Why is there no time to sing Hosanna? 

2×2 generally follows the Common Lectionary for our weekly slideshows and object lessons, but 2×2 also comes from the tradition of celebrating Palm Sunday. Do you remember this joyous church festival?

At Redeemer we typically celebrated with a congregational ham dinner. Members were invited to bring a ham with them. We packaged each ham with the makings of a meal and delivered them to the needy for their family’s Easter celebration.

Palm Sunday is an important celebration.

But in recent years (about the last 25 or so) the Church has joined Palm Sunday with the reading of the Passion story—Palm/Passion Sunday. Palm Sunday is relegated to an opening hymn and procession before diving into the despair of the Passion. (Consequently, a generation of Christians knows only one Palm Sunday hymn!)

Theologians came up with this idea for the modern worshiper—the worshiper who doesn’t come to Holy Week services. The Church is attempting to fit the entire Holy Week experience into just one Sunday morning.

The teaming of Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday makes sense only to theologians who are hoping to get all the readings of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday into one marathon Sunday morning church service — that probably isn’t any better attended for it. They devise ways to make the long story palatable. Various readers. Various voices. A little drama to reflect the epic drama of the actual event.

It’s an emotional roller coaster with just one short high before a huge plunge.

It doesn’t work. It’s too much. Both Palm Sunday and the Passion story suffer.

We need the Palm Sunday experience. We need to sing praise and plea joyously for salvation. We need to cry Hosanna and recognize with all the world that at last, we know who Jesus is. We get it!

Those of us who come to church every Sunday have been building up to this moment. If we shortchange Palm Sunday, we do a disservice to all the Sundays that have led up to this week’s message. Take this away and we lose the opportunity to interpret. We miss important points. This leads to poor understanding. This is already happening!

One of the modern translations of the Bible doesn’t use the word “hosanna” in telling the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. It substitutes the word “hurray”!

“Hosanna” (at least in the Bible) does not mean “hurray.”

The word “Hosanna” is a prayer. “Save me.” We, the people, are pleading for salvation. We stand along the city streets with the others who finally understand, and we plead for salvation. Jesus is finally recognized as Savior.

Important concept! Important progress!

Give us our victory! It took the miracle at Cana, the late night talk with Nicodemus, the curing of the blind man, the encounter with the woman at the well and the resurrection of Lazarus. But now, we see. Each of these stories read over the last few weeks teaches us about Christ’s role as Messiah, the anointed one. We finally have arrived at a critical understanding. Jesus is Savior.

Hosanna! Save us.

If people truly understand the meaning of Palm Sunday, they might be more inclined to observe Holy Week!

2×2 will spend time celebrating our new understanding. We will celebrate Palm Sunday.

Let Holy Week be Holy Week. Give us Palm Sunday.

Art: Asian depiction of Jesus entry into Jerusalem

A 2×2 reader sent us an image today. It’s the image that appears here. It had the caption:

Never give up, no matter what.

I, like most viewers, first saw a defenseless pawn, surrounded by the mighty — kings, queens, knights and bishops, protected by a line of pawns just like the one standing alone — each of them vying for a position of power, ready to take the lonely pawn as proof of their might.

The image was one of foreboding no matter what the caption read.

I viewed this image just as I returned from Redeemer’s monthly worship. We still can’t meet in the church our ancestors provided for us. It stands empty. Locked. Paint peeling. Unused for mission—despite all the rhetoric of the mighty who claimed our land. “We are dedicated to Word and Sacrament,” they told people.

Yeah, sure.

It’s been nearly five years. We are still locked out of God’s house by a bishop and a host of followers— all of them willing to forsake the gospel to secure their position by Christ’s or the bishop’s side.

Suddenly, I saw this image differently. What if the pawn was not staring down those who would attack? What if that faceless pawn was actually turned away from the forces bearing down, looking us, the viewers, in the eye? What if the pawn was leading the mighty of the world? What if the mighty—in their designated positions of power— knowingly or unwittingly are following the lowly, the defeated, the undesirable, the scorned.

And suddenly, the world looks a little brighter.

It will soon be Holy Week. Easter is not far behind.

Never give up, no matter what.

Today we reprise a post.

Here’s the link.

Great accounts of God’s ability to start over

John 11:1-45  •  Ezekiel 37:1-14  •  Psalm 130  •  Romans 8:6-11

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Please Consider Subscribing to 2×2

2x2virtualchurch adds a slideshow and object lesson to our library each week. There are nearly 100 in our collection. If you like our easy, interactive approach to teaching adult learners, please consider subscribing.

You will receive a weekly slideshow (which you can use on your church website or during worship), an object lesson and many other church planning ideas—all geared for small church use.

Slides are in editable form.  Individual slides can be posted on websites or converted to jpgs for use in a bulletin or newsletter. (Please include appropriate credits.)

Thank you.

2×2 Virtual Church Shares A Virtual Choir

The first effort in this virtual choir was five years ago—another example of the power of individuals living in a crowded, connected world.

Notice the age of the participants.

How can churches use this same concept for other types of mission?

The Lord Is My Shepherd

This week’s slideshow focuses on the Psalm for the day, Psalm 23.  2×2 slideshows usually incorporate scripture from each of the lectionary readings, Psalm 23 is used several times a year in most churches, so we made this week’s slideshow a stand alone for Psalm 23.

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Please Consider Subscribing to 2×2

2x2virtualchurch adds a slideshow and object lesson to our library each week. There are nearly 100 in our collection. If you like our easy, interactive approach to teaching adult learners, please consider subscribing.

You will receive a weekly slideshow (which you can use on your church website or during worship), an object lesson and many other church planning ideas—all geared for small church use.

Slides are in editable form.  Individual slides can be posted on websites or converted to jpgs for use in a bulletin or newsletter. (Please include appropriate credits.)

Thank you.

Here is a 3-minute TED talk with tons of wisdom for church builders.

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Gaborone, Botswana

This week 2×2 had a visitor from Gaborone, Botswana. Gaborone is the capital of this southern African nation. We’ve had a number of visitors from Botswana.

Gaborone is a fairly new city, planned to be the capital from the end of its colonial association with Great Britain in the mid-1960s. It was a small town then with about 4000 inhabitants. It was chosen to be capital because of its proximity to fresh water and railroads to Pretoria in neighboring South Africa. The plans called for a pedestrian friendly city that would be home to about 20,000 and the center for government, education and culture. The building projects attracted workers from around the world.  Gabarone surpassed plans within seven years. By 1992, the population was 138,000 and has doubled in size again in the last 14 years.

The southern part of Botwsana constitutes a Roman Catholic diocese. There is a Hindu temple and a number of Muslim mosques. One of our pastors and members had served as a missionary to Botswana.

Many may recognize Gaborone as the home of Precious Ramotswe, the first female private detective in Alexander McCall Smith’s series of novels, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Very entertaining reads, by the way.