Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026
- Mar 30
- 2 min read
I didn't have a sermon for Palm/Passion Sunday. We read Matthew's account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11) and the story of Jesus' passion and death from Matthew 26:14 -27:66. It's a solemn and heavy story. What more could I say.
After the readings, we had a moment of silence to reflect on all that we heard. Then I offered the following poem. The contrast of going from shouts of "Hosanna" to shouts of "Crucify" captivated me all week. As I pondered and wrestled with it, it occurred to me that both shouts were pleas for salvation, albeit in very different ways.
The Hosanna in the Crucify
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
A crowd joyously shouts,
palm branches waving,
as a humble donkey
carries their king over,
cloaks strewn in the roadway.
Hosanna!
Save us!
From the highest heaven
hear us cry,
"save us!"
Crucify Him!
A crowd angrily cries
gathered in the courtyard
of empire,
calling for the death
of an innocent man
a death that can save them
from the wrath of Rome.
The One who
creates everything from nothing,
brings order from chaos,
births life from death,
Hears both pleas:
Hosanna, save us!
Crucify, save us!
Answers both
hosanna and crucify
in the cross
and in the empty tomb.
Answers “save us,”
save us from what we cannot see,
save us from what we dare not ask,
save us from our shortsighted self interest,
save us in ways we cannot imagine,
Do you hear the undertone of “crucify”
In the lingering “hosanna?”
Can you hear the “hosanna”
In the “crucify?”
May the shouts of ‘crucify’
mingled with the hosannas of hope
lead you to Easter morning.