holy Week elements as well.

I never claim copyright on liturgical material, much of which is adapted from other sources anyway. How can we keep our words of praise as a private possession? Use or adapt as you like.

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