Thursday 14 April 2011

Staying with the Hosannas

Lenten Labyrinth

Hold on to the Hosannas

Let’s stay with the Hosannas for a while
Let’s let them keep on ringing in our ears
Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord
Instead of rushing on to hear the cries
that came later in the week
Let’s stay with the Hosannas
Maybe once we’ve heard those
in a new way
will we be ready
to make the rest of the journey
A journey that was hastened
and given new purpose
by those Hosannas
For those Hosannas were not
simply the innocent cries
of palm branch waving children
Those Hosannas were the war cries of adults
tired of the oppression
of occupying forces
Those hosannas
were the hopeful cries
of a nation seeking liberation.
Those Hosannas
were an investment of hope
in one they thought would deliver.
Those Hosannas
that we have sanitized over the years
rang out in clear insurrection
sealing the fate
of one who rode on a donkey.
so, let’s stay with the Hosannas
Let’s wrest them from the lips of children
and allow them to ring in our ears
and spew from our mouths
as a call to action
a call to justice
a call to love.
Let’s stay with the Hosannas
even as we journey
with the Christ
who carried those Hosannas
all the way to the cross
and ensured their fulfillment
as the justice and love of God.
Let’s stay with the Hosannas.
Liz Crumlish 2010


A reflection for Palm Sunday.
There's another reflection here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful weaving of that story with our stories.