We Sang Our Glad Hosannas

Representative Text

We sang our glad Hosannas,
and waved our branches high,
but some were silent, frowning,
as Jesus rode on by.
They sought a royal Savior
but did not understand
a king could rule by loving,
instead of by command.

We heard an angry Jesus
in Temple courts declare,
"Be gone, you moneychangers!
This is a house of prayer."
Though many came for healing
and stayed to hear his word,
still others, hostile, plotted
and thus his death assured.

We served him at the table
with wine, unleavened bread.
"The one who will betray me
now eats with me," he said.
His friends would not believe him,
but one by one that night,
as soldiers came to take him,
they scurried out of sight.

We saw a suffering Jesus
alone, without a friend,
and heard the voices shouting
abuse until the end.
We wept as we stood watching
Love's light grow dim and die,
and cried, "Why did this happen?
God, tell us, tell us why!"

We buried him, not knowing
that on the third day morn
a risen Christ would greet us
and hope would be reborn.
Though evil had extinguished
the life that burned so bright,
the love of God would triumph
like dawn that ends the night.

Author: Mary Nelson Keithahn

Mary Nelson Keithahn, a retired United Church of Christ ordained pastor and church educator, has been a curriculum writer-editor, journalist, and lyricist for musical dramas and anthems. She still works out of her home in Rapid City, South Dakota, as a free-lance writer. In 2016 she published Elfie: Adventures on the Midwest Frontier, a chapter book for children, and Embracing the Light: Reflectioins on God’s Holy Word, a collection of meditations for individual or small group use. Augsburg Fortress also published Sing the Stories of God’s NEW People, the third in a trilogy of Bible story-based collections of songs for young children, written with her longtime colleague, John D. Horman. The two have written over a hundred hymns togethe… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: We sang our glad hosannas
Title: We Sang Our Glad Hosannas
Author: Mary Nelson Keithahn (1997)
Meter: 7.6.7.6 D
Source: Time Now to Gather
Language: English
Notes: Hymn appears in The Faith We Sing (Abingdon 2000) and Sing the Faith (Geneva Press, 2003). It is also in Faith Songs (Abingdon, 2003). An anthem setting is available from Abingdon, #024099.

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Sing the Faith #2111

The Faith We Sing #2111

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Time Now to Gather #7

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