Psalm 118, Take Three

Psalm 118

21 I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
    O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
    up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week.  It is the most sacred time of the Christian year.  This week is the culmination of preparing our hearts for this roller-coaster of a week.  Within this week all of human life/experience is condensed thicker than a can of soup.  Within this week we have joy, people singing and shouting as Jesus entered into Jerusalem on a donkey.  Within this week we have anger as Jesus turned over tables.  Within this week we have a sacred meal shared with friends.  We have prayer in a garden.  We have betrayal of Jesus by Judas.  We have denial of friendship with Jesus by Peter.  We have friends deserting Jesus.  We have death.  We have silence on Saturday.  We have life, true life, that is filled with the warmth of hope and peace that we don't have to fear death any longer on Easter morning.

Whew...it is a huge week.

It begins with the People of God greeting Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem.  The hymn they sing to him is Psalm 118.  We are most familiar with verse 26; and yet what is all around that verse is also important.

These verses talking about rejoicing and being saved.  Save us.  Of course, to sing that you have to first admit you need saving.  See the previous post on Psalm 118.  While I don't always like language of years gone by, I do find the word "beseech" to be important within the church.  It is not a familiar word.  To "beseech" is to plead with someone.  It is a realization that you can't do it alone, you need help.  Palm Sunday is not just a joyful parade, it is a prayer!  A prayer that we can't do this alone.  We falter and fall in this life.  And we need a presence that can sustain us.

When we sense that presence, it awakens thanksgiving.  It awakens joy.  Part of what make joy so joyful is that we can direct our joy to One whose presence does make a difference and makes us difference.  That is what this week is all about.

And yet, I think we sense the "beseech" and pleading most when we encounter the broken bread, cup of forgiveness, and cross.  In posts this week I will offer some thoughts about Maundy Thursday and Holy Friday.  I pray these reflections might help your Holy Week be grounded in the One who comes to us in the name of God, with God's grace and love.

May your Holy Week be filled with traces of God's grace!