A Reflection for Palm Sunday: Sing Hosanna
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Take a moment to take in the space that is around you. Listen carefully to the sounds. Allow your body to be where it is, whether you are sitting or standing or enjoying a walk. Take a couple of deep breaths and remember that you are loved.
Consider how the song of a bird can pierce through the night and summon the morning.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
- Maya Angelou
Psalm 100:1-2
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before God’s presence with singing.
Matthew 21:6-9
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
Food for Thought
Music has played a significant role in the life of communities throughout history. Songs entertain, they soothe, they sustain hope, they connect, they elevate, they remind us of who we are and where we have been, and can be powerful agents of change. Communal songs have served as an instrument of worship, they have been crafted into forms of resistance, they have marked significant moments of triumph, and they have offered a means for lamenting loss.
We have seen how songs have sustained communities through some of the most trying times. Enslaved communities used music to set the pace for work, to worship, to teach, to empower, to subvert, and to celebrate. During the US Civil Rights Movement, songs sustained and encouraged people in their work toward equality, served as a voice for experience and hope, and provided the groundwork for celebrating even in the midst of trouble.
Songs have helped to etch our story in ways that allow us to carry them within us and pass them on from generation to generation. This is true of our faith story as well.
In the Book of Exodus, when the Hebrew people have crossed the waters safely and are no longer in danger, Miriam, the sister of Moses, takes the women to the water’s edge and leads them in singing and dancing—an act of exquisite gratitude.
In the collection of Psalms, we read songs thanking God for God’s faithfulness, God’s care in creation, God’s nurturing provision, and God’s strong deliverance. In the Psalms, we also read songs about seeking that deliverance, and songs of lament that express grief for deep loss, fear, and despair.
Generations later, when Mary is told that she will be the mother of Jesus, she also responds with her own song of thanksgiving for the one whose love is poured out on the least of these.
So it should come as no surprise to us that as Jesus enters into the city of Jerusalem, those who meet him at the gate spread coats and branches before him on the road and begin to sing loudly their owns songs of thanksgiving and praise:
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!
Here, those who know the songs of Miriam and Mary—those who have heard the songs of the Psalms, who have carried the stories of generations through songs of hope and lament and gratitude—cry out with loud Hosannas for one who they have heard can multiply fish, can restore health to those who are sick, who lifts up the lowest, and who can summon the dead back to life. These are people who have felt forgotten and whose Hosannas ring forth with long held prayers for promises fulfilled, for deliverance and salvation to come, for life renewed.
We may not fully understand how it can be possible to sing in the midst of difficult times, but we have seen again and again—in our faith stories, in our history, and around us still—how prayers in the form of songs have a powerful way of buoying our spirits. Author Cole Arthur Riley says, “I am convinced that if we are to survive the wait of [our deepest hopes], we must become people capable of delight. . . . We do this by allowing joy, in whatever form, to be our song.”
We look at the world around us—the world around our children—and are reminded that we are not where we want to be. There is grief and despair, injustice and violence, hate and rage, loss, depression, hunger, and war enough to extinguish the hope of anything better if we let it. And so we listen to the songs of generations past—those songs that are etched within the stories of our human history—and let them guide and inspire our own singing.
We sing songs of hope so we do not give in to the temptation of hopelessness. We sing songs of lament so we do not silence the pain of those who are grieving. We sing songs of thanksgiving so we do not forget all that truly is good in the world. We sing songs of delight to reignite within us the spark of divine joy. We sing out our loud Hosannas so that we do not forget what, with God’s help, just might be possible.
Sing a song of gratitude! At some point today—while alone at home or in your car, together with loved ones, or even on a busy sidewalk—lift your voice in praise!
If singing isn’t your thing, take time to listen to a song that reminds you of God’s many blessings that surround you.
For a printable version of today's reflection, download our For Love's Sake eBook! For the kid's version, check out our For Love's Sake Kids eBook!
Blessing
Loving God,
Thank you for the songs of joy and gratitude that we sing today and that others have sung before us. May these songs guide us and shape us into the people you are calling us to be.
Amen.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Write down the songs that have shaped your life. Which songs do you associate with certain seasons in your life and why?
Talk together, or journal, about how songs of gratitude can sustain us in our journey and shape our spiritual lives.
How can you let your song of joy guide you today? What change do you hope it might bring?
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask your kiddo to name their favorite song.
Play that song and dance around the room to it!
Now play them your favorite song from when you were their age.
Meet our Welcoming Voice!
The Welcome Table Team - We are “The Bunce Girls!” Originally from Lexington, North Carolina, we were raised surrounded by music, justice, and faith. We spent most of our Sunday afternoons gathered around an open table with family and friends where the food was plentiful, stories and laughter connected our hearts, and where the presence of each individual was held sacred. It’s those moments that have inspired The Welcome Table.
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