If the Stones Could Shout: Palm Sunday Peace

Oh, God, in a world that keeps reaching for the war horse, raise up those who will choose the donkey. And in a world that mistakes power for strength, raise up those who know that the most subversive act is to lay down a weapon and extend a hand. Give wisdom to leaders, give courage to peacemakers, give comfort to the bereaved, and hasten the day when your peace covers the earth as the waters cover the seas. [00:35:26] (38 seconds)  #ChooseDonkeyNotWar

And I want to suggest that there's one word to summarize what these stones would say, these stones that represent your burdens, your grief, your troubles. One word that these stones would say would be this, peace. Stones would say, peace. You've laid me down and in the place of that stone, now you can have the peace that passes understanding, and I don't think it will be a whisper. No. Jesus said the stones would shout, the stones would say, peace, claim it, it can be yours. [00:51:36] (45 seconds)  #StonesSayPeace

Perhaps you've brought a stone, you carried it with you, you laid it down, and now the invitation is to listen. To listen to what the stone is saying to you and what is the stone saying? Peace. What is the stone saying? Peace. What is the stone saying? It can be yours. So Jesus riding into Jerusalem ushering in a kingdom not of war but of peace. Peace is at the heart of this other way, this kingdom of God, and this is what your stone means to you now. Peace be yours. [00:55:04] (52 seconds)  #PeaceIsYours

But instead of removing our pain, we discover that God is simply our companion through it. And instead of elimination of the barriers, we just know that we are not alone. See, the crowd wanted a messiah, but they wanted a messiah who would make things right by force, by might, and Jesus came to make everything right by love. And love, it turns out is the longer road, but is really the only road that leads anywhere worth going. This is the other way. [00:49:17] (47 seconds)  #LoveIsTheWay

And God, we cannot pray on this Palm Sunday without lifting our eyes beyond these walls to a world that desperately needs your peace. We pray for the nations at war, for the fathers and the mothers, the sons, and the daughters grieving unbearable loss. We pray for the soldiers on both sides of the lines, the cities reduced to rubble, the lives interrupted and ended and forever changed. Oh, God, in a world that keeps reaching for the war horse, raise up those who will choose the donkey. [00:34:55] (40 seconds)  #PrayForPeaceNow

The ashes are lighter as he spread them along the way, his pack so much lighter than it was, he's found finally peace. Not that his grief is gone, no, his son won't come back. Not that his burden is gone forever, but that he's replaced all of that grief with the peace that passes understanding. It's a peace we can't comprehend, and he finds himself more alive than he's ever been, and this has been our Lenten pilgrimage if we've truly walked it. Perhaps you've brought a stone, you carried it with you, you laid it down, and now the invitation is to listen. [00:54:30] (43 seconds)  #PeaceAfterGrief

Why are the Pharisees worried about them saying, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord? Who was the king at that time? Caesar was king, and what happened if somebody else claimed kingship? You don't go around calling yourself a king in the Holy Roman Empire, you just don't do it. You'll find yourself on a fast track to execution, and so the Pharisees not wanting to cause any trouble. Right? Let's keep the peace. Tell your disciples to shut up. To which Jesus responded, if these were silent, then the stones would shout. [00:43:10] (52 seconds)  #StonesWillShout

And Shalom has has a broader definition than I feel like our English word peace. It it means wholeness. It means a flourishing. It means a kind of making all things right, and this is what Jesus wrote into Jerusalem to announce not a military victory, not a political, revolution. The kingdom of God is not power over others. The kingdom of God means peace for others. This is the other way. [00:52:37] (37 seconds)  #ShalomMeansWholeness