A Reason to Praise

What a time to start a blog on living in a better relationship with God:  Passion Week, Palm Sunday, Passover! All of the fullness of God's love is demonstrated in this one week. But this blog is about walking with God and in order to walk with God, we first have to recognize who God is. Seriously, how can you walk with someone that you don't know and wouldn't recognize if you saw them. Palm Sunday was designed by God to help us recognize who God is.

First, let us look at what happened on Palm Sunday. The time is the last week of the physical life and earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, the week of the observation of the Jewish festival called Passover. The setting includes the city of Jerusalem, the town of Bethany and the highway between them. Passover was, and still is, a celebration held every year on the first full moon after the spring equinox. Even though the religious leaders in Jerusalem had already demonstrated their desire to have Jesus executed, Jesus had determined to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem. As Passover approached Jesus had yet to make an appearance in Jerusalem but on the first day of the Passover week things suddenly changed. On Sunday morning (remember, the Jews celebrated Saturday as their day of rest or Sabbath so Sunday was not just the first day of the week, it was the first day of the work week, too) Jesus instructed his 12 closest followers (or disciples) to go into town and they would find a colt tied up like it was waiting. They were to untie it and bring it to Jesus. He told them that if anyone asked them what they were doing, they were to say that the Master had need of it. That was all, no fancy explanations or excuses, just "the Master needs it." And that's what happened. The owner came out and saw them and asked what they were doing. The disciples told him what Jesus had said to tell him and that was that, no arguments, no if ands or buts, they brought the colt to Jesus. Then some of the disciples laid their cloaks on the back of the colt for Jesus to use as a humble saddle while the rest of the disciples laid their cloaks on the road to symbolize what we would call a red carpet. As Jesus drew closer and closer to Jerusalem more and more people began to crowd the road way to see the teacher and healer and miracle worker who was coming to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover with them. They recognized because of the miraculous things Jesus had done (healing the sick, making the lame walk, causing the blind to see, and literally raising the dead) that he was not just an ordinary man so they began to shout out, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord" and "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Now, in the crowds you could also find the religious leaders called Pharisees (now the Pharisees were a group who believed it was absolutely necessary to obey every law, the laws of God and the laws of man, no matter how trivial that law was) and when they saw how this huge crowd was praising Jesus they were absolutely outraged. They pushed their way over to where Jesus sat riding the colt and hollered up at Him (Ok, a Southern phrase slips in a little) and said, "Teacher rebuke your followers!" (A Southern translation would be more like, "Teacher, tell this mangy mob to shut-up!) Jesus didn't get upset or worried, He didn't even bat an eye. He looked that old boy straight in the eye and said "I tell you, if these people were silent, the very stones would cry out"  Luke 19:40 ESV(emphasis mine).

We live in a world where we watch the economy change almost every day and we don't miss a beat. We watch technology change over night and we follow what's happening like our next breath depended on it. And yet we, the most complex part of creation, the crowning glory of God’s handiwork, go through our lives never recognizing the work that God is doing around us every day and never acknowledging His son, Jesus, who came into our world to show us God up close, and suffered to make a way for us to have a relationship with the living God, not just for now, but forever. And even though we are as blind as rocks, Jesus said that even creation, even the rocks recognized who He is and they long to praise Him. Years ago a lady by the name of Dottie Rambo wrote a children's song called: "Ain't Gonna Let the Rocks Cry Out for Me". The words were, Ain't gonna let the rocks cry out for me, Ain't gonna let the rocks cry out for me. I'll lift my hands and shout so the rocks will not cry out, and I ain't gonna let the rocks cry out for me." This weekend, as we remember that Sunday long ago when Jesus rode into Jerusalem being praised as a king, take just a moment of your time and look around to see if you can see that King and lift your voice to praise Him. Then listen real close, you might just hear the rocks praising Him, too.