24 March 2024 Palm/Passion Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-18; Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 14:1-15:47

Today, we are in the situation where our lectionary gives us two different events to celebrate.  We can celebrate the Liturgy of the Branches, which we did before we entered, or the Liturgy of the Passion, or we can do what we are doing, and give them both some space and air in our Liturgy.

Mark tells us the crowd shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Now, I don’t know about you, but I had always assumed, or thought, that hosanna was a joyful word meaning Horray, or Rejoice, Celebrate, but it doesn’t.  Hosanna means ‘save now’ or ‘save us’.  So what this crowd is calling out is ‘please save us from where we are’, the crowd have recognised in this absurd ‘kingly’ procession on a nursing female donkey, a man who they see as someone who can save them from their current oppression.  While on the other side of town, Pilate rides into town in all his pomp and circumstance with adoring masses and stage managed awe and honour, Jesus rides into town quietly, unannounced, and yet the people recognise him as ‘their saviour’.    Whether or not, on this day, these people expected Jesus to act as a king or military leader and oust the foreign rulers, later in the week they would have been confronted by the same question that Pilate struggles with at Jesus’ trial – who is this man, and if he is a king, what sort of king.  Just like with the word ‘hosanna’, there is more truth spoken in witness to Jesus than the speakers intended, in the words written at the top of his cross, in the words of the chief priest at his trial, and in his mockery by the soldiers.  What confused them and witnessed to them, was the way Jesus combined what was expected of the Messiah as a conquering hero, with the remembrance of the suffering servant as the one who would save the people.  In his approach to his death, Jesus makes the saviour also the suffering servant.  Jesus had been trying to prepare his disciples for that different understanding of who he was, but they did not understand until after they saw how he died.  His silence impressed them, and later his disciples remembered it and proclaimed him Lord and Saviour and suffering servant.  So for us Palm Sunday is also Passion Sunday.  “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!”