Luke 19:29-40--March 24, 2013 (Palm Sunday) THE STONES WILL CRY OUT! A number of years ago, my wife Penny and I traveled by automobile down the east coast of these United States, via Route One. We call it our Route One trip, even though we did stray off Route One a few times to get to certain places. We drove from Portland, down as far south as Virginia. It was a wonderful trip--in fact, it was probably the best trip I ve ever been on, and I d love to do it again some day. We stopped during that journey to explore places like Salem, Massachusetts, where the infamous witch trials took place, and Philadelphia where we got to see the Liberty Bell and took a tour of Independence Hall where our nation s Declaration of Independence was signed. We walked the hallowed battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and visited Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. On that same trip, Penny and I took a day to wander around Washington, D.C. That was my first visit to our nation s capitol. We saw the Lincoln Memorial, got to take a tour inside the White House, walked through Arlington National Cemetery and saw JFK s grave and the Eternal Flame, and explored a number of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution. Each one of those famous sights, in their own way, revealed a fascinating part of our nation s colorful history. But for me, probably the most emotionally moving experience I had during my time in Washington, D.C. was visiting the Vietnam Memorial. I ve
2 been personally touched by the Vietnam War in that my Uncle Mike--who is also my Godfather--served in the Air Force during that conflict. I remember writing letters to him while he was over there; and I also remember worrying if he would make it back safely (He did, thank God). And I remember my grandparents throwing a family party when their son Michael returned home safe and sound. Many years later, when I visited the Vietnam Memorial, many memories of that time that had been stored way in the back of my brain came back to me. If you ve never been to the Vietnam Memorial, it s very hard to describe how powerfully it affects you. The dark marble stone is HUGE--long, superbly polished and very beautiful. Over fifty thousand names--the names of all the souls who died or were listed as missing in action during that Southeast Asian conflict--are engraved on the memorial. For me, those engraved names--names you can reach out and touch, or make a rubbing of on a piece of paper--made each of those American serviceman who died or went missing in action in Vietnam real to me. I felt as though I was in their presence, as though they were standing there beside me. The honor and gratitude our nation expresses to Vietnam veterans through that memorial VIRTUALLY SHOUTS AT YOU from the marble stone of that powerful memorial. I thought of that experience when I read Luke s story of Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. Our Lord also talked about stones that shout. I tell you truly, Jesus said, in response to the religious authorities who demanded that he make the adoring crowd be quiet, if these [spectators] were silent, THE STONES THEMSELVES WOULD SHOUT OUT.
3 Those words of Jesus underscore the importance of the Palm Sunday story. It s a story of passion and pain, and of turmoil and tension. But most importantly, the story of Palm Sunday is one that ultimately ends in glorious triumph--which makes it a story that needs to be told. Palm Sunday proclaims a God who moves and acts in history; a God who will ultimately bring down the rulers and powers-that-be here on earth that dominate over the weak and the powerless and establish a heavenly realm: a God who acted through Jesus Christ to bring about our salvation and the salvation of all humanity. The Pharisees rejected and put down the reality of God in their midst in the person of Jesus Christ. They tried to silence the proclamation of the Good News of God s grace which Jesus wanted to share with a hurting world. That s because they were a part of and were collaborators with the system of domination that was in place in Palestine at that time. Those Pharisees were some of the ones that were going to ultimately be overthrown and their power taken away, when God s Kingdom came in all its fullness. Terrified by that prospect, they told Jesus, in effect, to shut up about it. But Jesus made it absolutely clear that the proclamation of the Good News of the coming of God s realm of love, grace and salvation couldn t and wouldn t be quieted. The urgency of the Gospel message is still felt by us today as we remember Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Awaiting him was the tragic destiny of being arrested, unjustly convicted, and ultimately nailed to a criminal s cross--an innocent man who was put to death because of the threat he posed to the people in power. But on the other side of that bloody, murderous cross was a great victory that God brought forth: the ultimate and final defeat of sin and death. Because of the cross, we no longer need to fear the grave or the powers of evil in the world, because Jesus has conquered them on our behalf.
4 And that, my friends, is a message that simply can t or won't be silenced. Oh, sure, it can be muffled by the noise and distractions of the world. We can turn a deaf ear to it. We can forget it soon after we hear it. We can even dismiss it outright as being foolish, insane, or no more real or relevant to us than a fairy tale. But EVEN THEN, even with our ears blocked, our minds closed and our heads turned away, God will still, in one determined and surprising way after another, get out the message of salvation and Eternal Life, and the inevitable coming of God s reign of justice and peace through Jesus Christ, to a world that desperately needs to hear that Good News. As followers of Jesus, we get to be instruments, mouthpieces and witnesses to that awesome message. But even if we choose to remain silent, Jesus tells us the stones themselves will shout the Good News--which is just God s way of saying that NOTHING can or will stop that Gospel message from getting out into the world. God s Holy Spirit will make sure of that. So, whether you and I say something or not, the news of God s victory and the ultimate coming of God s Kingdom is going to be proclaimed. Of course, that doesn t mean we re off the hook. God doesn t want us to remain as silent as stones. As followers of Christ, we re to share the Good News with others--which actually is an exciting thing! But if we should, for some reason or another, bow out of our responsibility or shirk our duty, God will still get the message out. One way or another, the proclamation of God s coming realm and the announcement that Jesus is Lord will be made known on earth, even if God has to give the stones themselves mouths and tongues to shout out the message with! So, what do I mean by the stones themselves shouting the Gospel message? Let me give you a few examples.
5 When we stand at the grave of a loved one, grieving our loss, the stones shout out the message that 2000 years ago ONE GRAVE WAS FOUND EMPTY, its previous occupant raised from the dead, and now sits at God s right hand. Therefore, life will come once more to the person we ve said goodbye to, and we will see them again. As we cradle a newborn baby in our arms and experience the awesomeness of new life, even the stones shout praise to the God who creates human beings and all living things. As we encounter a poor, homeless person walking down the street, or standing on a concrete island in the middle of a road, holding a sign and asking for help; or when we see a person who is hungry and without food coming into our church s food pantry, looking for something to eat, even the stones cry out for loving compassion and mercy that we might offer some assistance and share some of what we have with that individual. As we read disturbing headlines in the newspaper or see them on TV or the Internet--news accounts of school shootings and suicide bombings, war casualties and terrorist acts and domestic abuse (and on and on I could go), the very stones proclaim the hope of God s everlasting love and God s promise that one day--and God speed the coming of that day--god s realm of justice and peace will come into full fruition, and such terrible and disturbing headlines will finally be a thing of the past. Even when we gather in these pews, with our hidden sorrows and our secret despair, the stones cry out that in Jesus Christ there is comfort and healing for us, as well as for the whole broken and struggling world. My dear friends, this morning we begin the procession to Golgotha, the place of skulls. Our attention will soon be fixed on the Via de la Rosa, the Way of sorrow; and on a crown of thorns, a back bloodied by whipping, and hands
6 pierced by nails. Today s shouts of Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! will soon turn to screams of Crucify him! The waving palm branches and songs of praise will change to fists shaken in anger and shouts of condemnation. Many of the people who adored Jesus will, in the end, turn against him. And death will take away the man who came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. But even so, the Good News Jesus came to make known will not be snuffed out. God won t allow it to be silenced, even by the grave. And if WE remain quiet, then the very stones themselves will shout the Gospel message for all who have ears to hear. And as the stones proclaim the Good News of God s wondrous and amazing act of salvation, we who live on this side of history and the cross are reminded that one stone in particular was rolled back. A grave that was once occupied was discovered to be empty, heralding the inevitable emptying of the graves of every believer in Jesus as Lord. And the joyous good news of Eternal Life, which the resurrected Christ has made available to all people, will be proclaimed to the four corners of the world. So, let s not be silent. As we enter Holy Week, this isn t the time to keep our mouths closed. Especially at this sacred time in the life of the Christian church, God s Good News of salvation and eternal life in Jesus Christ is intended to be shared with anyone and everyone who is within hearing range of us. On this Palm Sunday, may we join together in welcoming Jesus into our midst through our words of praise and our deeds of love: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory to God in the highest! And may the stones themselves shout with us! AMEN.