Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:
"Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!"
We welcome Jesus. We celebrate him. His glory moves us to praise! This instinct is good. But can we stay with him?
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Our worldly minds have trouble with this. We have a hard time celebrating the condecension that brings Jesus to us. We have difficulty with his humility and even his humanity. Seeing this verison of Jesus, suffering and obedient, cuts us to the heart.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Let us look upon Jesus on the cross. Here is a greater victory than the mere entry of the king into the royal city. Here is the victory of love over hatred. If the tone of our praise changes as we follow the way of the cross lot us not cease to praise. Let us recognize that what we are witnessing is not a failure but the ultimate and everlasting success. This isn't as easy as it sounds.
And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"
which is translated,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Yet it is true. It is essential. Let us not abandon him as his disciples do. Let us follow him all the way to the end. Let us praise him to the very end.
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
From this vantage point we will be well positioned to behold the glory that comes next. Assuredly, our praise then will be with greater fervor than ever before.
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