Who will cry out JESUS IS LORD if not us?

 Read Mark 1:1-11

Luke 19:28-44

Jesus knew that his hour had come. He had healed Lazarus. Many believed but many decided it was time to kill Jesus. He was disrupting the status quo.  Things had to get back to normal. By normal, I mean that the life of faith that people lived needed to return to the compromise that the people had made with the world.

Remember, that Jesus had come to save a broken world. Our hearts were not right. People sought everything but the one true God.  Sure, God was part of their lives. It was as much a part as going to Walmart or picking stickers out of your socks.

But God was not first in the lives of so many.

He was an afterthought or something to be worked in.

God was the author of so many rules. Who could keep them all?

Rules became more important to us than the relationship with our Creator. The rules were good, but God desired and desires relationship with the crown of his creation.

And so, the final scene is set. Jesus is headed to torture, death—an atoning death for which we are beneficiaries, and resurrection.  Again, we are beneficiaries of his resurrection as in it is the promise of our own.

Passover is on the doorstep and Jesus needed to ride into town on a young donkey to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy. To do that, he needed a ride.

He sent two disciples to retrieve a young donkey from the field of a nearby farm. He told them that if the owner wanted to know what was going on, just tell him that the Lord needs it.

The Lord needs it.

How many of you would be confident taking someone’s animal without knowing the person?  What about without a receipt for the animal?

How would you be as the farmer?  If someone that you didn’t know came and loaded up a steer out of your pasture and all they gave you was a casual, the Lord needs it?

Something was very much in the works. God was about to reconcile the entire creation to himself. Jesus had been saying that his time had not yet come, but now his time had come and he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey—a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Things were coming together.

The excitement in Jerusalem had to be reaching a frenzy. Jesus was coming!

Many were not really sure who this Jesus was but he was coming and people were excited.

Some surely knew that he was the Messiah. All surely knew he was a very powerful teacher—a rabbi. This one was different. He taught with an authority that the Scribes and Pharisees had never possessed.

Something was happening here.

Jesus was saddened as he rode into town for he knew what was ahead for this city. It would suffer for its apostacy.  The town would be sacked by the Romans who already ruled over them.

The temple would be torn to the ground.

Jerusalem was already conquered by the Romans. Now it would be torn to the ground.

As Jesus rode into town, some Pharisees confronted him asking him to have his disciples tone it down a bit. 

C’mon, Jesus. We know that you are a popular guy with the people, but this Hosanna business is a little much, don’t you think?

Jesus rebuked them.

Can’t you see that the entire creatin longs to be reconciled to God?  If you make the people be quiet, the rocks themselves will cry out.

What would the rocks say? That’s easy.

Save us! God in the highest heaven, save us!

The whole creation is longing for reconciliation with its Creator, and you guys don’t get it. You are missing the boat. Noah is pulling away and you are still in the bar having one more round of your favorite drink:  My own understanding. Was that frozen or on the rocks?

What am I saying?

You are missing the boat!

Even the farmer got with the program and he had a donkey at risk. He had some skin in the game. But those anchored to their own understanding were blinded to what was happening before their eyes.

The very people who should have recognized the Savior first were the last to accept him. He was cutting in on their turf and the people seemed to love him. It seemed that Jesus got them. He understood them.

People loved Jesus. He was sticking it to the man—at least to the self-righteous religious leaders. Let’s just go with sticking it to the man.

In a few hours, they will be crying crucify him, but for now, Jesus is a rock star and they are glad to see him. So, what about us?

That’s cool. We know the story. Let’s move on to resurrection.

This whole John the Baptist business was to prepare the way for the Savior.  This prepare the way culminated into the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on a young donkey.

The way has been established. It is prepared from the Lord’s perspective but are we ready to receive Jesus as Lord?

We are all too happy to receive Jesus as Savior. This whole death and hell and separation from God business isn’t for us. We like having a savior, but do we also like having a Lord?

We will get excited at least once a year that Christ died the atoning death that took away our sins so we could be with God forever. We are so glad to have a Savior.

Can we be just as joyful to have a Lord?

How would we know? What would we look for?

How about this one...

We put the words of our Lord and Master into practice. We do it with a smile on our faces and joy in our hearts.

We prepare ourselves for God to dwell within us by putting his words into practice.  If the Pharisees of our age think we are too robust in our discipleship, remind them that even the rocks long for reconciliation with God.

We want not only salvation—saved from sin and death. We want to rejoice in the Lord. We want to be excited that God is with us and within us and is for us, not against us.

When the world tells us to hold it down with all of this Jesus stuff, we are not going to do it. If the rocks are ready to cry out for God to save them and to be reconciled to God, I think I will too.

In fact, I am giving the world the finger.  I am giving them the upward pointing index finger pointing to the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, and I’m not putting it away because the godless culture of our world is offended.

If you who believe so much don’t cry out with the message of salvation that we know comes with Jesus, who will?

The pagans?

The atheists?

The agnostics?

Muslims?

Jews?

Others who have no inclination or obligation to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ?

Who will cry out that Jesus is Lord?  Everyone will, but until the end of the age, it’s just us.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Don’t be timid about crying out to God or proclaiming the good news that comes through Christ Jesus.

Don’t be shy. Proclaim life in Christ Jesus!

So here’s your cheat sheet for this morning’s message.

·       Prepare your hearts to receive the Lord as Lord.

·       Reach out whenever and wherever you can with the good news.

·       Put the words of our Lord into practice.

We can keep those in the forefront of our minds.

Amen. 

It's Palm Sunday. Hosanna! Hosanna in the Highest!

 Read John 12

Matthew 21

Mark 11

Luke 19:28-44

We continue through Genesis but take note that this is Palm Sunday.  We love the kids parading through the sanctuary with the palm fronds.

We love the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey.  The people laid out their coats and palm branches before him.

They were honoring a king.  Did they know they were honoring the King of Kings?

There were cries of Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!

The people were celebrating and crying out for salvation in the same breath.

The self-righteous religious leaders were not happy about this whole thing.

C’mon rabbi, tell them to chill.  A little welcome to town is fine, but this is just too much.  Just who do they think you are?

Jesus told the religious leaders—some of whom were likely in attendance at the kangaroo court that would be held later that week or within the crowd gathered before Pilate enticing them to shout Crucify Him—he told them if the people won’t cry out, even the stones that line the road will.

Those entrenched in their rules had become shackled to ritual and repetition and the respect of the people who now were praising Jesus.  Jesus was cutting into their turf.

Jesus told them that there were consequences for their blindness.  Those who followed these self-righteous leaders would fall to their earthly enemies.  There would be consequences for not having eyes to see.

They did not have eyes to see God in his most essential form—God, love was right before them. All they could see was a man, perhaps a rabbi, who just would not get with their program.

Love was on the back of a young donkey as he rode into Jerusalem. The people shouted praises while the religious leaders plotted his death.

The week ahead was as jam-packed as any since the creation of the world.  Jesus would teach and rebuke. He would boldly confront those offending his Father in his Father’s house.

And he would seek one last secluded gathering with his closest friends, once for a meal and once in the garden, where he would ask some of these men to stay with him while he prayed.

Jesus would ask his Father if there was any other way, knowing full well that there was not.  Jesus knew that the hour of his death was coming millennia before the events of this week.

God’s plan to release humankind from the shackles of sin and death had reached its pinnacle, but Jesus still went through every human emotion knowing that a brutal death was before him.

Jesus was truly human.

He was truly divine.

He was the unblemished Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world.

He gave up his life freely.  He could have stopped all of this business leading up to the cross.  In a moment, he could have commanded legions of angels to protect him.

To do so would mean that he thought we didn’t matter or at least we didn’t matter enough, but he knew we mattered to his Father in heaven.

Jesus came to do the will of his Father in heaven and that will sent him to the cross. We matter to God.

Jesus was the unblemished lamb.  He went to be sacrificed to atone for our sins.

He is our Savior.  He is our Master.

JESUS IS LORD!

On a morning about 2000 years ago, our Lord rode into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey and received the welcome and praises of so many people who were looking for a Savior.

He rode right past them.  The King of Kings and Lord of Lords came by them and they shouted HOSANNA, HOSANNA INT THE HIGHEST.

Save us.  God almighty and everlasting, save us.

We are continuing through Genesis.  We are in the second half of the book, but as you go through your week, let the words HOSANNA, HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST bounce around in your minds.

HOSANNA!

HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!

We will get to Genesis 26 in the next service.  We’ve got wells to dig.

But for now and the week that follows, think:

HOSANNA!

HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Amen.

Matthew 23 - Part 8

 

Read Matthew 23

You snakes!  You brood of vipers!

After 7 woes to the Scribes and Pharisees and teachers of the law, Jesus was just getting warmed up.

Jesus asked a rhetorical question.  The hypocrites could not answer.  They had tried before with we are sons of Abraham, but Jesus didn’t give them any points for that answer.

 Jesus challenged them:  How will you escape being condemned to hell?

It truly was a rhetorical question.  The only salvation is through Christ Jesus and these hypocrites had rejected him time and time again.  There was no other option than the one they repeatedly rejected.

Jesus recounted how many times God’s own people had rejected him and the prophets that he sent.  He noted how he longed to gather his children in loving embrace but they were not willing.

The very lives of those who claimed to be so righteous were desolate as so many who claimed godliness before them.  Without Jesus they remained without hope.

For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’

Repentance was the only way for those who thought they knew God best but knew only what served them.  They must call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

Amen.

Matthew 21 - Part 1

 

Read Matthew 21

Jesus came to serve, not to be served.  He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and could have rightfully insisted that everyone and everything in his creation serve him and worship him.  He came to serve and to give himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

But for a brief time, the people would get a glimpse of the King.  He rode into Jerusalem as prophesied.  The logistics of this entry into Jerusalem were in place.  Jesus road into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey,

People praised him and cried out Hosanna!  Hosanna means save us but it came to be used as a word of praise.  Hosanna!

As the people lined the road with cloaks and branches, they also cried out:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

 

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

 

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 

We are told that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred.  There was a frenzy about the city.  There was more than excitement.  There was expectation.

The people cried out to the Son of David.  They shouted blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord but they told others that this was Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. 

Just who was this Jesus?  For this short time, he gave people a glimpse of the King who would one day rule on this earth. 

He would quickly resume his role as the suffering servant and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, but some got an early glimpse of the King of Kings.

Amen.

The World Turned Right-Side Up for a Moment

Read John 12:12-19

If you have been reading the first chapter of John but not following my messages and updates this week, you might be wondering, “How did he get to chapter 12?”

It’s Palm Sunday, and next week you will get a message of Resurrection.  Those were always headed your way, but this year both will come from John’s gospel.

I just don’t want some of you to think you missed the boat in this alternate format.

As you might have surmised, things have been a little different lately.  I finally picked up my car from Altus.  Yes, this is the car that I hit a building with.  It’s all fixed now.

While I was in Altus, I went to pick up my medicine at the base pharmacy.  I have crossed international borders and entered secure classified facilities with less screening.  One airman took my temperature with a phaser.  It must have been set to mild stun because they let me pass.

They didn’t require me to wear a mask.  I had one in my coat pocket just in case.  I was going to go to the commissary while I waited for the pharmacy to fill my scripts, but it was closed to all but active duty personnel and those who lived on base or worked on base.

So, it was off to the Altus Walmart.  At least I would save a trip to Elk City sometime later.  Altus was more fun that the Walmart I’m used to.  The parking lot was full. You could enter only on the market side.  Shopping carts had been laid on their sides and connected with crime scene tape to make a channeled and theoretically controlled entrance.

Next week they might go Disney on us and put up signs that say, 1 hour from this point.

There were still a bazillion people there, about a third of them masked.  If anyone ever wanted to rob a train or a bank, now would be the time.  A couple people were walking around with face shields.  The Walmart music was from the Dark Side of the Moon album. 

Some of you know that I like both Star Trek and Star Wars.  I didn’t feel obliged to have to choose between the two.  You also might know, that I don’t collect any paraphernalia from either, but I would have loved to have owned a Darth Vader mask to wear in Walmart that day.

And there were plenty of new employees, most of them guarding the entrance with Lysol and hand sanitizer.

As I entered, I reached to grab a shopping cart, and the Walmart employee at the other end of about 45 carts yells, “Those haven’t been sanitized.”  I can see the two jugs of Round Up set aside to spray the carts and, on a shelf, up above them, a can of Lysol and some wipes.

I sprayed and wiped and said, I’m doing the self-service check-in.  I don’t like the self-service check out, but save 10 minutes checking in, that’s another matter.  I think the guy was in shock, but he felt obliged to warn me that you’re shopping at your own risk. 

I was not up for the conversation that would have begun with, “I’ve lived most of my life at my own risk.”  You should be proud of me though; I still had the can of Lysol in my hand but did not do the underarm deodorant thing.  It crossed my mind, but there were enough stressed out people already.

Of course, nothing in the Altus Walmart is in the same place as the Elk City Walmart, so it was Game on!  I think I hit 95% of the items on my list.  That’s not bad considering sometimes you don’t know if you are looking in the wrong place or if it used to be on that 20 yards of empty shelves.

The two paper towel limit is strictly enforced.  Be warned.

So I get my cart full of stuff and head to the checkout.  It’s a full cart.  Realize that when we go to Altus to shop at the commissary, we make a list for a month, so I had a full cart.

Also realize that Walmart must have had 50 extra employees working all over the store, except the checkout registers.  There are three registers open.  All of the self-service ones are open and there’s a unsocially-distanced mob over there, but there are only three regular registers open and lines at each one.

I had one of those obscure thoughts that one way to spread out the people would be to open more registers.  Just when I thought I was going from satire to cynicism as I viewed the Shakespearean tragedy play out as a comedy all around me, an associate came up to me and said, would you like to go to register 4.  We will open it as soon as we wipe down the belt.

What a blessing.  Let the surreal come to an end!

The kid at the register came and wiped the belt and then said, that’s all I can do, I have come out too long.  I guess there was some sort of invisible shield around the register.  So, I put my groceries on the wet, but clean belt that would move them to the cashier.  After the belt had moved a couple feet the part of the belt that had been underneath was now on top. 

I don’t think the cashier quite knew if I was serious or not when I asked if I should wait for the clean part of the belt to come around again.  I think he was wondering, why did hey send this guy to me?

I got my stuff and headed out to the car.  It cost much more than I expected but we had groceries in case everyone was truly locked down, which is an impossibility if you want to continue to have electricity, water, gas, gasoline, and even food, to include feeding hungry people who can’t afford to go to Walmart. 

But I am thankful that Walmart and other places are open and doing their best with procedures that we hope will reduce the effects of the contagion.  I am thankful that our logistical systems are functioning, and most shelves are replenished.  I am thankful that so many people are taking reasonable precautions.

I love proactive but won’t do panicked and one day we are all going to have some stories to tell our grandkids.  We can tell them how the world we knew got turned upside down, at least for a while.

Jesus came into a world that was upside down, wrong-side out, and pretty much living contrary to the ways of God.  Even the religious hierarchy didn’t know which way was up. 

As Jesus went around the countryside, he amazed people with miracles, challenging teachings, and the fact that he spoke with authority.

Not everything he said was easy to understand.  Sometimes he used figurative language such as hyperbole, simile, and extended metaphors.  The disciples often had to have the parables explained.  Their minds were still governed by the models of the world in so many ways.

He used concepts such as being born again and even the teachers of Israel couldn’t grasp what he was saying.  When your world is upside-down, the one living right-side-up seems to be out of place, out of sync, out of touch.

But for a moment, surely less than an hour, the world or at least a piece of it, was turned right-side up.  Jesus rode into the Jerusalem during Passover week.  He had been anointed while in Bethany and was coming into the city as foretold by the prophet, on the colt of a donkey.

Only a short time before, he had raised Lazarus from the dead.  People were excited.  Yes, some were plotting to kill him as well, but this hour belonged to the people who saw and tasted and knew hope for the moment.  They cried out:

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the King of Israel.

In that moment, the blind spoke.  What?  The Pharisees who were surely oblivious to who was coming into town, were talking about how this guy was a wrench in the works.  He was messing up their normal, but they spoke truth as well.  They did not realize it, but they did.

Look how the whole world has gone after him.

They did not realize what they just said which essentially was:

Look, for this time, the world has been righted.  For now, we are right-side up.  In the moment, things are right and harmonious and full of joy.

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the King of Israel.

In that moment, the hearts of the people sought after the Lord.  We know there is more to the story that unfolded over the next few and very full days. 

We know that cries of Hosanna will turn to Crucify Him.  We know that blood must be shed for the forgiveness of sin.  We know there is much that Jesus has to teach his followers in these last days before his death and resurrection. 

Looking forward from this point, he will really turn their world upside down when he washes their feet.  There is so much more.

But for now, the world is right.  The people seek Jesus.  The whole world has come after him.

That’s our commission now, to bring the whole world to come after him.  This time, it’s more than shouting Hosanna.  It’s leading people to the salvation and Lordship of Christ Jesus and cries of Hallelujah as they realize their freedom from sin and death.

Hosanna.  Hosanna in the highest.

Hallelujah.

Amen.

Hosanna to the Son of David

Read Matthew 21:1-11

Jesus has been baptized by John, an event witnessed by heaven and earth.  He was tempted by physical weakness and by Satan himself and emerged victorious ready for his mission to kick into gear.

He has been welcomed, given the cold shoulder, praised, and challenged.  He taught, healed, rebuked, comforted, and rescued a wedding from disaster.  He dined with Pharisees and tax collectors.  He retreated from the crowds into houses and went up mountains to pray and just get away from the crowds so he could be with his Father.  He needed a place to be still.

He has even had his body prepared for burial in advance with some pricy fragrances. The disciples might have thought that such a high-priced perfume might be sold to feed the poor, but they were yet to understand the magnitude of what was to come.

Jesus wept at the loss of his friend Lazarus even though he would bring him back from the dead.  Jesus had told his closest friends that he must die.  They did not want to accept this, but Jesus told them that it must happen.  They must set aside their own expectations for the plan of God.

Jesus walked from place to place as any man would but he was also transfigured into the glory that awaited him.  This took place before three of his disciples.  Elijah and Moses appeared with him.  It was sort of like a final timeout to make sure that everything required by the law and the prophets would be accomplished in these final days.

Jesus still had a few more things to check off his bucket list before he went to the cross.  One of them was to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey—and a young donkey at that.  The logistics for this were already in place. 

Jesus sent two disciples to a specific place to retrieve these animals.  He said that if anyone says anything, just tell them that the Lord needs them.  They returned without incident with a donkey and its colt in tow. Whether this had been arranged sometime over the past three years of roaming the countryside or had ben coordinated at the foundation of the world is not part of the account, but Jesus would ride into Jerusalem just as Zechariah’s prophecy had foretold.

There were coats and cloaks placed on this donkey.  There were coats placed on the road into Jerusalem.  People cut down branches to line the road.  This was a big event.  This was an array of color and commendation set for Jesus.  The King of kings was coming to town.

How did people know to be on this road before Twitter and Facebook?  How did a crowd form when nobody knew how to send a group text?

This was Jerusalem’s King.  This was the King of kings riding into town just as prophesied.  There was no advertising or advanced billing, but the King was coming.

There was excitement in the air.  Some of the crowd went ahead of Jesus.  Some surely just came to the roadside.  Others followed.  Jesus had just healed two blind men, probably in Jericho or at least on the road from Jericho.  These two men followed.

Even when they were blind, they knew who this man was.  They cried out, “Lord, Son of David, help us!”  They could have cried out, “Prophet from Nazareth would you help us?”

They cried out to the Son of David and asked for mercy. 

Jesus replied, “I do all kinds of mercy.  What exactly do you need?”

Now Jesus knew what they needed but we have been given this exchange so we can witness the reverence for Jesus and the confidence in Jesus and the gratitude of two men who given their sight might have had a list of their own—you know, things to do if we ever got our sight—but they decided to follow Jesus.

Jesus was coming and didn’t need tweets or posts to let people know.  There was an excitement building in and around Jerusalem.  Listen to how the gospel writer personified the city.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

blind men knew that Jesus was the Son of David.  The crowds in Jerusalem knew him as a prophet from Galilee.  The Sanhedrin were not impressed by anything that came out of Nazareth or Galilee, but this wasn’t their day.  This day belonged to the man riding the donkey.

The crowds called out to the Son of David.  The people going ahead or following behind Jesus knew that this man was more than a prophet.  This was the long-promised Messiah from the lineage of King David.

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!”

Hosanna is an exclamation of praise and a request for help all wrapped into one.   It’s save us and praise you squeezed into a single word.  It is excitement and expectation bundled together.  The people were asking for salvation with the expectation that the man on the colt could provide it.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

What a day!  Not everyone knew everything but enough people knew enough to get excited and shout, Hosanna!  They knew enough.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

In 2017 we know much, much more than those who lined the road to Jerusalem.  We know that this was and is the King of kings.  This man is the Messiah.  Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  We know the story but do we have the excitement?

Or do we think:

“Oh man, Palm Sunday already—I had better get on the ball and buy some eggs for the kids.”

“Holy Toledo!  It’s almost Easter. I don’t know if I am up to another zero dark thirty worship service.”

“I hope they got most of the stickers out of that field for the Easter Egg Hunt.”

“I am so not ready to sing, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.  Could any song have a more depressing melody and lyrics?  Can’t we just skip to He Lives, He Lives!”

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Or

“Man, where did the year go?  It’s that time again?”

We need more of “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” and less of time passing us by.  We need to generate some excitement about the celebration that is upon us.

We need to embrace the attitude that goes with these words:  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever would believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

You have heard these words from me every Sunday since the fall of 2011.  Regardless of what the sermon is, we always proclaim the good news.  If you ever hear me just say these words instead of proclaiming them with enthusiasm and joy, then put the search committee together. 

We should be even more excited about shouting Hosanna—save us—to the Son of David because that is exactly what he did.

There is a whole lot that transpired between that first Palm Sunday and the resurrection.  There is a lot to study and learn and apply, but for today, it’s about excitement.  It is about building up to the biggest celebration of our year. 

As you go through this week, do it with the words, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

When you pick up your mail, shout, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

When you think about something being boring or routine in your life, then proclaim these words:  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life!

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

I know that sometimes biblical messages are heavy on the theology and the interpretation of the text and the latest twist on what the Greek or Aramaic might have meant instead of the traditional interpretation.  I know that.  Preacher has to pay the bills, right?  So he throws in a fancy word every now and then so people think that he might have gone to school, but today is about getting worked up for the biggest celebration of the year.

Today is about laying down our coats and palm branches and our selfish desires.  It is for lifting up our spirit for the King of kings is coming to town, and we know that the biggest gift the world has even known is about to bestow life upon the world.

Get ready to celebrate.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Amen!