Campus Ministry
Journeying from "Hosanna" to "Alleluia!"
By Scott Paeplow
“My life flows on in endless song.” This line from a traditional and familiar hymn certainly rings true for me as I reflect on the spiritual journey that is Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, we celebrate Christ’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem as we wave palms and acclaim, “Hosanna in the Highest!”
Then a few days later on Holy Thursday, Christ invites us to “Stay with Me, remain here with Me,” through a simple, repetitive, yet haunting chant, which alerts our spirit to the different nature of that solemn night. Just a few hours later, we will pose the question to one another of, “Were You There?” as the reality of the Cross manifests itself to us.
However, our musical pilgrimage through the week does not end in the defeat or disappointment of a minordeveloped cadence, but instead in the triumphant acclamation of voice with horn as we proclaim “Alleluia! He is Risen!”
As we encounter the holiest week of our liturgical year, I pray that we may experience the movement of the Spirit within the music that we make and take as we journey with Christ into Jerusalem, through the garden of Gethsemane, up Calvary’s Hill, and finally, to the empty tomb, where “death lost its sting” through Him who lives, now and forever.