Prepare 

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11 marks the beginning of Holy Week. The scene feels celebratory, but it’s actually layered with tension. Jesus enters the city not on a war horse nor in a display of political power, but on a donkey. In doing so, he fulfills the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. This signals a different kind of kingship: one rooted in humility and solidarity with ordinary people. 

As Jesus enters, the crowds respond with enthusiasm. They spread cloaks on the road, wave branches, and shout “Hosanna,” which means “save us.” This is both praise and protest, a cry for deliverance. Many in the crowds likely expected Jesus to overthrow Roman rule and restore political power to Israel. Their understanding of “salvation” was shaped by their lived oppression. 

Yet, the kind of salvation Jesus brings does not align with their expectations. His path doesn’t lead to a throne of dominance, but to the cross; and the same crowds that shout “Hosanna” will, within days, fall silent or turn away. 

This passage invites us to consider how we recognize, or fail to recognize, God at work. It challenges assumptions about power, leadership, and what it means to be saved. It also raises an important question for today: What kind of change are we hoping for, and are we open to it if it looks different than we imagined? 

Opening Exercise 

Watch this video about a community organization in Minneapolis called Singing Resistance. 

As you watch, pay attention to what you hear in their voices. 

• What are they carrying? 
• What are they hoping for?

After the video, ask: 

• What emotions did you notice? 
• What do you think they are longing for or crying out for? 
• Where do you hear something like “Hosanna” in this?

Transition to the text: In Matthew 21, the crowd is also crying out, but the word they use is ‘Hosanna,’ literally: save us. 

Text Read Aloud 

Matthew 21:1–11 

Hosanna: When Salvation Looks Different

It looks like a parade. 

There’s movement, noise, energy. People are lining the road, waving branches, shouting. Cloaks are thrown down like a makeshift red carpet. The crowd is caught up in the moment. 

“Hosanna!” they cry.
“Save us!” 

This is what hope looks like when it spills out into the street.
But look closer.
Jesus isn’t riding in like the kind of king they know. There’s no armor, no horse, no show of force. He comes on a donkey, easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention. 

And still, they cheer.
They cheer because they believe this, this will change everything. 

The crowd has expectations. They are living under occupation. They are tired, burdened, longing for freedom. And here comes Jesus: healer, teacher, miracle-worker. Surely, this is the one who will fix it. Surely, this is the one who will take power, restore order, and make things right. 

But unbeknownst to them, Jesus is not entering Jerusalem to take power. He is entering to give himself away.
That’s the tension of this story. 

The same voices shouting “Hosanna!” are filled with hope. But, it’s a hope shaped by their understanding of how the world works. Power defeats power. Strength overcomes strength. Kings conquer. But Jesus redefines all of it. 

He comes in humility and vulnerability.
He comes in peace. 

And the kind of salvation Jesus brings won’t look like what they imagined. That’s what makes this story so close to us. 

We also carry expectations. We pray for change, for healing, for justice, for things to be made right. And often, we imagine what that should look like. We imagine how God should act, how quickly things should shift, how clearly victory should appear. 

Hosanna: When Salvation Looks Different

But what if God is already moving, and it just doesn’t look like what we expected? 

What if salvation doesn’t come through domination?
What if salvation doesn’t come through force?
What if salvation doesn’t come through winning?
Instead, it breaks in through love that refuses to let go, through relentless presence, or through a commitment to wading through trenches together. 

The crowd saw Jesus.
But they didn’t fully SEE Jesus. 

And maybe that’s where we begin too.
Learning to see again.
Learning to let go of the version of God we’ve constructed.
Learning to recognize that sometimes the most powerful thing God does… is easy to overlook. 

Hosanna still means “save us.”
The question is: are we ready for the kind of saving that actually comes? 

Reflection Questions 

1. What stands out to you about how Jesus enters Jerusalem in this story? What are the people doing, and how are they responding? 
2. Why do you think the crowd expected something different from Jesus? What does this tell us about how people understand power or leadership?
3. What does Jesus’ choice to ride a donkey (instead of a horse) say about the kind of king he is? 
4. Where in your life might you be expecting God to act in a certain way? What would it look like to be open to something different?

Closing Activity 

Hand out a small piece of paper to each person and invite them to write one word or short phrase they would shout “Hosanna” about. What do they need saving from or for right now? 

When they’re ready, invite them to fold their paper, holding their words with care and privacy, and place it on an altar or in another shared sacred space. 

From there, you have a couple of options depending on the trust and comfort level of your group. You may choose to read some of the prayers aloud, being mindful to protect what feels tender or personal. After each one, the group can respond together: “God, hear our cry.” 

Or, if it feels more appropriate, you can offer a few collective petitions shaped by what surfaced in your conversation, again inviting the group to respond: “God, hear our cry.” 

Final Prayer

Jesus,
you come to us in ways we don’t always expect.
You meet us in humility and presence.
Help us to see you clearly.
Help us to let go of what we think salvation should look like.
And open us to the kind of love that changes everything.
Hosanna.
Save us.
Amen. 

Bio of Author 

Emily Harkins is the Lead Pastor and Founding Developer of The Dwelling in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a community rooted in belonging, dignity, and shared life alongside neighbors experiencing homelessness. She is passionate about justice, advocacy, and building spaces where people are fully seen and known. Emily is a Colorado native turned Southern Belle who loves Diet Coke, good stationery, and using “y’all” as often as possible.

Prepare

To begin, let’s admit that the Transfiguration is a weird story. We’ve got heroes from the Bible’s past. There are voices from heaven. People faint from fear. Jesus transfigures, whatever that actually means. This story is just weird.

There are a few things to keep in mind about Moses and Elijah that might be helpful for understanding this story. First, no one saw Moses and Elijah die. When Moses dies, God grants him, alone, a glimpse of the promised land and then God buries Moses, but no one knows where (Deuteronomy 34). Elijah ascends into heaven by means of a chariot, fire, and whirlwind (2 Kings 2). But here is more: both Moses and Elijah, in their time, meet God on mountaintops, in fact, it’s the same mountain – Mount Horeb. God calls Moses through the burning bush and later, on the same mountain, gives him the Torah, the law. Elijah meets God in the sound of sheer silence and receives instructions to anoint new kings and name a successor. 

Before and after this story, Jesus predicts his death several times, and he confronts his disciples with the truth about how hard it is to follow him: it is like taking up a cross. And, when Jesus, Peter, James, and John come down from the mountain, they’ll learn the other disciples have been trying, and failing, to help a little boy with epilepsy.

Transfigured means changed—not like a costume change, but a change in form. Yes, Jesus’ appearance changes, but there seems to be something more. Whatever it is, the disciples see him both more clearly and less so. Peter lacks the words to express the depth of this moment, but he knows what is true: it is good to be here.

Opening Exercise

• You’re hosting a dinner party for yourself and five other people—some you know now, some from history you wish you could’ve met. Who do you invite? Why? How do you introduce them to one another? What kinds of conversations would you hope to have?

Text Read Aloud

Matthew 17:1-9 

It is Good to Be Here

Winter is never mild in Ukraine, but it has been particularly harsh this year. Many people are without power for all or part of the day. A lot of people don’t have water in their homes anymore because of the war with Russi

BBC News. Watch: Frozen river hosts dance party in Kyiv.

a. It is easy for things to feel helpless. But the people have started to throw dance parties on frozen rivers and lakes. They’ve got little racing buggies that they run on the ice, and DJs set up full rigs in the middle of frozen lakes. In an interview, one person said, “It’s gotten so much harder to be happy, but we have the small flame of hope in our hearts that we try to keep burning.” When the way looks helpless, God kindles hope in our hearts within communities where we know it is good for us to be.

Peter sounds pretty ridiculous when he starts babbling about tents, but it has been a harsh journey to this point. He and his fellow disciples have been stretched and challenged in countless ways. They have seen incomprehensible things: Jesus walking on water, feeding thousands, curing all sorts of diseases. The disciples who followed Jesus had been criticized and scolded by Pharisees. And, while they had left home, left their jobs, and left their families to follow Jesus, he recently told them that that wouldn’t be enough. Jesus told them that disciples carry crosses, instruments of torture and death. 

And it wasn’t like things were easy before they followed Jesus, either. The Sea of Galilee was being overfished, the treasures of their lake exported to Rome. They had been taxed, tolled, and fined by the Romans, who occupied every inch of their homeland. 

So when Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, and they see the heroes of their bedtime stories—Moses and Elijah—we can understand why Peter says, “It is good for us to be here.” Things were hard, and Jesus drew together this extraordinary community, renewing his disciples’ sense of hope.

Recently, I was at a reunion of sorts, an opportunity to bring together people who work in the same field. We get together once a year or so, and we look forward to it. But it seems like things have been especially hard for people recently: there’s a lot of bad news, and people are lonelier and more disconnected than they used to be. We were all feeling disconnected and discouraged. So, we were all in agreement when one of my colleagues walked into the room and proclaimed loudly, “It is good to be here.”

At its best, this is what church can be for us: that when we’re discouraged and disconnected, Jesus gathers together an extraordinary community, renewing our sense of hope. And this is what other communities—times of fellowship and time with our friends and family—can also be for us: gathered together, Jesus with us, hope renewed.

Reflection Questions

• Who can give the best impression of Peter on the mountain?
• What would you have said if you were Peter? 
• Where do you go when you’re feeling disconnected or discouraged?
• What are some things you do to help you feel more hopeful? What is something someone else has done for you?

Closing Activity

• Take a few minutes to draw or write about a place where you’ve been a part of a gathering that renewed you. Maybe it was a team meeting in a locker room before a big game, or during worship, or just getting together with friends. Invite participants to share their responses, if they’d like.

Final Prayer/Blessing

• Light a candle and place it on your drawing or writing, or carefully hold your work while you pray.
  • Encouraging God, you gathered Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John with Jesus on the mountain when they were feeling challenged, stretched, and even frustrated. When we’re uncertain about the future, disconnected from one another, or discouraged, put your hope within us. Fan it from a spark into a flame, that we may be sustained in community with one another, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Bio

Adrianne Meier is an ELCA pastor who serves among the people at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Indiana. When she’s not working—and even when she is working—you can find her furiously knitting.

Note from the Editor:

This week on Faith Lens, we’re revisiting a post from the archive. Originally published several years ago, the article still speaks with quiet strength and hope today. As Advent draws to a close, this reflection offers a grounding reminder at just the right moment: Emmanuel, God is with us. In a season that invites us to name our fears and watch for God’s nearness, this piece remains a faithful word for young people and leaders alike.

One more note: in partnership with ELCA Children’s Ministry and ELCA Youth Ministry, the ELCA Youth Gathering is launching a new quarterly newsletter, Faith Foundations, created especially for volunteer and paid youth ministry leaders. Each issue will include practical resources, ministry insights, and tools you can use right away in your context. Sign up now and get the first issue sent right to your inbox next spring.

Warm-up Question

How many times per week, would you estimate, that you make a choice of what to do or what not to do based on fear?

What Makes You Afraid?

Fear can be a highly powerful motivator. We can be afraid of consequences (from parents, teachers, coaches, school administrators) or we can be afraid of what happened last time we did that (a small child touching a hot stove). Some of us have phobias – fear of the dark, of spiders, of snakes (to name a few). Did you know that there is even a name for the fear of Santa Claus? Not surprisingly, it’s Clausophobia.

Sometimes fear motivates us in ways we’d rather not talk about. Other times we avoid doing something we’d otherwise do for fear of what our peers might think or say. Or we avoid trying something new for fear of failure.

For some people, these fears can be crippling. PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) and some phobias keep people from acting because of the strong painful memories and fears often associated with past experiences. Researchers in the United Kingdom and in Japan are working on techniques that might allow people to “re-wire” their brains and overcome those fear-filled memories.

Even if our fears are not extremely strong and limiting, fear affects all of us to some degree and can keep us from engaging in life to the fullness that’s intended for us.

Discussion Questions

• What kinds of fears do you have? What are you afraid of? Can you isolate why? Was there a specific experience that made you afraid?
• What are things you wish you could do but are afraid to try?

Read Text Aloud

Matthew 1:18-25

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Joseph was afraid. He was afraid to take Mary as his wife, because she was having a baby that wasn’t his. He was afraid of what it would mean for him; he was afraid of what others might think. But he also was afraid to publicly accuse her of infidelity, so he wanted to send her away quietly. But the angel knew what was going on and told him not to be afraid.

Not only did the angel command Joseph not to be afraid but he told Joseph to name the child something that could combat fear. Emmanuel means “God is with us.” God is with us. We are not alone. Perhaps knowing this and trusting this can help to combat the fears that are inside all of us.

Discussion Questions

• When do you need a reminder that God is with you?
• Who do you know who might need a reminder that God is with them?

Activity Suggestions

Make an Emmanuel rock. This can be as simple as taking a small stone and painting a cross (or other symbol) on it. Carry the Emmanuel rock in your pocket. It can remind you that Emmanuel – God is with you. Make tw0 Emmanuel rocks – keep one for yourself and give one away.

Closing Prayer

Good and gracious God, come into our world as Emmanuel. Come into our world and banish fear. Come into our world and banish darkness. Amen.

Written by Seth Moland-Kovash and originally posted on December 18, 2016.

Opening Activity Part 1

Gather some paper, preferably blue in color to match the Season of Advent. On one side of the paper, invite attendees to write down one or more things that are currently wearing them down. This is to be done privately by each individual because these have the potential to be personal. Some examples of current hardships could be:

• family divisions at the holiday meals
• higher prices of necessary goods and lower wages
• friendships that have soured
• or simply having had to wake up early for church services

Text

Read: Matthew 24:36-44

Jesus Watches so You Can Rest

This gospel lesson contains a sense of urgency that readily fits into modern times. There are single parents who work multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet, barely having any time to rest. School-aged children are swamped with activities that will look good on university applications, but do not allow space for the joy of non-adulthood.. All ages, occupations, backgrounds, etc. are impacted by our go-go-go culture. It could be then that we find ourselves nodding our tired heads, blinking back much-needed sleep, as Jesus’ urgent words resound from the pulpit:

“Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Matt. 24:42)

However, I invite us to consider the Greek word Γρηγορεῖτε (grégoreó, pronounced gray-gor-eh’-o) which is translated “keep awake.” Yet, in English, it could also be faithfully expressed as Jesus saying, “Be on the lookout for …” or even “You should expect …” And so, let us wonder what it means to be expectant, rather than awake.

In my estimation, Jesus is inviting his followers to expect a hopeful tomorrow because, he assures us, it will come! In fact, because of the Incarnation, it already has come near. There is nothing that we can do, no labor we can accomplish, and no tiredness that can usher in what God has already promised. The late Roman Catholic Bishop Ken Untener beautifully penned this Christian truth when he affirmed that, “It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is beyond our vision … We are prophets of a future not our own.”

As the busy holiday season envelopes us and our culture asks us to do more than is humanly possible, I encourage you to step back and consider what God has already done. Jesus has already been born, and the Kingdom of God has already come near. The promise of Christ is that one day, of which we do not know the date, God will set all things right. Let us trust in Jesus who faithfully keeps watch so that we can rest in God’s promises. And, if we can rest in these promises, what good things can we certainly expect?

Opening Activity Part 2

Focus on how God has already done everything necessary for this world in having sent Jesus to be born. This means that our role is to step back, consider what God has already done, and rest in the promises which God gives to all. Instead of urgency lest we miss it, Jesus is inviting us to expect goodness that will surely come one day.

What does this look like for Jesus followers today? Invite all the attendees to turn their pieces of paper over and write how Jesus is inviting them to let God keep watch? What goodness ought you expect? Some examples of this could be:

• Those gathered at holiday meals can pray the Lord’s Prayer together despite strong disagreements.
• The congregation can begin a program to address food/rent insecurity for everyone.
• One person could send a holiday card to an estranged friend asking for another opportunity.
• Those who are sleepy can have a nap after church services.

Resting in Christ’s promises is also very personal, so participants may want to keep this part of the exercise private as well. In all of this, we do not accomplish what God has already done, for God has redeemed the world through Jesus. But we do experience glimpses of hope which make us expectant for the one, unknown day that God will make all things new, all things whole, and set everything right.

Closing Activity

If your space allows for it to be done safely, have adults burn their own pieces of paper and help minors burn theirs in the flame of the first Advent candle. If your space does not allow for this, have a responsible leader collect all the pieces of paper and make sure to tell everyone in attendance that they will be burned using the flame of the first Advent candle.

This can be done in an outdoors firepit, a fireplace, etc. after the gathering. If this is done outside of the gathering, it is important that the individual(s) tasked with the burning maintain confidentiality and not read what people have written. It is also important that the flame of the first Advent candle is somehow used in the burning.

In whatever way you choose to complete the closing activity, remind everyone that Jesus invites them to rest in God’s promises and expect something good to come.

Ending Prayer

You may all choose to pray together the late Roman Catholic Bishop Ken Untener’s prayer. It is a long prayer so you can choose to pray only a section, have it printed so multiple voices can read, or simply make a copy for everyone to take home.

The Romero Prayer

“It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No sermon or statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about. We plant seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything. There is liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.”

Bio

David Larson-Martínez is a consecrated deacon of the Lutheran Diaconal Association and an ordained pastor serving at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN. A graduate of Valparaiso University and Luther Seminary, he grew up in Cuernavaca, Mexico and now happily calls the Twin Cities home. David treasures his large cross-border family—his mom, five siblings, and a growing crew of nieces and nephews who live in both Mexico and the United States.

Prepare

This lesson from Luke comes just as Jesus turns toward the cross. The dark times he alludes to are not in some far-off future. His arrest and crucifixion are only days away.

These verses are not a springboard to the future, a map to God’s plan for this world, nor a dire warning to God’s people of what lies ahead. They point not to some future time but to our present fears, addressing the deepest parts of our doubt, grief, anger, guilt, and pain, whether we believe them deserved or not, whether the source lies within us, or with someone who has hurt us deeply.

Jesus’ words, and more importantly, Jesus’ promise, are about today, this day.

Opening Exercise:

What is it you worry or wonder about the most? Your deepest fear, the recurring doubt, or insecurity you hold?

Don’t share this with the group but be mindful of it as you listen to Jesus speak to his disciples about dark times ahead. He gives them only one instruction, listen for it.

Text Read Aloud

Luke 21:5-19

My Greatest Fear… Realized

The passage begins with the disciples admiring the beauty of the Jerusalem temple, recently renovated by Herod the Great. It was a structure many saw as a testimony to God’s power and providence, and, as public works often are, a reminder of Herod’s own power and ambition. Things quickly turn grim as Jesus speaks of the temple’s destruction and dark times ahead for not only the world, but for those who follow Jesus’ teaching. He tells them they will endure great suffering.

The disciples are quick to ask when this will happen and what signs to watch for. However, the signs Jesus speaks of are vague and imprecise enough to fit all times throughout history. There has never been a time when the world was free of war and insurrection. The darker truth is that there is never time when those who follow Jesus have lived problem free lives.

Jesus never hid the high cost of discipleship. Persecution need not come from those lording over us. Fear, doubt, and insecurity relentlessly pursue us in life. As to suffering and betrayal, those too, wait in ambush throughout our life’s journey. Not in the abstract but in our families, our relationships, our lives.

Following these grim and dire words, Jesus surprises once again with a prescription and a promise. The odd prescription, “…make up your minds not to prepare…” is more of a non-prescription. In essence, “Don’t worry about it.” And the promise is Jesus himself, “…I will give you words, I will give you wisdom… not a hair of your head will perish.”

Reflective Questions

• What kinds of hardship or warning does Jesus say his followers will face, and what does he promise them in return?
• Why do you think Jesus tells his followers to “make up your minds not to prepare your defense”? What do you think that means?
• Jesus gives what sounds like an impossible task, not to worry when our hopes and dreams lie shattered and crushed. Who comes to mind as someone who has exhibited faith, trust, or hope in the face of great adversity?
• What person or place can you turn to today with the troubled parts of your life?

Closing Activity

Two Options:

1. Think back to when you were very young, before school or in early childhood. What was something you were afraid of then that turned out not to be true or not worth fearing? Share that story with someone else or the group.

Then, reflect together:

• • What helped you realize you didn’t have to be afraid?
  • How might that experience help you trust God now when fears or worries rise up?

2. Give each person a small stone (to represent the temple’s destruction). Ask them to hold it while reflecting silently on something in life that has felt like it’s “falling down” or uncertain. Then, read aloud Jesus’ promise: “Not a hair of your head will perish.”
   Invite participants to set down their stone in front of a cross or candle as a symbol of placing their fear and trust in Christ.

Final Prayer

God,

Help us trust your promises when they don’t feel real in our lives. Thank you for those people in our lives whose wisdom and faith strengthens ours. Open our ears and our hearts so we can reach out with words and actions encouraging others when they feel helpless and hopeless. Amen

Bio

Pastor Bob Chell’s Dad took him to watch fire fighters train on an abandoned house when he was very young. He thought—and worried—for years that fire fighters drove around in their trucks looking for houses that were in disrepair burn down. Now retired, he pastored congregations, campus ministries and a prison congregation.