ὡσαννά “Let all the angels in heaven join the song of praise. Salvation! Salvation! Let the highest heaven sing the song!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you doing this?, say, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly”

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 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 your father David! “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” Mark 11:1-11

I sit here, eyes closed, trying to imagine the scene above. My minds-eye puts me along side the crowd as I join the cry, “ Hosanna! Hosanna!”

There I stand on the side of that dusty road watching as Jesus rides by on the unbroken colt. Caught up in the ceremony of hope I lay my bouquet of coriander down before him in the street and join the chanting, “Hosanna- save me!” Save me from the fear that grips at my gut, save me from the stresses of the day, save me from my hidden habits, save me from the evil that not so silently hovers over, save me from my doubt!

Do I realize he has come to redeem so much more than my now and my immediate future? Do I comprehend that he has come to be King Everlasting? Can I take it in that he is the incarnate God -my eternal redemption and hope?

Do I cry for help or sing praises to my redeemer? “Hosanna”, is my trust rooted in the kingdom that is ushered in on the back of a colt?

Jesus is the incarnate God- He was, He is, and He always will be. He meets me as my work-dirty hands place my wilted offering before him- and it is there that he meets me as I cry out, “Hosanna- save me!”

He meets me in those quiet times when my fears and doubts have been laid to rest by grace. He meets me when I sing out, “Hosanna in the Highest I am overcome with the joy of your salvation.”

When I come into the fields of coriander- whether in doubt or faith he is there. He patiently accepts me whether my faith harvest is plenty or withered. He sits beside me and his words of grace gently mend the tattered rips of my divided heart.

Psalm 86:11

“Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”