Week 21 of the Church year
ഹോശാനാ ഞായർ
A huge crowd hears that Jesus is coming to Jerusalem. They cut palm branches and run out to meet him, shouting Hosanna. He comes riding on a young donkey.
Five days before Passover, a great crowd takes palm branches and goes out to meet Jesus, shouting Hosanna. He sits on a young donkey, fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy. People who saw Lazarus raised keep telling the story, and the Pharisees despair.
Hosanna Sunday begins Holy Week. The Church also keeps it as Boys’ and Girls’ Day, remembering the children who shouted Hosanna in the Temple.
The same city that shouts Hosanna will shout Crucify within a week. Praise is easy in a crowd; faithfulness is tested later.
ഈ ഞായറാഴ്ചയുടെ വായനകൾ
The entry into Jerusalem, the Temple cleansed, and children shouting Hosanna.
Jesus rides down the Mount of Olives and weeps over Jerusalem.
Jacob blesses Judah: the sceptre will not depart from him; he ties his donkey to the vine.
The boy Samuel grows in God’s favour; Samuel is sent to anoint a new king.
Daniel and his friends, faithful young men, are found ten times wiser than the rest.
Nations will beat their swords into ploughshares.
Young Solomon asks God for an understanding heart.
Sing aloud, daughter of Zion; the Lord your God is in your midst.
I will restore Jerusalem; you will be my people and I will be your God.
Everyone born of God overcomes the world; this is our faith.
All creation waits with eager longing for the children of God to be revealed.
Children and parents, and the whole armour of God.
The crowd waves palm branches as the King comes in on a young donkey. This is the Gospel of the day.
Open in five scenesJacob blesses Judah, whose ruler will tie his donkey to the vine. The boy Samuel serves the Lord, young Solomon asks for wisdom, and Daniel and his friends stay faithful as young men. Zephaniah and Zechariah call the daughter of Zion to rejoice.
References follow the official lectionary of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Your parish may read them in a different order.
Pick a scene to see what happens in it and what is easy to miss.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the feast hears that Jesus is coming. They take palm branches, go out to meet him and shout: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!
Palm branches were a symbol of national victory. The crowd is welcoming a king.
Jesus finds a young donkey and sits on it, as Zechariah wrote: do not be afraid, daughter of Zion; your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.
Kings rode horses to war. A donkey was the animal of a king coming in peace.
His disciples do not understand this at first. Only after Jesus is glorified do they remember that this was written about him.
John admits the disciples missed the meaning at the time. Understanding often comes after Easter.
The crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb keeps telling what they saw. That is why so many come out to meet him.
John links this day directly to the raising of Lazarus, read on the Saturday before.
The Pharisees say to one another: you see, you are getting nowhere. Look, the whole world has gone after him.
In the very next verses, some Greeks come asking to see Jesus. The “whole world” starts arriving at once.
The verse to keep
“ഈത്തപ്പനയുടെ കുരുത്തോല എടുത്തുംകൊണ്ടു അവനെ എതിരേല്പാൻ ചെന്നു: ഹോശന്നാ, യിസ്രായേലിന്റെ രാജാവായി കർത്താവിന്റെ നാമത്തിൽ വരുന്നവൻ വാഴ്ത്തപ്പെട്ടവൻ എന്നു ആർത്തു.”they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”
The crowdപുരുഷാരം
Pilgrims in Jerusalem for Passover, many of whom had heard about Lazarus.
“—”
Lazarusലാസർ
Raised from the dead at Bethany, and the reason many came to see Jesus.
“God has helped”
The Phariseesപരീശന്മാർ
They watch the welcome and feel they have lost control.
Probably “the separated ones”
കഴുതപ്പുറത്തു വരുന്ന രാജാവ്
The crowd on Hosanna Sunday knew exactly what kind of king they wanted. They waved palm branches, the symbol of victory over enemies. They expected someone who would drive out Rome and make Israel great again. Jesus came riding on a young donkey.
He was a king, but not that kind. He came in peace, on the way to a cross. Within the week the same city would turn against him. Even his disciples did not understand what they were seeing until after the resurrection.
On Boys’ and Girls’ Day, the Church remembers that children were among those who shouted Hosanna in the Temple, and Jesus defended them. Children often see more clearly than adults what kind of king Jesus is. Holy Week begins today. The question for all of us is whether we will still be with him on Friday.
കുടുംബമായി സംസാരിക്കാം
If Jesus came to our town this week, what would we want him to do? What do you think he would actually do?
Two minutes after the audio. Everyone gets a turn, and nobody is interrupted.Plan as a family which Holy Week services you will attend together, and keep the palm from today somewhere you will see it.
Hosanna to the Son of David! Lord Jesus, you came to Jerusalem humble and riding on a donkey. Walk with us through this Holy Week, and keep us faithful to you all the way to the cross and the empty tomb. Amen.
The whole year
Every Sunday of the Church year, season by season: readings, the Gospel and a question for the family.
Sunday 7 of 7 in Great Lent