Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

---

What does Hosanna really mean?

On Palm Sunday, we shout “Hosanna in the highest”—but this ancient word is not a cheer of celebration. It is a cry for help: “Save us, we pray.”

In this sermon, we explore how that cry Is answered in impossibly to imagine ways, from Psalm 118 to the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in Gospel of Matthew to our own day. In a time marked by fear, division, and loss of trust, “Hosanna” becomes our own prayer.

Drawing on voices as diverse as John Calvin, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Maya Angelou, this sermon reflects on:
• Our need for help in a fractured world
• The loss of faith in one another
• God’s unexpected way of saving us—not through power, but through love

Holy Week reveals a surprising truth: God’s rescue comes not by force, but through the suffering, love, and self-giving of Christ.
As the world trembles, we join the ancient cry: Hosanna — Help us, God.

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA 2G8
Palm Sunday (Year A) 11a.m. Eucharist
Sunday March 29th 2026

Matthew 21:1-11
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 26:14-27:66