Day 39 - Humble King

On this Palm Sunday weekend the word Hosanna has centre stage. The Hosanna lyrics which spring immediately to my mind are those declarations of faith contained in the Hymn ‘You are the King of Glory’. This is a rousing hymn whose refrain encompasses so much theology in the words ‘Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna to the King of Kings, Glory in the highest Heaven for Jesus the Messiah reigns.’ The term contains a plea for salvation as well as a declaration of a Saviour. However, I am mindful that all Christians have different favourite hymns or ones that are more familiar depending on which hymn book our Christian tradition uses. I know when I worship amongst Catholic brothers and sisters I often find I am unfamiliar with the hymns they sing but I can enjoy the lyrics even if my mouth does not move to the tune. In joining with more evangelical congregations, I can sing my heart out with faith on fire declarations sung to rousing tunes.

In advance of writing something for Hymn Saturday in this series, as had been suggested by an earlier writer of articles for Secluded Place, I went onto the website hymnary.org to see what else was out there besides my first-choice hymn. There I found a selection of hymns whose themes suited the Palm Sunday weekend and on other websites I came across hymn writers such as Isaac Watts and Phillip Doddridge - both giants of Congregational History. Although not a Congregationalist in my earlier life, Isaac Watts is a name that growing up I was familiar with and his hymns, with scripturally-based lyrics, were foundational in my faith journey. Phillip Doddridge is someone whose richness of life I have only recently come to appreciate, mainly through finally opening the pages of the book ‘The Good Doctor’ by Alan Clifford, a book I bought whilst attending a Congregational Conference in Norwich some years ago.

But the passage of time between those early hymn-writers and today’s more contemporary writers allows for a broader perspective of understanding of what our faith in Christ the King entails. As the prophecy of Zechariah had foretold, the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a colt/donkey, so no wonder there were cries of Hosanna from the many Jewish followers who had seen Jesus in action. They were, no doubt, already in ebullient mood enjoying the festival atmosphere of Passover in Jerusalem. In many of our Bibles the heading in the chapter reads as – ‘The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem’. In light of what was about to happen, this enthusiastic assessment of a Kingly entrance can be slightly jarring. I think we can all agree, Scripture indicates that Jesus was not a triumphal sort of person; in fact, he spent most of his ministry trying to keep under the radar so he could fulfil his mission. Although Jesus was decisive and knew his great calling, his whole personality seemed to be more reflective, low-key, kindly and displaying all the other gentle attributes of the giftings of the Holy Spirit we find in the Epistles.

And it is for this reason that I have chosen a modern hymn entitled “Humble King” which, a musically-talented Christian family group called ‘Sounds Like Reign’, have gifted to us. If you didn’t listen to the clip at the outset, if you have time now, hopefully it could be used as the basis for a prayerful moment as a reminder of what Kingship during Holy Week entailed.

Hosanna to the Servant King. Amen.

Elisabeth Sweeney Smith