Blessed Is the King
“ …. throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!' Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, 'Teacher, order your disciples to stop.' He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.'”
Luke 19:35–40
Now we begin our journey through Holy Week these seven days between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Let us consider how this week we call “holy” still speaks through the traditions of our faith.
The scene above is called the Triumphal Entry. Matthew’s Gospel adds the color green to the story by saying that people did not just fling cloaks on the ground in front of the donkey that carried Jesus, but waved palm branches in celebration. Despite the obvious jubilation, a shadow hung over the moment when the religious leaders told Jesus to have his followers pipe down. You can imagine Jesus replying with a gentle smile, “You know guys, even if I told them to put a lid on it, the little stones at our feet would start to do their own chorus of praise.” As the week went on, the shadow grew longer and darker.
It is a strange turn of events. At the beginning of the week, the crowd is cheering Jesus; in no time, things begin to head south. Only days later, virtually everyone who wanted to be near Jesus on that first Palm Sunday wanted nothing to do with him on Good Friday.
Following the Triumphal Entry, Jesus offered a few more salient teachings and healings, then he met betrayal, a trial, torture and crucifixion. We would like to bypass all of the pain and go straight to the good news of Easter Sunday, but we just cannot have a resurrection without a death. In the next few meditations, we will explore various aspects of holiness and Holy Week.
Perhaps one of the most famous Palm Sunday hymns is one titled, “All Glory Laud and Honor.” The story goes that when Charlemagne died, his son, Louis I, assumed the throne of his mighty father. All went well until he began to divide up the massive kingdom, and then it all began to fall apart. He never enjoyed the security of the throne his father had known. Caught in the middle of all of this was Theodulph, Bishop of Orleans, a city in the south of France. He was an incredible leader who worked hard to reform the clergy, establish schools, advance education and build churches. He was a brilliant and moral man who also composed hymns. But, during the intrigues of Louis’s reign, Theodulph was falsely accused of siding against his monarch. He was imprisoned on Easter Sunday. Tradition says that Louis visited the place of Theodulph’s imprisonment and halted outside the Bishop’s window. The Bishop in return sang this well-known hymn that he, himself, wrote while in that prison. The king was so moved that he immediately ordered the Bishop’s release.
Originally, there were 78 verses to the hymn. Rarely are all of them sung today, but they are a reminder of how hopeless things do not always have the last word. What faith he must have had to write these words in the darkness of a prison.
All glory, laud, and honor, To Thee, Redeemer King,
To whom the lips of children, Made sweet hosannas ring.
Somehow the acknowledgment of those first hosannas to our King’s trek toward Good Friday, in the end, meant release for the Bishop. It can be for each of us as well.
So, let us begin our descent toward the Cross with Bishop Theodulph’s hymn. Let us even travel to the darkness of his cell and ponder our own Lord’s descent. Let us hold in our hearts the promises that in keeping our eyes fixed on Christ, there will be sweet release in the story’s end, or perhaps, beginning.
A Question to Ponder
Some define the word “Holy” as meaning “set apart.” What is Holy to you? If we are to treat the days ahead as a “Holy Week,” what can you do to make it set apart from all other weeks?
A Prayer
Dear Master,
We remember that many who claimed you as King on Sunday shouted “crucify” on Friday. So, confirm our faith today that our love for you will never falter or turn to hatred but will remain constant now and forever. We offer our worship to you, Lord, with all our love. Amen.[1]
[1] Hazel Snashall, comp. "Prayers Before Worship" (Lawrenceville, NJ: National Christian Education Council, 1984.
