Hosanna: Oh Lord, save us now!
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
RESUMEN: The author reflects on the meaning of Hosanna and how it should not just be a cry of hope or gratitude, but a call to action. They question how many people forget their faith and return to their lives empty of God after celebrating Palm Sunday. The author believes that reflection alone is not enough and that we need to feel the pain of sacrifice in our own bodies and take action to spread the message of Christ's Kingdom. The author implores readers to merge their lives with that of Christ and become workers with the tools of the gospel to harvest in this urgent world.
We celebrate the "triumphal entry" of the Lord into our lives and Hosanna continues to sound like a cry of hope, a necessary search for salvation and a blessing from on high. We say Hosanna and the heart fills with gratitude as we remember the prelude to passion and the suffering of the one who would die on the cross to change the destinies of the hopeless sinner. Hosanna was a desperate cry that spread its echoes with the hammering of the nails on the tree so that the world would have entrance to salvation. What a pity that we only exclaim Hosanna these days!
We share the King's table one day, and the next we look destitute. The crowd that celebrated his entry into Jerusalem and cried “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Jn 12:13), five days later shouted crucify him! Any coincidence with the current reality? Last Sunday, on the way to the temple, I observed a crowd returning from mass with bouquets of guano and tender coconut trees. Some had more than one to distribute among relatives. Here, the "tradition" is to hang the bouquet behind the front door of the house until its leaves dry, as if it carried a special blessing. Inevitably I wondered what will they do tomorrow, Monday? Will they forget Sunday and return to their lives empty of God? I finished the reflection by applying the same recipe with the same question: What will I do tomorrow that is worthy of the Lord and that is not limited only to this week of passion, death and resurrection?
I felt like Mefit-bosé, Jonathan's son, crippled, dragging both feet behind the crutches of shame. The Lord gave me another great lesson and an hour later I also joined the chorus that shouted Hosanna, Hosanna! moved by the beauty of praise.
This is a week that should invite us to Christian reflection but with our hands nailed to the same tree as the son of God. Reflection alone is not enough. Remember to remember either. People want deeds and not words… and the Lord does too. We need to feel the pain of sacrifice in our own bodies, the spear in our side, the vinegar on our lips, the shame of the vituperation and the wounds of the crown of thorns so that the world believes that we are truly saved and that death brought us true life, stirred hardened hearts and left us the amazing benefit of grace to overturn sin that deprived us of the glory of God.
Hosanna means "Oh Lord, save us now!" You and I know that the world needs the Savior, but as things are going, it seems that some time will pass - if Christ does not return sooner - "for every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that Jesus is Lord." And what are we going to do about it? We could pray and it would be good to do so, but I believe that the will of God indicates that together with prayer, we take the courageous step of announcing his Kingdom. Have we not already decided to carry our own cross and follow him? My prayer is that your life and mine merge with that of Christ, implore a jubilant Hosanna to our God for the lost world and at the same time we dress as workers with the tools of the gospel in this vast garden that is so urgent to harvest. . God bless you!
We share the King's table one day, and the next we look destitute. The crowd that celebrated his entry into Jerusalem and cried “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Jn 12:13), five days later shouted crucify him! Any coincidence with the current reality? Last Sunday, on the way to the temple, I observed a crowd returning from mass with bouquets of guano and tender coconut trees. Some had more than one to distribute among relatives. Here, the "tradition" is to hang the bouquet behind the front door of the house until its leaves dry, as if it carried a special blessing. Inevitably I wondered what will they do tomorrow, Monday? Will they forget Sunday and return to their lives empty of God? I finished the reflection by applying the same recipe with the same question: What will I do tomorrow that is worthy of the Lord and that is not limited only to this week of passion, death and resurrection?
I felt like Mefit-bosé, Jonathan's son, crippled, dragging both feet behind the crutches of shame. The Lord gave me another great lesson and an hour later I also joined the chorus that shouted Hosanna, Hosanna! moved by the beauty of praise.
This is a week that should invite us to Christian reflection but with our hands nailed to the same tree as the son of God. Reflection alone is not enough. Remember to remember either. People want deeds and not words… and the Lord does too. We need to feel the pain of sacrifice in our own bodies, the spear in our side, the vinegar on our lips, the shame of the vituperation and the wounds of the crown of thorns so that the world believes that we are truly saved and that death brought us true life, stirred hardened hearts and left us the amazing benefit of grace to overturn sin that deprived us of the glory of God.
Hosanna means "Oh Lord, save us now!" You and I know that the world needs the Savior, but as things are going, it seems that some time will pass - if Christ does not return sooner - "for every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that Jesus is Lord." And what are we going to do about it? We could pray and it would be good to do so, but I believe that the will of God indicates that together with prayer, we take the courageous step of announcing his Kingdom. Have we not already decided to carry our own cross and follow him? My prayer is that your life and mine merge with that of Christ, implore a jubilant Hosanna to our God for the lost world and at the same time we dress as workers with the tools of the gospel in this vast garden that is so urgent to harvest. . God bless you!
