Hosanna, A Jesus Word - Rose McCormick Brandon

Hosanna! One of my favorite words, a celebration word, it exalts God to the highest heaven. When thank-you Lord" and "praise God" seem weak and unsatisfactory, we can dig deep and find that perfect word - Hosanna.
The crowds who hailed Jesus as the long-promised Messiah and led His procession into Jerusalem one week before the crucifixion used that word - Hosanna. They had watched Him relieve the afflicted of demons. Their hearts had burned within them as they listened to His teaching. They said, "No man has ever taught like this man."

When the crowds saw Jesus set the afflicted free, joy overcame them. They spread their cloaks on the ground, a carpet for Him. They sliced branches, laid them on the road to cushion his ride. They danced, sang and shouted, "Hosanna!"

According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (a book thick enough to stand on to reach a high cupboard), Hosanna is used only six times in the Bible - three times by Matthew, twice by Mark and once by John. All three were disciples of Jesus.

Hosanna is a marvellous word. I wish we used it more often. It stirs the Spirit. It's a word perfectly suited to Jesus and to no one else. Besides being a praise word, it can also mean "Save us." Jesus, the One and only Savior earned our Hosanna praise by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

In this holy week that culminates in Christ's resurrection, let's remember the word Hosanna - praise and exalt Jesus for giving His life to save us from our sins. Do you need the Savior? Call out to Jesus, "Hosanna in the highest!"


Visit Rose McCormick Brandon at her faith blog, Listening to My Hair Grow. Read stories of British Home Children at The Promise of Home. Rose is a frequent contributor to several Christian publications. Read more about her here.

Easter Week – Lawrence

We have just emerged from the intensity of Holy Week, the bewilderment of Good Friday, and the amazement of the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday. All through this week of Easter we keep coming back to the wonder of all that has happened.

As in a near death of a family member and his or her miraculous recovery we keep coming back to that person and saying, I can hardly believe this is real; I’m so glad you’re all right; you gave us all such a scare, so the disciples, in the first days and weeks following Christ’s death and resurrection, must have been full of wonder and, at the same time, absolute amazing disbelief, each time they saw their Master.

Jesus Christ proved on Good Friday and Easter Sunday that God loves us totally, by sacrificing his only Son on the cross for our sins.

"We can’t believe that we’re loved with nothing in exchange, absolutely nothing. Our real value depends on what we are and not on what we do. We continually try to be good people, whatever that means. In reality we are not always good, but we are holy. Being good is something that we earn or acquire or achieve, but we’re holy because we came forth from God." Simplicity by Richard Rohr, P. 93.

During Lent we remembered, once more, our sinful ways; now, in Easter-tide, we are reminded again of God’s love for us and his gift to us of holiness.

[Coming soon: Non-fiction Book:
Highway of Holiness: Soul Journey
by Judith Lawrence]

Countertops, Cupboards & Craniums - Black

Bomp! Ouch! A short while later: Thud! Oochsh! "Man, not again – that hurts!"
Just a brief sound-scape, occurring with fair frequency, when a certain cranium comes in sudden painful contact with overhanging cupboards – especially in kitchens.

Most houses we’ve lived in over the years have had these cupboards handily located, yet out of the line of vision when someone’s head is inclined and the gaze directed towards the workspace of the counter-top. Problem is, I get so absorbed in what I’m looking at on the counter that I forget the cupboards are there above me, then when I straighten my back and lift my head I get a swift and painful reminder that they are indeed still there.

What’s this got to do with Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter – or inspirational things in general? Well, nothing, really. But, maybe – sort of. This period affords a wonderful opportunity for us to look closely at our lives and at the heart of our faith; to look at the counter-top of grace and see the provisions God our Father in Heaven has prepared for us. And yet, the effect of it will be to elevate our gaze. We can look up and see the treasures through open cupboard doors – as it were – with clear heads and full hearts, in worship and praise to God for the Son He has given, our Saviour and Redeemer, and the price that was paid for our eternal redemption.

To help us do that, a good exercise is to read the latter chapters of the four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (especially in John from chapter 11 and on), and follow Jesus through the later scenes of His earthly life and ministry, to His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, and to meditate on these things. Nowadays, it can be difficult just finding the time or even a few minutes' peace and quiet to concentrate – let alone meditate! However, it needn’t take a whole lot of effort to elevate our mental eye-level and tune-in our interior ears. Just takes a little thought, an opening of the mind, and a breathing space of relative solitude. Sometimes it helps to flick off a few switches for fifteen or twenty minutes on several lines of information, communication, and noise, such as radio, tv, Internet, personal music playback device, cell-phone, or even the house phone, et cetera.

Some people work their way through these gospel narratives during Holy Week to focus on each of the Stations of the Cross. Others take any one of those scenes each time, and seek a deeper insight into its significance, while yet others in their quiet times will mull over a verse or two, or statements Jesus made during the closing days and hours of this period, including His words spoken from the cross.

As we do whatever is helpful to us with love, faith, and sincerity, we may well find ourselves becoming quite absorbed in this noble theme of God’s love for us demonstrated in Jesus Christ. But, don’t worry about getting a bomp or thud on the head; rather, anticipate receiving an elevated focus, a feast of good things for the spirit, and a gentle, comforting glow in the heart.

Peter Black
Author of Parables from the Pond published by Word Alive Press
"Written for kids - read and enjoyed by grandmas and grandpas too!"
This piece adapted from P-Pep! column by P. A. Black published in The Watford Guide-Advocate, April 13, 2006.