The movie series based on the book “The Hunger Games,” takes place in the fictional nation of Panem, which is a dystopian society, that uses coercion and manipulation to control the people.
Panem is made up of 12 districts, where the people live in miserable conditions and hunger, all controlled by a Capitol.
The premise is an annual event known as “The Hunger Games,” where children are pitted against each other to fight in order to win a supply of food for the year.
“The Hunger Games” is really a sort of sick entertainment for the people of the Capitol.
It makes you think of the Gladiators that battled in the Roman Empire.
In fact, one the parallels between Panem and the Roman Empire is obvious. Panem is taken from the Roman Empire’s phrase “panem et circenses,” or “bread and circuses/games.”
This was the plan that the Roman Empire used to control the people through periodically giving them bread and providing entertainment as a diversion.
The gladiator matches would keep the people distracted enough to not really deal with the issues of corruption, oppression, and despair.
So this sick ritual of the Hunger Games became normal, even celebrated and cheered, among the people of the Capitol.
What begins to unfold with the main characters in The Hunger Games, is that they start to see through the manipulation of their oppressors.
Clearly, as they struggle to survive, they hunger for food (panem).
But their hunger is deeper than that.
They had been so oppressed and held captive by a corrupt regime, who were denied their basic rights and freedoms.
They wanted to have a voice, to contribute, to be recognized.
They were yearning for freedom.
Certainly, the people of Jesus’ day, under Roman rule, had this deep inner longing, this deep hunger inside.
This is the longing we hear on Palm Sunday. And this longing is encapsulated in the word: Hosanna!
What does it mean though when we say “Hosanna!”?
In Hebrew, Hosanna literally means “Save us, we pray.” Save us, deliver now, we pray you, we beseech you!
In verse 25 of our Psalm (118) is translated “Lord, save us!” from the original Hebrew word “Hosanna.” So, the origin of the word Hosanna was a prayer for salvation; it was a plea for deliverance.
So, the Hosannas that were uttered from the lips of the people processing with their palms came from that deep place--that hunger, that inner longing. Like the people of Panem, the people longed for salvation. Like peoples and nations throughout the world and throughout history. They longed to be free!
This was the cry of Hosanna. This was the cry of the people waving their palms. This has been the cry of people throughout time. This longing burns inside of us, until we can’t help but cry out: Hosanna! “Save us, we pray.” So, we join the procession, we join the protest, as Jesus enters Jerusalem with people throughout history, throughout the world, crying out “Hosanna!”
The liturgy for the Palm Procession in Spanish paints the picture of all the people throughout the world who join the cry of Hosanna, it says (in English):
“Hear, Lord, the cry of your people: the brokenhearted, the poor, the hurting, those abused by evil forces, the elderly, the peasants, those imprisoned for seeking justice, the forgotten in mental hospitals. All of them have come to sing to you: Hosanna.”
“Those who have lost their land, that you had given them by inheritance, those who cannot read, those who’ve received a terminal prognosis. All of them have come to sing to you: Hosanna.”
“The homeless, those who have lost their children or parents in natural disasters, wars, sicknesses or at the hands of an unjust economy, those who have lost hope: All of them have come to sing to you: Hosanna.”
And then the response: “Todos cantamos Hosanna. Todos esperamos en ti.” (English: “We all sing Hosanna. We all hope in you.”)
This response bonds the cry for salvation of all the peoples to our own (as one big procession of people): We all sing Hosanna. We all hope in you.
And as we cry out Hosanna and wave our palms, we look ahead, we squint our eyes, and then we see…we see him.
We see him… he’s riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. It is Jesus, whose very name means Savior.
Remember what the angel said to Mary: “And you shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Jesus, from the line of David, rides into Jerusalem [in majesty] as the new and great King, who is bringing a new kind of Kin-dom. The One who rules (not like the Kings they know that rule by violence, corruption, and manipulation) but who rules out of peace and truth.
Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem to satisfy our deepest longings of salvation.
He rides into Jerusalem to answer our Hosanna cries, as we cry out “Hosanna!” “Save us!” Jesus hears our cry.
Amen.
