Parents, Shout Hosanna: Words from COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, the word of the day is to be shouted. There have been some times of shouting in the McGinnis house due to the stresses of this “stay at home” time, we have been sharing space with a daughter home from college, another daughter furloughed from work and her significant other finishing up his final classes and a grand-dog... I know, shouting is not a healthy way to communicate, but we are an expressive and effusive bunch, we live loud and love expressively and we are still trying to get used to sharing the same space, all day, every day... Lord willing we will learn to have healthy disagreements in more gentle tones and yet still love expressively as we continue to ride out this pandemic.

The word of the day is Hosanna! It is a transliterated word that comes from two Hebrew words, yasha - meaning “save” or “deliver,” and na - meaning (we) “pray” or “implore”. When Jesus entered Jerusalem during the week of Passover, the week we now know as Holy Week, the people were effusively shouting and crying out, “save us we pray,” or “deliver us, we implore.” Israel was in a difficult time, they were under the cruel regime of the Romans. It had been centuries since the reign of godly king David and they were looking for a Savior, a Deliverer, a Messiah, someone to rescue them from their current difficult and tragic situation. We celebrate this day as Palm Sunday.

Here’s the story from John 12:12-13: “The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:
"Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!" (CSBBible)

If there was ever anyone who could save us from this global pandemic it is Jesus! He is Jehovah Rapha - “God who heals.” So, shout it out loud, “Hosanna!” You and your family may need to release some pent up energy… today you have permission… shout it out loud, cry out, “HOSANNA!” Cut some palm branches or at least draw them on a piece of paper and wave them and shout effusively and expressively, “SAVE US WE PRAY,” “DELIVER US,” “RESCUE US,” from this coronavirus and the tragedies that go with it. “Throw your hands up and shout! A little bit louder now!”

Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you!