{"id":4446,"date":"2024-03-24T16:15:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-24T16:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2024\/03\/24\/hosanna-based-on-psalm-1181-4-19-24-and\/"},"modified":"2024-03-24T16:15:31","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T16:15:31","slug":"hosanna-based-on-psalm-1181-4-19-24-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2024\/03\/24\/hosanna-based-on-psalm-1181-4-19-24-and\/","title":{"rendered":"Untitled"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHosanna\u201d based on Psalm 118:1-4, 19-24 and Matthew 21:1-11<\/h1>\n
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Within Christianity, we use \u201cHosanna\u201d to express joy, and praise, and adoration. Just one little issue with that \u2013 the actual meaning of the word. Hosanna is a Hebrew word meaning \u201cSave us, we pray!\u201d The people around Jesus weren’t shouting \u201cGreat is God\u201d or \u201cJesus is good!\u201d or \u201cYAY, Jesus, YAY God!\u201d Instead, they were shouting, \u201cGod, save us from our oppressor\u201d which was clearly the Roman Empire, who \u2013 let’s be honest \u2013 didn’t appreciate that. \u201cGod, help us, the enemy is bigger than we can take on ourselves.\u201d \u201cGod, we’re in over our heads, help us out here!\u201d<\/p>\n

And, of course, they were shouting, \u201cSave us, we pray\u201d during a PASSOVER celebration, when Passover celebrates God’s actions in saving the people from oppression in Egypt, which made the Roman Empire’s representatives a \u201clittle bit\u201d antsy.<\/p>\n

The Roman Empire’s representative Pontius Pilate was already coming to the city, like he did every year at Passover, with soldiers and fanfare meant to keep the Jewish people in check. The Roman Empire saw QUITE CLEARLY that getting a whole bunch of people together in the city to celebrate God’s acts of freeing them from oppression was a tinderbox for revolt, and they sought to tamp it down with displays of power and reminders of their violent capacity. In fact, they came in from Pilate’s normal abode on the Mediterranean \u2013 so from the West. With gleaming horses, and banners with the golden Eagle of Rome, with drums and the crowds shouting \u201cHail Caesar, son of God; Praise be to the Savior who brought the Roman Peace; Caesar is Lord\u2026.\u201d the Empire sought to intimidate people out of revolt.<\/p>\n

But.<\/p>\n

Then there was Jesus. Jesus who seems to have let the crowd claim kingship of Ancient Israel on his behalf, which sometimes feels a little bit strange but is in the story nonetheless. The Palm branches were a flag of Israel- the opposite of the Golden Eagle. The donkey was expected to be ridden by the Messiah entering the city \u2013 but also is rather opposite a gleaming horse. The soldiers accompanied Pilate \u2013 while a large crowd of people impoverished by the Empire accompanied Jesus. And Instead of \u201cHail Caesar\u201d the people shouted \u201cGod Save Us (from the empire).\u201d<\/p>\n

The Roman Empire took this Jesus parade as a significant threat.<\/p>\n

I believe they were meant to. The protest made the violence of the Empire stand out. They crucified Jesus with the accusation \u201cKing of the Jews\u201d above his head, as if this was the charge against him. And, after all, they shouldn’t have killed the leader of a PEACEFUL revolt, only a violent one. But sometimes the authorities have a hard time telling the difference between violence and what scares them. (Still true today.)<\/p>\n

Then, of course, Jesus did another PEACEFUL demonstration \u2013 this time managing to make visible the ways the Empire had put in place Temple leaders who were aligned with Empire and not God’s people. That one many of us learned as the \u201cCleansing of the Temple.\u201d John Dominic Crossan reflects on the \u201cden of robbers\u201d the Temple is said to be saying, \u201cNotice, by the way, that a ‘den’ is not where robbers do their robbing but where they flee for safety with the spoils they have robbed elsewhere.\u201d (God and Empire, 133.<\/i>)<\/p>\n

Jesus made clear the city of Jerusalem was where \u201cconservative religion and imperial oppression \u2013 had become serenely complicit.\u201d (131) And, he dies for it. Crossan says, \u201cHe did not go to get himself killed or to get himself martyred. Mark insists that Jesus knew in very specific detail what was going to happen to him \u2013 read Mark 10:33-34, for example \u2013 but that is simply Marks’ way of insisting that all was accepted by both God and Jesus. Accepted, be it noted, but not willed, wanted, needed or demanded.\u201d (131)<\/p>\n

Beloveds, this Palm Sunday parade is one of the most brilliant acts of non-violent direct action I’ve ever heard of, but it is part of the story of why the Empire responded with violence. I can’t hear the Palm Sunday story without knowing that it walks us to the Good Friday Crucifixion and the Holy Saturday grief and disillusion. They’re all a part of this one story \u2013 that when you make clear the ways people are oppressing others, there is a fierce lash-back and the power of violence is immense. Thank God, that isn’t the whole story \u2013 we get to Easter next week \u2013 but it is a real story, one that we can’t dismiss.<\/p>\n

This year, the Palm Sunday parade that walks Jesus into Jerusalem sounds terrifyingly like Nex Benedict walking into school on their last day. I can’t separate out Jesus being faithful to God despite the consequences from gender-queer and non-binary people claiming their space in the world \u2013 despite the consequences. But, friends, it is sickening.<\/p>\n

There is a story out there, one that says people are supposed to stay in tight little conformist boxes that help others make sense of the world and, heavens, the VIOLENCE that comes out when people speak up and say, \u201cthis box doesn’t fit me.\u201d And it can be such small stuff:<\/p>\n

I’m a woman, but the box \u201cquiet and gentle\u201d doesn’t fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

I’m a man, but the box \u201cstoic\u201d doesn’t’ fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

I’m a woman, but the box \u201clooking for a man\u201d doesn’t’ fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

I’m a man, but the box \u201clooking for a woman\u201d doesn’t’ fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

\u2026 the box \u201cwants to have kids\u201d doesn’t fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

\u2026 the box \u201cmonogamy\u201d doesn’t fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

\u2026 the box \u201cwoman\u201d doesn’t fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

\u2026 the box \u201cman\u201d doesn’t fit me<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

\u2026 the box \u201cgendered\u201d doesn’t fit me.<\/p>\n

And, I mean, you all know this but… WHO CARES? They’re all just silly little made up boxes that no one should be forced into and everyone should have the space to occupy, or adapt or not occupy as they see fit? Sure, some people want the world to be black and white without shades of gray \u2013 that everyone is cis-gendered, straight, sexual, and single raced \ud83d\ude09 But, too bad because that’s just not true.<\/p>\n

And yet, the violence that comes when people try to force others back into the boxes they think they should live in \u2013 it reminds me of the violence of empire. There seem to be gleaming horses, loud drums, and shiny swords all over the place. And, worse, it isn’t just the external violence that attacks people \u2013 the very people who are brave enough to leave their ill-fitting boxes behind end up internalizing the violence. They’re courageous, they’re clear, they know who they are and they won’t go back to pretending to be otherwise \u2013 but that violence is so darn insidious, and it gets inside them. Those silly stories about how we’re supposed to be are so poisonous. That human need for connection gets twisted around and turned against people. And the beautiful ones who are brave and unique and wonderful end up dead.<\/p>\n

Jesus could have stayed out of Jerusalem, except he couldn’t.<\/p>\n

Nex could have pretend to have their gender assigned at birth, except they couldn’t.<\/p>\n

They couldn’t. It would have been safer, easier, \u2026. some would say wiser. But they couldn’t.<\/p>\n

Friends, as you know, the trans and queer communities around the country and world are aching for Nex and Nex’s family and friends. Their death has reminded people of prior losses, of other brave and beautiful souls who also internalized the violence against them. The heartbreaks are everywhere.<\/p>\n

This holy week, we will worship through the blessings of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the heartbreak of the disciples, and land on the wondrous reality that God’s work can’t be stopped by violence or death.<\/p>\n

But how do we make sense of Nex? And the ones before them? And the ones after them? How do face the violence of the Empire today, and the ways it gets internalized?<\/p>\n

There aren’t easy asnwers.<\/p>\n

We grieve.<\/p>\n

And we share the aches with God.<\/p>\n

And we name the problems with each other.<\/p>\n

And we keep on learning how to undercut the broken narrative, and break open little boxes, and keep people safe when they leave them.<\/p>\n

We aren’t going to do it fast enough \u2013 we already haven’t, but just because we can’t do it immediately doesn’t mean we can stop. Jesus showed us the power of violence to stop people, and the ways religion can become complicit with violence. And he paid for it, paid to teach us those lessons. But we have them! So, we know that God and love are more powerful than violence, and love is the way we respond. And we know that religion that oppresses isn’t religion at all, and we shout it from the rooftops.<\/p>\n

Hosanna.<\/p>\n

God save us.<\/p>\n

We pray.<\/p>\n

Amen<\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron\u00a0First United Methodist Church of Schenectady\u00a0603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305\u00a0Pronouns: she\/her\/hers\u00a0http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 24, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHosanna\u201d based on Psalm 118:1-4, 19-24 and Matthew 21:1-11 Within Christianity, we use \u201cHosanna\u201d to express joy, and praise, and … Continue reading Untitled<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,1265,694,214,56,57],"class_list":["post-4446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-first-umc-schenectady","tag-hosanna","tag-lent","tag-schenectady","tag-sorry-about-the-umc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4446\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}