Sunday, April 2, 2023

Easter Week- Palm Sunday

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh unto thee; and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foul of an ass."
Zechariah 9:9



   As prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus entered the city to the tumult of praising. It was a joyful noise, one of hopeful triumph. What were they shouting? Hosanna! Interpreted in Hebrew it means 'save now'. 

John 12:12 “On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 
 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

     His pathway was strewn with clothing and palm branches. Some pharisees urged him to rebuke the outcry of his disciples but he answered them by saying that if he made them hold their peace even the stones would begin to cry out praise. Some would realize much later how the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled that day. 
   In the New World another reason for praising. The Nephites rejoiced because they triumphed, with the help of God, over the robbers who threatened to overtake all their land. In a few short years this God would come and save them yet again from natural disasters that rocked the world entire world at his death.
   
      3 Nephi 4:30  ”And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.  And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.
    Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.”


     Back in Jerusalem, Jesus knew his days were numbered and he urged his disciples to believe in the light while the light was still among them so that they would be called 'children of light'.


Believing, receiving, be open
To the truth which makes you 
Loving, and caring, and feeling,
That ye may be his child.

The savior said, "I am the light",
Come, follow me, just reach for my hand.
Your heavy burdens I will share,
My arms enfold you.

Believing, Receiving, Be Open
To the truth which makes you 
Loving, and caring, and feeling,
That ye may be his child.

His light illuminates the path
Warms every heart, each flickering shadow.
Go forth in faith, remove all doubt,
His arms enfold you.

Believing, receiving, be open
To the truth which makes you 
Loving, and caring, and feeling,
That ye may be the children of light.

Words to a song I wrote decades ago as a family motto. To be wholehearted has been a desire of mine for a long time. It seems, sometimes, to be just outside of reach but I do want to be a child of light so that the salvation Jesus brings is mine.

Other Days In The Last Week in the of  Jesus
Sunday

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