Luke 19:28-40

04/05/09
Luke 19:28-40
Hudson UMC

Palm Sunday is a bittersweet day in the life of the church. On the one hand, it is a day when all kinds of people were out and giving praise to Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. On the other, it serves as a striking parallel to the crowds crying out, only a week later, “Crucify him!” On days like this, I sometimes wrestle with finding the appropriate emotions. Should I rejoice or should I grieve? Should I laugh or should I weep? Should I be glad because Christ seems like He is being accepted or should I mourn because the masses will reject Him in only a short time? You might not have this problem, but Palm Sunday is difficult for me.

I want to be brief this morning as there is much to do and less time to do it in. Though there are many things that we could focus on in this Palm Sunday narrative, I want to talk about the last thing that Jesus says here. The Pharisees were offended at the racket the people were making. They weren’t acting like their neighbors were, they were causing a scene. After all, only religious fanatics make that kind of noise about Jesus, right? The well-established, well-dressed, well-to-do, ordinary “church folks” just couldn’t imagine that people could really be excited to see Jesus, and yet, hundreds of people were so excited, they were shouting out and looking exactly like the kind of people that a lot of mainline churches make fun of.

So, the respectable people wanted Jesus, as the obvious ring-leader, to keep the noise down. “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” Jesus gives a very interesting answer. He doesn’t seem to be worked up about it. He doesn’t say, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I’ll take care of it.” He doesn’t apologize to the Pharisees, most of whom were probably a generation older than Him as they were the leaders at the time, but stands up to them in an almost rude way. “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

We might not get this at first, but Jesus has just made a very pointed remark. He has claimed that His arrival into Jerusalem, the home of God’s Temple, is such a big deal that all of creation, even the rocks on the ground, was celebrating. The implication is that the Pharisees, in spite of all their education and authority, have completely missed it. God was in their midst. The people knew it, and even if the people didn’t shout out in celebration, the rocks would have done it. If something this important and this obvious is happening, what does it say about those who miss it?

When God shows up in our midst, we cannot continue with “business as usual.” The fact of the matter is that nobody has a life that is so conformed to Christ that, when God shows up, it doesn’t get impacted. Those who had never been the most religious people immediately reacted to the presence of Christ. They got up, tore off branches from palm trees to wave them and place them before the Son of God. Those who were the most religious were simply annoyed. It is very easy for us to point our fingers at the Pharisees and condemn them, but we need to remember something. On a Sunday morning, where are the religious people of our culture? In church, or at home sleeping in? We must always be on our guard to make sure that we are not simply annoyed when God moves and changes lives, but that we too can shout “hosanna!” and rejoice with one another.

Jesus explained to the Pharisees that, if the people did not shout out to God on this important day, the stones would do it. One of the things that we always need to remember is that, even if it does not seem like God is speaking, His word is going out. It might not be from human voices, but God’s word is still permeating the universe. It is like Psalm 19 says. “The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day-to-day pours forth speech, and night-to-night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are their words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” The Lord is still reaching out to lost and broken humanity, even when that same humanity, even the ones who have been called to be faithful, refuse to participate in that outreach. On the one hand, I want to encourage you to know that, even if you miss something in the Scriptures, or you are sick on a Sunday morning and can’t hear a sermon, or if you just mess up and fail to be a witness when God calls you to be one, God has not been stopped from working because of your shortcoming.

On the other hand, I want to remind you that God is not the only one who has people speaking on His behalf. The devil is not without his own messengers. It is important to remember that evil is not simply subjective, it is not something that simply arises in the perception of individuals and can be removed if you just have enough counseling. Just as the love and power of God can permeate our bodies and souls in their entirety, the reason that we need it is because, if we are left to ourselves, evil tends to fill us. This does not mean that everyone who is not a mature believer is as bad as they can be; far from it. What it means is that our brokenness is entire. Every part of us is inherently sinful and in need of redemption. The good news is that God desires to redeem every part of us: our minds, our hearts, and our bodies.

The reason why I bring this up is because of this idea of the stones shouting out. One of the basic ideas of Christianity is that the God of the universe does not just ignore us and let us go about our business without any interaction with us. We believe that God does, and always has, entered into our world to engage with us and to have the kind of life-giving relationship with us that is salvation and eternal life. That means that God is at work in our very lives. Some of us might surround ourselves with people who love the Lord and have trained ourselves to keep our eyes open to see God at work and so we see it on a daily basis. However, most people, even within the church, have not done this. Many people only hear the name of the Lord lifted up in praise while they are in church. In fact, they might hear the name of Jesus Christ many times throughout the week, but in a way that is far from worshipful.

If God is in our midst and we do not shout out, we are promised that even the stones are bearing testimony to the goodness of God. We read in the book of Romans that all of creation is groaning, all around us. The problem is, we do not always notice it. What kind of noise does a rock make when it cries out? How loud is it when the heavens sing of the glory of God? If we have not trained our ears to hear it, we will probably miss it. If the stones had cried out, the Pharisees, who did not have ears to hear, might have still missed it.

Here is my point. Palm Sunday is a day to reflect on how we react to the things of God. When we think about Jesus, are we full of joy? Does our heart sing when we think about the tremendous price that was paid on our behalf on Good Friday and the joy that God would resurrect human beings? Do we want a king like Jesus? The people wanted a political king, they wanted someone who was going to make the kinds of laws they liked. As soon as they realized that this was not the kind of king that Jesus was, they had Him crucified. The Pharisees, of course, did not want any kind of king, but especially not a king over their hearts.

Are we listening to God? When we open our hymnals, do our hearts shout out “hosanna!” before we even sing the first note? When it is time to gather with the church, the faithful people of God, do we look forward to the event? Do we know and understand that our God, in redeeming us, wants to redeem all of us, including what we do with our time on Saturday night as well as on Sunday morning? Or do we listen, not to the rocks and the skies, who sing of God’s glory, but to the words of our enemy, who lies to us, who teaches us to be selfish, and who wants nothing for us but our destruction? Nobody can answer that question for anyone but themselves.

I encourage you, as this service dedicated to God continues, to give it some thought. You might be surprised. By that I mean you might be surprised that there are still many areas of your life that have not yet been surrendered to Christ’s lordship. However, you might very well be surprised that God has brought you farther than you thought. I am often amazed when I come before God to realize that I seldom have a good idea of how faithful I am being at any time in my life. We are not always the best judge of our own faithfulness, but God will guide us through the Holy Spirit.

We are going to celebrate Holy Communion in a little bit. A time of self-reflection is very appropriate before you partake of it. If you have been encouraged by the Spirit, rejoice as you take the bread and cup, the body and blood. If you do not feel worthy to partake, do not let that keep you away. God does not require us to be perfect to take the sacrament. If He did, none of us could ever participate. He requires us only to want to receive what He has to give us. If you can think of nothing else to say to God, simply say, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” He will hear that prayer and answer.

Just as among the people long ago, when Jesus rode in on a donkey, God has arrived among His people this morning. Though we might feel like Pharisees from time to time, or maybe all the time, let us shout hosanna to the Lord, for He is among us nonetheless and wants to bless us and redeem us from this evil age. Let us come before God with boldness, casting our cares on the one who cares for us. Let us pray.

AMEN