The Stones Would Cry Out - November 26, 2010

Daily Lectionary Readings for November 26, 2010

Psalm 54
Zechariah14:1-11
Romans 15:7-13
Luke 19:28-40

Luke 19:28-40
"'He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."(v.40)
Luke's Palm Sunday account.  Reading the Palm Sunday account always always brings to mind walking the Palm Sunday route when visiting Jerusalem.  You wind your way down from the Mount of Olives down into the Kidron Valley and find yourself looking up towards the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem.  At the foot of the hill is the Church of All Nations where the Garden of Gethsemane is located.  On that hillside is where many Jewish pilgrims would camp during the time of the Passover festival.  It's not difficult to imagine the grandeur of the Temple sitting up on the mountain - the crown jewel of Jerusalem, the city on a hill and to picture Jesus, the peasant preacher from the Galilee being greeted as King and conquering hero by a people starving for a liberator warrior.  And as you walk down the hill and look to the left you see centuries worth of Jewish graves, many with stones stacked on them, the Jewish way of demonstrating respect when one visits a grave.  And with all of those stones stacked on all of those graves one hears Jesus' words (above) echoing across the centuries from the pages of scripture, uttered in response to the Pharisees asking him to silence his followers.  The dead would bear witness - the stones would cry out.