"...the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:37-40)
This is a strange thing for Jesus to say with such conviction. What does it mean? As I meditate on it, I see two things and a question:
Christ is glorious and it is fitting to praise him. His ministry and miracles. His mercy. His power. His love. For all of this and so much more, Christ is worthy of our praise. He is our Messiah and Lord and the loudest praise is his right and glory.
Christ will be praised. Regardless of whether we do a good job of giving Christ glory or not, he will be glorified. It is as if all of creation is longing to speak out in praise of their creator and king, to verbally shout what it silently says each day. While this does take some of the responsibility off of us, it still leads to the question:
How can I best magnify my king today?
Did you paint that stone? It's lovely - and such a great idea (sort of like painting easter eggs, only a bit more permanent!)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm reminded of this great line in a recent Jars of Clay song (The Shelter): "If our hearts are turned to stone, there is hope the rocks will cry out." A bit of a twist on the words, but a true and productive twist, I think. :)
Haha it is an easter egg! I blew out the insides so it will last for as long as I can refrain from breaking it.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great Jars of Clay line!
Hahahah. That's hilarious. I thought it looked remarkably egg-shaped for a rock. I guess I just assumed it was a rock (although, would you have really written "the eggs will cry out!"?).
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful egg.