Mark 11:9

and those who led the way, as well as those who followed, kept shouting, “God save him! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!


fore and aft
the cry widens
we’ll get our own back

every where
energy expands
what matter constricted

teetering between energy & matter
substituting sound for light

we use
what’s available
continuing beyond current limits


This is the position of belovedness—hearing, “Hosanna”, from those who have gone before as the past is returned to wholeness and hearing, “Hosanna”, from those next seven generations down the way whose path is clearer as they build on this moment.

It is this picture of being a fulcrum point that attracts us to hear and experience the vision of the prophets. This is what it means to straighten crooked paths and prepare a healthier way.

The same dual perspective is found in ὡσαννά (ōsanna, Hosanna). It can be heard in Psalm 118:26 as coming from the Temple/G*D to individuals coming to offer their thanks for one deliverance or another. It can be heard here coming from individuals to one seen as arriving in the “name of the Lord” to deliver from current occupation.

Whether from an individual or “heavenly” perspective the word itself can come from an individual to mean, “Save (us/me)! or from a blessing place or person, “Hail!/Welcome!”. “Hosanna” is both a boisterous praise for a past healed and a deep prayer that a better future will arrive. This is a common place for readers to find themselves and an opportunity to willingly dive into the middle of complexity.

If the colt image can find precedence in Zechariah 9:9–10, the imagery of palms/plant waving comes from a time much more within then-living memory, 1 Maccabees 13:47–52.

Sabin-299, writes:

By using language that would remind his readers of both Zechariah’s peace-loving king and of Simon Maccabeus, Mark offers a complex picture of Jesus. Both scriptural passages converge in showing someone who took action to restore the Temple to its original state as a place of worship. Yet there is a tension between the two. As Mark develops his portrait of Jesus’ relationship to the Temple, he also continues to show this tension.

2 thoughts on “Mark 11:9”

  1. I haven’t been able to figure out “e & m” in “teetering between e & m”…Wikipedia suggests perhaps something about electromagnetism?

    1. It was a too cryptic reference to the famous equation and aforementioned components, e=mc^2. Electromagnetism does offer related relationships. Thanks for noting this, I’ll spell them out.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.