Good morning. I would like to share scripture that is at the heart of what we celebrate the Sunday before Easter, the Sunday of His Triumphal Entry. The context of this passage is Jesus instructing His disciples to go ahead of Him and to find a young Donkey upon which He will make His entry into Jerusalem. Not as a conquering king/hero in the way the people expected, but as God’s humble Messiah. To be sure, He is God’s conquering king and hero, but it will be a different kind of victory than what the Jews had decided upon. We read in Luke 19:36-40: And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Those who had been following Jesus, and please note that this is taking place before He would enter the city, began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. How could they not? They had seen His miracles. They had heard Him preach and teach. They had witnessed the power of God obviously on display through Him. Of course they would rejoice and cry out that He is indeed the Messiah of God, how could they not?
But then you have the voice of the Pharisees. They tell Jesus to make His followers be quiet. How dare they make such a proclamation about Jesus! How dare they proclaim Him to be the Messiah of God!
But Jesus’ answer says it all: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Creation itself would proclaim God’s truth if people failed to do so. The coming of God’s Messiah is that great an event. It cannot be ignored and must be celebrated. Jesus isn’t suggesting that the rocks and pebbles around them would suddenly gain vocal chords and speak. Jesus is saying that the power of the Messiah’s coming is overwhelming.
My suggestion for today’s thought is that right now, in heart of the Christmas season, the “rocks” are crying out. They don’t want to. In fact, they try their hardest to cover the message over, to hide the truth away, to refocus the celebration that must proclaim the Messiah. The “rocks” have invented entire stories of Santa and elves, of Grinches and reindeer, of snowmen and Scrooges, of nutcrackers and glittering presents. The “rocks” have filled this time of year with music written for the young, the old, and everyone in between. Much of it is well written and quite nice, but it says nothing of the Messiah who has come to us.
And yet, for all of the efforts of the “rocks,” they cannot kill the message of Christ. In fact, as their efforts bring people to a place of joy and peace in their hearts, the Messiah and His message is shared.
In this Christmas season, those of us who are the disciples of Jesus, the Messiah of God, continue to cry out. His disciples continue to sing and to shout the good news that the Messiah has come! His disciples share that good news in many wonderful, traditional, and sometimes non-traditional ways. For unto us a Child is born. Unto us a Son is given. His name is Immanuel: God is with us. Celebrate!
The “rocks,” by that I mean every secular and non-Christian voice and effort, may have their own agenda, but God will not be defeated. The cause of celebration is too great! The wonder of God being born into humanity is too amazing to ignore.
Whether they want to or not, a great many of those non-Christian “rocks” who surround the disciples of Jesus share words of love, of joy, of peace, of good-will, of giving and forgiving. Christmas has drawn them in, and the beauty of the season is too great to be ignored or defeated. Even if they try to deem it “the Holidays,” people know. At the heart of it is the celebration of a baby in a manger, Immanuel.
So, this Christmas season as the world around us frantically pushes forward all kinds of characters, events, music, and fun….it is OK. The “rocks” may not know that they are a part of the celebration of God’s Messiah, but whenever love, joy, peace, good-will, giving and forgiving are the order of the day, you know that the love of God and the presence of Jesus is truly the cause.
Go ahead you “rocks,” sing and shout! Immanuel! God is with us!
Vern