Let the Stones Shout

“If only these walls could talk” is something we might say when we find ourselves in a historical or sacred place. Or maybe a place of scandal. The saying expresses a desire to more deeply know what happened and what people felt and did. We wonder what stories those walls would tell. Would they speak of people’s pains and joys? Would they give us insight? Would they titillate our imaginations?

I always think of this saying when I read the account of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt, which is the story Christians today remember on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. As Jesus entered into the city, a crowd of his followers gathered and began to shout and create a commotion. Some of the religious leaders among the bystanders, called to Jesus, telling him to quiet the people down. They didn’t want to attract the attention of their Roman occupiers. This all occurred on the day that the Roman Governor would have entered Jerusalem on the opposite side of the city, leading a military parade as a sign of power, to make sure there was no trouble as Jewish pilgrims gathered for Passover. So Jesus’ entry into the city was really a political protest, mocking the power of Rome. The Jewish leaderswere rightly concerned about how the Romans might react. But, according to Luke, Jesus responds to those concerns bysaying, “if [the people] were to keep silent, the very stones would cry out!”

Photo by Michael Loftus on Unsplash

What would the stones on that road speak about? Would they speak of the Jewish people, their pains and worries, as well as their joys and blessings? Would they tell of the Roman occupiers and stories of violence and oppression? When Jesus said the stones would shout out, he was saying that what was happening couldn’t be stopped. Injustice and oppression could not hide. The abuse of God’s people by the very governments who are supposed to be caring for them is an affront to God. If the people don’t cry out, then the stones will. Creation itself will witness to the injustice. Truth will be told, no matter what.

Today, the Republican administration in the White House acts like an occupying force, attacking basic human rights and bullying people into silence as it deports legal residents without due process, tries to erase trans people, gay people, and people of color, cuts vital human services, and builds an authoritarian government to make the rich richer at the expense of the poor. This is power that sees people and Creation not as gifts from God to be treasured but resources to be exploited for immediate profit. And the stones cry out. The earth shouts of its abuse at the hands of greedy and careless humans: the devastation of wars, earthquakes from fracking, climate change, increased forest fires, extreme flooding and drought, animal species dying and threatened with extinction, and on and on. The earth shouts out for help, for justice, for healing and liberation. Let the stones shout! The story of injustice must be told.

If we ignore pain and evil, it festers and destroys us. We’re living that today. We ignored and denied our problems for too long and now they have taken over. Will we remain silent while the stones cry out? Or will we add our voices as Jesus did? Of course, we know that Jesus’ joyous political protest results in his death by the end of the week. Thepowers of this world that gain from greed and oppression don't want to hear about God's healing power of love. Jesus was killed for standing up to injustice. He was killed for proposing there might be a better way. He dared to dream of a more just world where we might live fully and abundantly together.

Such a world is possible. As Jesus entered Jerusalem he not only witnessed to the plight of the people at the hands of a power hungry government but he also witnessed to the hope found in God. The crowd shouted of peace in heaven and glory in the highest, words that remind us of the angels singing in celebration at Jesus’ birth. Words that announce the birth of something new, a new way of life coming to replace the old. The stones don’t just shout about pain and death. Creation also shouts of the glory of God, telling of the sacredness of life in the sunset, in the beauty of mountains, in the peace we feel when we walk barefoot in grass or on the beach, or when we touch a tree or smell a flower. Creation tells us that God is the real power at the foundation of life, not the billionaires and the armies of the world. Let the stones shout! The story of God’s love, healing, and justice must also be told.

There is a better way. There is an alternative to oppressors like the Roman empire or the fascists and nationalists that seek power in our nation today. An alternative to the wealthy and the corporations driven only by their quarterly profits. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem was an invitation to stand up to injustice in our time, to join the procession and lift our voices in speaking truth to power, declaring God’s Way of Love. To trust in the power of God's healing and join God’s parade with joy and shouting. To shout of God's love as a response to our pain, no matter the consequences. Let the stones shout! And let us also sing out and tell the story of God's healing love, so that in the darkness of the world, we might bring God's light.