From Hosanna to the Cross: Called to Risk for Justice

Devotional

Day 1: Hope as the Foundation for Survival and Justice

In challenging times, a positive mental attitude is the primary indicator of survival. This is not mere optimism, but a deep-seated hope that believes things will be alright. For the believer, this hope is not rooted in circumstance but in the character and promises of God. It is the anchor that holds us fast when the storms of injustice and difficulty rage. Cultivating this hope is the first step toward enduring and working for what is right. [09:23]

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:11 NIV)

Reflection: When you consider the injustices in the world or the challenges in your own life, what specific promise from God can you cling to today to nurture a hopeful and positive mental attitude?

Day 2: The Sustaining Power of Faith in Something Bigger

Survival often depends on faith in a power greater than oneself. This faith provides strength that our own resources cannot muster and offers a perspective that transcends our immediate fears. It is the assurance that we are not alone in the struggle, especially when working for justice feels overwhelming. This week, we look to Jesus as the ultimate source of that power and grace, the one who walks with us through every trial. [10:11]

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

Reflection: In what area of seeking justice or facing a personal challenge have you been trying to rely solely on your own strength, and how might leaning into faith in Christ change your approach?

Day 3: The Paradox of Survival Through Serving Others

A key to making it through a disaster is a willingness to look beyond oneself to help another. Focusing on the needs of others can provide the necessary motivation to keep going when personal strength fails. This principle mirrors the heart of the gospel, where Jesus came not to be served but to serve. Working for the justice of our neighbor is not a distraction from our own survival; it is often the very path through it. [10:54]

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 NIV)

Reflection: Who is one person or group in your community whose burden of injustice you could help carry this week, whether through prayer, advocacy, or practical help?

Day 4: The True Cry of "Hosanna" in Times of Trouble

"Hosanna" is not merely a cheerful shout; it is a raw and honest cry for salvation—"God, save us." It is the mantra we repeat when we are lost, sore, tired, and worried about those entrusted to our care. This cry acknowledges our deep need for divine intervention in a broken world. It is a prayer that recognizes true safety and deliverance come only from God, especially when we are surrounded by deep and hidden dangers. [14:22]

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2 NIV)

Reflection: Where in your life or in the world around you do you most need to cry out "Hosanna—God, save us" instead of trying to engineer your own solution?

Day 5: The Call to Carry the Cross of Justice for Others

The ultimate example of justice is Jesus willingly enduring the cross for problems he did not create. He calls his followers to similarly pick up their cross, which is a cross of justice. This means leaving our comfort to actively work for the good of others, especially those who cannot save themselves. It is a willingness to take risks, enter difficult spaces, and act tangibly so that God's justice becomes accessible to all. [20:54]

He called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34 NIV)

Reflection: What is one comfortable assumption or habit—perhaps that someone else should solve their own problems—that God might be inviting you to deny yourself in order to better follow Him into the work of justice?

Sermon Summary

Preaching on justice during Lent confronts the ways justice has become political and emotionally fraught. The text urges a reframe of justice beyond worldly categories, returning to an early, almost instinctive sense of fairness seen even in children. Research on survival provides a practical theology: positive mental attitude (hope), faith in something larger, and a commitment to help others together predict resilience in disaster. These three pillars—hope, faith, and service—function as spiritual practices that sustain action in the face of suffering.

Palm Sunday emerges as a complicated cry: Hosanna—“God save us”—expresses urgent need rather than triumphal celebration. Holy Week exposes betrayal, arrest, torture, and crucifixion as stark examples of injustice. The narrative emphasizes that Jesus bore suffering not for self but for others, even descending into the realm of death to extend reconciliation. Isaiah’s promise reframes responsibility: God sends deliverance; justice is not merely the burden of the oppressed to self-lift but a divine summons that invites participation.

The text rejects the modern trap of blaming victims or insisting on individual self-help as the solution to systemic wrongs. Instead, justice demands embodiment—healing the marginalized, touching the unclean, intervening where institutions fail. The cross becomes a symbol of committed solidarity and a call to carry risks for neighbors. Historical prophetic witness, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to leave comfortable pews, translates into a summons for active discipleship: to move from liturgy into labor for justice, to leave safety for the vulnerable, and to make justice accessible rather than passively assumed. The conclusion presses a concrete ethic: living Lent and Holy Week means cultivating hope, grounding faith, and intentionally serving those beyond familiar circles, even when that service requires personal cost.

Key Takeaways

1. Justice resists political capture The experience of justice often becomes framed by partisan categories that narrow moral imagination. Recovering justice requires refusing reductive labels and returning to the basic questions of what is fair and who is vulnerable. This recovery insists on discerning God’s priorities rather than cultural talking points, so that action aims at restoration, not merely scoring ideological victories. [05:23]
2. Hope, faith, and service sustain Survival studies show that a positive mindset, trust in something greater, and commitment to others predict endurance in crisis. Spiritually, hope fuels perseverance, faith orients meaning beyond circumstance, and sacrificial service anchors life in neighbor-love. Together these practices create a durable ethic for confronting injustice instead of shrinking from it. [09:23]
3. Palm Sunday confronts suffering Hosanna voices urgent plea, not simple celebration, because acclaim meets imminent betrayal and injustice. Recognizing the week’s trajectory forces honest attention to suffering, betrayal, and the cost of redemption. This posture invites pastoral realism: liturgy should lead to solidarity with the crucified, not sentimental escape. [12:04]
4. Justice requires leaving comfortable pews Comfort can anesthetize responsibility; prophetic witness calls the faithful out of safe routines into risky solidarity. Justice work often demands presence in unfamiliar, uncomfortable places where real cost and real human need meet. Responding to that summons reshapes worship into tangible action that expands access to dignity and wellbeing. [19:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[05:23] - Justice as politicized and fraught
[06:15] - Innate fairness from childhood
[07:00] - Reading survival: preparations
[09:23] - Hope, faith, and helping others
[12:04] - Palm Sunday: Hosanna’s urgency
[15:09] - Holy Week: betrayal and arrest
[16:40] - Atonement and descent into death
[18:13] - Isaiah’s promise of rescue
[19:24] - The cross as a call to justice
[19:58] - MLK’s call to leave pews
[20:54] - Final challenge: serve the neighbor

Bible Study Guide

Based on the sermon, the primary text was Isaiah 61:1, which is alluded to in the discussion of God sending someone to save. The sermon also heavily focuses on the events of Holy Week and Jesus's actions as the ultimate example of justice. Therefore, the reading will include the Isaiah passage and a summary of the Passion narrative.

Bible Reading
* Isaiah 61:1 (ESV): "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;"
* Matthew 21:9, 26:14-16, 27:32-50 (ESV): The crowds preceding him cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”... Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him... As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross... And when they came to a place called Golgotha... they crucified him... And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice... “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Observation questions

The crowds on Palm Sunday shouted "Hosanna," which means "God, save us." What does this tell us about the atmosphere and the people's expectations that day?
According to the reading from Isaiah, what are the specific actions God's anointed one is sent to do?
What are the three things researchers have found that predict who survives a disaster, and how are they described in spiritual terms? [09:23]
What was the trap identified regarding how we often view justice and the responsibility of those suffering from injustice? [18:13]

Interpretation questions

Why is it significant that "Hosanna" is a cry for help rather than a simple cheer? How does this change our understanding of Palm Sunday's place in Holy Week? [12:04]
Judas wanted Jesus to overthrow the Roman Empire. Why is it a dangerous misunderstanding to believe God's justice is about achieving our own political or worldly goals? [15:27]
The idea that the oppressed should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" is rejected. How does Jesus' approach to healing the sick and helping the marginalized provide a different model for achieving justice? [19:06]
The cross is described as a symbol of "committed solidarity." What does it mean that Jesus bore suffering not for himself, but for others, and how does that define the Christian call to justice?

Application questions

Hope, faith, and a commitment to serving others are described as essential for resilience. Which of these three pillars feels strongest in your life right now, and which one feels the most fragile? What is one practical step you could take to strengthen the one that feels fragile?
Justice requires leaving our comfortable pews and routines. [19:58] Where is one "uncomfortable place" in your community or relationships where you feel called to show up, even if it's risky or unfamiliar? What is the first step to going there?
We can easily fall into the trap of thinking justice is someone else's problem. [18:13] When have you recently thought a situation of injustice was "not your job" to address? What would it look like to move from that thought to a posture of asking, "What is my role here?"
Jesus' actions were direct and personal—he healed, touched, and intervened. [19:06] Is your concept of justice more about abstract support or direct, personal involvement? Who is one person or group in your immediate circle that needs you to move from talking about justice to tangibly helping them?
Carrying a cross of justice means accepting personal cost for the sake of a neighbor. [20:54] What is a convenience, comfort, or resource you are being asked to give up so that someone else might experience more dignity or fairness? What makes that difficult to do?

Sermon Clips

But God has called us to leave our pews, to enter God's kingdom, to work for justice in the world, to make sure that justice we take for granted is an opportunity and is accessible for the people who do not have that justice in their lives right now. When we think this week about what Jesus was willing to do for us, I think Jesus is also looking at us saying, and what are you willing to do for your neighbor? Living a life of justice means sometimes taking a risk and going someplace you don't expect to help someone you don't know. But that's what Jesus did for us this week, and that is what Jesus is calling us to do now. Amen. [00:20:12] (61 seconds) #ServeYourNeighbor

Most of us wanna go from Palm Sunday Hosannas to Easter resurrection, but that's not what the bible says. When we read from Isaiah today and as we look throughout the prophets of the Old Testament, it does not say in Isaiah, let the poor save themselves. Let them pull themselves up by the bootstraps. It says, God will send someone to save you. And I think this is the trap we are in. I think the trap we are in is that we live comfortable lives and justice is someone else's problem. And those people who are suffering, well, they should go do something about it. [00:17:41] (56 seconds) #JusticeIsntSomeoneElsesProblem

I don't think when Judas betrayed Jesus, he expected Jesus to be crucified on the cross. What I think Judas was wanting was Jesus to reveal the glory of God. Judas wanted Jesus to overthrow the Roman Empire that was causing injustice for his people. But he didn't ask Jesus, he just decide, I got a solution. I'm sure this will work. And Judas found out, no. You should really ask God before you go do something. Jesus was arrested. Jesus was tortured. Jesus was put on a cross to die. This was injustice. Jesus didn't deserve it. [00:15:34] (53 seconds) #AskGodBeforeYouAct

And those people who are suffering, well, they should go do something about it. Blacks in America should work for racial justice. Immigrants should do something so they're safe. Poor people should take care of themselves and pull themselves together. We have lots of excuses why the people who are suffering from injustice should take care of themselves, but that is not what Isaiah says, and that is not what Jesus does. Jesus does not look at the people with leprosy and says, oh, you're infectious. Go away. Jesus heals them. [00:18:26] (45 seconds) #StopBlamingTheVictims

positive mental attitude thinking I'm gonna make it through. It's gonna be alright. Number one indicator of whether someone's gonna make it through. The second thing is do they have faith? Do they have faith in something bigger than themselves? For us, especially this week, we look to Jesus as the power that brings hope and grace to our lives. But the third thing, and I think this one's really interesting, the third thing that indicates success in a disaster situation is someone willing to look beyond themselves and help someone else. [00:09:48] (48 seconds) #HopeFaithHelpOthers

I wasn't crying hosanna, but hosanna was the equivalent of what I was saying. God, keep us safe. The people of Jerusalem who were oppressed by the Roman Empire were saying, God, save us. God, save us. This week is not a cheerful, lovely, delightful week. This is where the rubber meets the road. Jesus is betrayed this week by one of his closest friends. And I encourage you to come on Thursday and worship with us as we sit and reflect with the reality of what Jesus was willing to do with us, for us. [00:14:50] (44 seconds) #HosannaSaveUs

And this I think is our final lesson about justice for this season of Lent. Jesus was willing to die for our problems, not his. Jesus was willing to put himself aside. Jesus was willing to go to hell for us, literally. Now we don't talk about this much either. Jesus went to hell for about thirty six hours. What did he do there? There are scholars who think God loves us so much that even if we never got it in our lifetime and we never said, yes, Lord, I believe, that even in death, even if we find ourselves in hell, Jesus is willing to go there and save us. [00:16:28] (59 seconds) #JesusSavesEverywhere

I was surprised halfway through the book a few nights ago, my husband was getting ready to fall asleep and I'm reading this book before going to bed and I get out of bed, my husband's like, where are you going? I said, I need my highlighter. There's a whole bunch of really good stuff in here and I think I can use this on Sunday. I didn't pick up this book for this, but the idea of living with hope, living with faith, and living to help your neighbor. I think I've heard that someplace before. [00:11:13] (33 seconds) #BooksInspireAction

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From Hosanna to the Cross: Called to Risk for Justice

Devotional

Day 1: Hope as the Foundation for Survival and Justice

Day 2: The Sustaining Power of Faith in Something Bigger

Day 3: The Paradox of Survival Through Serving Others

Day 4: The True Cry of "Hosanna" in Times of Trouble

Day 5: The Call to Carry the Cross of Justice for Others

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

From Hosanna to the Cross: Called to Risk for Justice

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