I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out

 

 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as they went, many spread their clothes on the road.  

 

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:

"'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

 

- Luke 19:28-40 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because His disciples thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'  And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

 

  When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?"  And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as they went, many spread their clothes on the road.   The event described in today's reading is called the Triumphal Entry, in which Christ enters into Jerusalem.  We celebrate it in the Church as Palm Sunday.  My study Bible explains that by the time of Christ, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control, and reestablish David's kingdom.  So, in that context, we read of Jesus' careful and deliberate preparations for this moment.  They are given with explicit instructions, so that we understand Christ's deliberate choice of a donkey's colt to ride.  His entry into Jerusalem is not to proclaim the political kingdom the people expect, a king with accompanying army.  But, as my study Bible explains, the Kingdom He expects to establish is "not of this world (John 18:36).  A donkey's colt is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9).  Christ's entry into the city isn't only a declaration of the establishment of the kingdom of God, but also a promise of His final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers, and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  Those who spread their clothes on the road do so as paying reverence to a King.  My study Bible explains that this is also spiritually understood as our need to lay down our flesh, even our lives, for Christ.

Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  The disciples' praise comes from Psalm 118:26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  We note how the praise of the disciples echoes and reciprocates the praise of the angels to the shepherds at Christ's birth, as reported by Luke (see Luke 2:8-14).  Heralding Christ's birth, the angels proclaim peace upon the earth, and the disciples at His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, whose name means "foundation of peace," peace in heaven.

 

 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."  In the Pharisees' remark to Christ ("Teacher, rebuke Your disciples") we observe the great divisions within Jerusalem.  At this time of the Triumphal Entry, it is not a place of peace at all, but turmoil.  St. Ephrem the Syrian comments that at this time the children cry out but the stones remain silent, while at the time of Christ's Crucifixion the stones will cry out but those with words will be silent (Matthew 27:51).  St. Ambrose says that after Christ's Passion, the living stones, as described by St. Peter, will cry out (see 1 Peter 2:5).

St. Peter, in his First Epistle, writes, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4-6).  I'm reading an interesting book on the nature of sacrifice, especially as it was understood in the context of the wider ancient world and the Jewish faith, titled Welcoming Gifts: Sacrifice in the Bible and Christian Life, by Fr. Jeremy Davis.  St. Peter was certainly a person who understood sacrifice and its nature within a religious community, and the transformation of sacrifice through Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as the greatest gift we have, forming a community of the Church.  St. Peter speaks of Christ as a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, referring to Jesus' own words about Himself in the chapter that will follow (Luke 20:17), when He will quote these lines from Psalm 118:22 in speaking to the chief priests, scribes, and elders.  Jesus will ask them, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?"  It's interesting that He will quote from Psalm 118, the psalm from which the triumphal shout of the disciples comes, heralding the kingdom of God.  But if we are to understand Christ, this chosen stone, as a spiritual sacrifice, we must understand it properly.  Fr. Davis in his book explains the nature of sacrifice as a gift which builds community, to be shared within community shaped by God.  For us, this chosen stone is the once and for all sacrifice, the gift in which we participate through our faith, which lives for us, in us, among us.  This is affirmed in the word Eucharist, coming from the Greek word for giving thanks; it is at once our gift and sacrifice, the cup of participation in the life of Christ.  But in St. Peter's words, we also become living stones, "being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."  One cannot help but tie in, as did St. Ambrose, this notion of the living stones, following and participating in Christ's life, and building up His Church upon His foundation, with Jesus' words in today's reading, foreshadowing the Church to come.  When those who offer praise become in some sense synonymous with the stones who would cry out in their place, then we have quite an analogy.  We have the sense in which we also make gifts of ourselves in building up His Church through our praise, our prayers and blessings, the work of spiritual "profits" He has encouraged His disciples to do in yesterday's reading (see above).  The Triumphal Entry is understood as a parallel sort of type to Christ's ultimate entry into the heavenly Jerusalem with His Bride, the Church, the people of God.  But in the time of its actual occurrence 2,000 years ago, He was on His way to the sacrifice -- the gift of Himself -- that He wished to offer for all and to all, and in all, so that we also may follow as living stones.  Let us consider this crowd of mixed attitudes and understandings in Jerusalem at that time.   Perhaps as may remain the case today, just as it has been throughout its history ever since, Jerusalem remains a city of turmoil and conflict -- open and hidden -- rather than a city of peace.  But, like the faithful disciples, midst the turmoil we are to do our work of peace nonetheless, and He has given us His teachings for doing so.  In every event, at all times, we may continue to make our own spiritual sacrifices as living stones in His name, producing the spiritual fruit He asks of us by participating in His life in all the ways we can, through our prayers and our diligence and mindfulness of His commandments.  We may always participate in His love and build His community as living stones.