Oh, Etymology!

I named this blog "Forge Hosannahs" from the line in Maura Eichner's poem that reads:

Forge / hosannahs from doubt...

That line caught my attention since the first time I read the poem. I always thought that it was awesome, to make praise out of your doubt, to turn the things that make you pull away from Jesus into things that draw you closer to Him. It's a very difficult thing in practice, but I liked the theory, and thought that I would really dedicate myself to that task here on this blog.

But then, I found out what "hosannah" actually means. It's a Hebrew rooted word, and it translates to "deliver us" or "save us." That is completely different than what I thought. The way I'd heard the word used was in upbeat and exalting songs: "Sing hosannah, sing hosannah, sing hosannah to the King of Kings!" To me, this roughly translated to: "Sing praise, sing praise, sing praise to the King of Kings!" Turns out I was all wrong.

No wonder the "Triumphal Entry" was a political event. Israeli citizens lining the pathway to the capital city, lying down the palm branch (Israel's national symbol, the equivalent of a national flag in the modern world), crying out "Son of David" (meaning, "you with the rightful claim to our throne"), and asking him to "deliver them." The people blessing Jesus as he came into the city were essentially saying, "We recognize you as King and want you to deliver us from the Romans." No wonder Jesus weeps for Jerusalem after this. The people don't understand.

But that is not the word "hosannah"'s fault. With this new meaning though, I see "forge hosannahs from doubt" in a whole new way. It's not so much turn your doubt into praise, it's turn your doubt into a request.

In this way, it reminds me of the story in Mark 9, where a man exclaims to Jesus, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" To forge hosannahs from doubt is to become active with your doubts, instead of sitting in them. Instead of letting them bog me down and worry me, I'll extend my doubt into Jesus hands. Forging hosannahs is a way of saying I believe in Christ, but I don't know what to do with this situation. So help me.

And where do I form the most doubts? In my everyday routine, when I don't recognize God at work. So here on my blog, I'll continue to look for the Spirit working through everyday things, be it music, juice, babies or words.

I'll continue to cry, "Hosannah! I do believe; but help me overcome my unbelief!"