A Palm Sunday laugh - Or is it a noun or a verb?

Palm Sunday is one of the days in the liturgical year where we encounter a word that is both a noun and a verb, depending on how it is pronounced: prophesy. And every year the congregation mispronounces it, must to the pain of my ears and to the weakening of the proclamation of the Passion of the Lord.

After Jesus is mocked, spit upon, and slapped before the Sanhedrin, they ridiculed him further, saying, "Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you" (Matthew 26:68)?

When the Passion of the Lord is proclaimed in parts, the congregation is given this line and rather than pronouncing the word properly as a verb they pronounce it is a noun. Every. Single. Time. At least wherever I have been. This year, though, the word might actually be pronounced correctly.

As I sat down with the Pray Together published the Sunday Missal Service, I could not help but laugh when I noticed something I do not recall seeing in the past:

 

 

I do not expect it will work - old habits are hard to break - but it is certainly worth a try.