We begin in the dust of the road, weary and tired. Our feet
are sore. Our throats are dry. But in
the distance we can see it, that city on a hill, the ancient-eternal city of Jerusalem , the pilgrim’s
destination.
The torah instructs us
that we are pilgrim people. Even though we
may be settled in our homes, the Blessed One has taught us to remember that“…a
wandering Aramaean was my ancestor.”[i] And so we make the three annual pilgrimages
for the great Jewish festivals[ii]. We go up for Shavuot to celebrate the
revelation of the torah to Moses.
We go up for Sukkoth[iii]
– the Feast of Tabernacles, and as we do today, we go up for Pesach –
the Passover - [iv] so that
we can remember the time of our departure from Egypt, to recall the dramatic
and miraculous events which led to our exodus from that ancient land of
slavery.
We followed the Blessed One
then, as he led us from Egypt ,
through the Sea
of Reeds though we were
pursued by the Egyptians and their chariots.
We followed him as he led us to meet with him at Mount
Sinai where he gave us the torah. We followed, though somewhat reluctantly and
grumbling, to the Promised Land. And now
we continue to follow him, wandering after the Holy One of Israel. Our feet are blistered. Our legs are
weary. But we follow because he is our
God. We are hungry. We are thirsty. But we will be filled.
And even though we are
road-weary we sing pilgrim songs, songs of the road.
I was glad when they said to
me,
‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’…
Jerusalem ,
built as a city
which is bound firmly together,
to which the tribes go up…
as was decreed by the LORD,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.[v]
‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!’…
which is bound firmly together,
to which the tribes go up…
as was decreed by the LORD,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.[v]
We sing in anticipation of the
Passover hallel:
Hallelujah! Praise, O
servants of the LORD,
Praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the LORD is to be praised![vi]
Praise the name of the LORD!
Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the LORD is to be praised![vi]
Our pilgrim band may be tired,
but we walk on. The children, with youth's wellspring of energy run on ahead, laughing and dancing, darting after butterflies.
Some of us are slower; age has weakened our joints. We breathe hard, panting for breath between
the lines of the psalm, as we walk up these steep hills. But there is always a hand ready to help us,
to steady us. We walk together. You look tired. Have some of my water and give me your bag. I
will carry it for you. We’re almost there.
And there we will celebrate.
And here now, as we pass the
town of Bethphage [vii]
we see fig trees, hundreds of them along the side of the road. Several of the older children run towards
them, but before we can warn them against eating any, they realize for
themselves that the figs are not yet ripe.
The leaves are there, but it is not yet the season for figs.[viii]
And now we are nearing the town
of Bethany [ix]. There are more fig trees here. The children
run to check again, but they are disappointed again. Their frowns are fleeting, however. They are
quickly distracted by shouts and cheers from the road up ahead.
A large group of travelers has joined us on the road here and they are as excited as we are, perhaps more. At their head is a man they are addressing as “Rabbi” and “master.” He is smiling and laughing, too. Though, if you’ll watch, his smile falters a little every now and then. There. Did you see it? That frown as he looked off towardsJerusalem ?
A large group of travelers has joined us on the road here and they are as excited as we are, perhaps more. At their head is a man they are addressing as “Rabbi” and “master.” He is smiling and laughing, too. Though, if you’ll watch, his smile falters a little every now and then. There. Did you see it? That frown as he looked off towards
But how can anyone frown at
such a time as this? There is a sudden
cheer from the group as two of their members return from the nearby village. They are leading a young colt – an unbroken
colt, it would seem from the way it struggles and bucks against their leading. The
colt rears his head back suddenly, and the young man holding the leading rope
is jerked backwards. He falls on his
bottom in a plume of dust. The colt neighs
loudly and the crowd is laughing uproariously.
The rabbi, Yeshua, I believe
they are calling him, laughs too. His
frown is gone, replaced by a wide grin.
He reaches down to lift up his fallen disciple.
“It was just as you said,
rabbi,” says the disciple holding the colt’s reins. “We found the colt tied up
at a door way, out in the open street.
We untied him to bring him to you and some people there stopped us. “What are you doing, untying that colt?” We told them just what you said, “the Lord
has need of it and will send it back here immediately.” Your word was good enough for them. They let us bring it to you.”
Yeshua nods and thanks his disciple. Immediately some of the men in their group begin to strip off their outer coats. They lay them across the back of the colt and waving their arms towards the beast, invite this Yeshua to sit upon it. He laughs again and embraces them and then sits on the colt.
He looks like a king. But kings ride horses and this is only a colt. And then someone remembers the words of the prophet Zechariah:
Yeshua nods and thanks his disciple. Immediately some of the men in their group begin to strip off their outer coats. They lay them across the back of the colt and waving their arms towards the beast, invite this Yeshua to sit upon it. He laughs again and embraces them and then sits on the colt.
He looks like a king. But kings ride horses and this is only a colt. And then someone remembers the words of the prophet Zechariah:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of
Zion ! Shout,
Daughter of Jerusalem !
See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding
on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.[x]
His disciples are cheering and
the crowd is shouting. They are wild
with enthusiasm, and it is hard not to get caught up in their excitement. Soon we are all shouting with them.
“Hoshanna”! Someone shouts, and for a moment I think that they have called out his name, “Yeshua” the words are very much the same. “Hoshanna! They shout again and again. “Save us! Save us now! Deliver us! Deliver us now!”
“Hoshanna”! Someone shouts, and for a moment I think that they have called out his name, “Yeshua” the words are very much the same. “Hoshanna! They shout again and again. “Save us! Save us now! Deliver us! Deliver us now!”
And it isn’t long before our
shouts have become a song. We are
singing another of the hallels- the psalms of praise.
Save us, we beseech thee, O
LORD!
O LORD, we beseech thee, give us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD!
The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.[xi]
O LORD, we beseech thee, give us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD!
The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.[xi]
Several of the disciples dart
away from the road and begin gathering branches and brushwood cut from the
nearby fields. They race back to the
road with armloads of these branches and they begin spreading them out along
the road in front of the colt. Others
are waving them in the air and shouting and singing.
Blessed is the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
In the heights, cry out “Hoshanna!”[xii]
Blessed is the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
In the heights, cry out “Hoshanna!”[xii]
And still other voices are with
us singing:
Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
thy welcome shall proclaim,
and heaven’s eternal arches ring
with thy beloved name.
Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
thy welcome shall proclaim,
and heaven’s eternal arches ring
with thy beloved name.
He comes, the prisoner to
release
in Satan’s bondage held;
the gates of brass before him burst,
the iron fetters yield.
in Satan’s bondage held;
the gates of brass before him burst,
the iron fetters yield.
He comes, the broken heart
to bind,
the wounded soul to cure,
and with the treasures of his grace
to enrich the humble poor.
the wounded soul to cure,
and with the treasures of his grace
to enrich the humble poor.
Hark the glad sound! the
Savior comes,
the Savior promised long;
let every heart prepare a throne,
and every voice song.[xiii]
the Savior promised long;
let every heart prepare a throne,
and every voice song.[xiii]
He is the promised one, the coming one, the one who will
save us. We cheer him on. Ride on! Ride on! Hosanna! Ride on!
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark, all the tribes hosanna cry;
thine humble beast pursues his road
with palms and scattered garments strowed
Hark, all the tribes hosanna cry;
thine humble beast pursues his road
with palms and scattered garments strowed
And, because we are singing from this side of history, we can
sing more than those weary but eager pilgrims so long ago.
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die;
O Christ, thy triumphs now begin
O’re captive death and conquered sin.
In lowly pomp ride on to die;
O Christ, thy triumphs now begin
O’re captive death and conquered sin.
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die;
Bow thy meek head to mortal pain
then take, O God, thy power, and reign.[xiv]
Jesus of
Hosanna and Amen.
[i]
Deuteronomy 26: 1 - 5
[ii] Exodus
34:23
[iii] Leviticus
23:42-43
[iv]
Deuteronomy 16: 1- 8
[v] Psalm
122: 1 - 4
[vi] Psalm
113: 1 - 3
[vii]
Aramaic “House of Un-ripe Figs”
[viii] Mark
11: 1, 13
[ix] Aramaic
“House of the Figs” or “House of affliction/poverty”
[x] Zechariah
9:9
[xi] Psalm
118: 25 - 27
[xii] Mark
11: 9 – 10 Anchor Bible Translation
[xiii]
Phillip Doddrige (1702 – 1751) – can be sung to “Joy to the World”
[xiv] Henry
Hart Milman (1791 – 1868)
[xv] St.
Andrew of Crete
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