There are detractors in every age, but as the Lord said, “If these were silent, even the stones will shout.”  The message of God’s grace will be proclaimed.

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Over the last few years our denomination’s suggested title for today has been the Sunday of the Passion and the reading is long, beginning with Satan entering into Judas. That is understandable because this Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and the focus is on the suffering and death of our Lord. But traditionally within the Church this is Palm Sunday and is the story of our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Quite frankly, I’m inclined to give our Lord his moment in the sun, before plunging into the solemnity of his suffering and death.

It was indeed a triumphal procession from the Mount of Olives to the gates of Jerusalem. As they came down the hillside, the disciples began a chant that would have heralded the arrival of King David himself—“Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord.” Don’t let the donkey fool you. One would not have expected a war horse for this king. The donkey is simply transportation.

The reception itself was fit for a king. Some cheered his arrival. Some cut down palm branches and waved them, or cast them in his path. Some even took off their cloaks and spread them in his way. There were detractors also. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told him “Order your disciples to stop. It isn’t fitting.” To them Jesus replied “If these were silent, even the stones themselves would shout.”

There are detractors in every age. In light of some of the decisions made recently by the courts and politicians, voices in the church have cried out that the government has turned against the Christian faith. Some even have spoken of a persecution. The Church in the United States is not being persecuted. One has only to look back to the early church, or the church under the Nazi or Communist regimes or the church in some areas in Africa to get a picture of what persecution looks like.   The church has to some extent lost its privileged position and could face even more loss. As the Supreme Court pointed out in Watson verses Jones in 1871, “the law knows no heresy and is committed to the support of no dogma.”

Even the church sometimes gets confused about its central message. Certainly the church should live up to its understanding of its highest moral values. Certainly the church should be willing to voice its beliefs in the public square, but it should realize that in the public square its voice is only one among many.

As Jesus entered the city on that first Palm Sunday, he was beginning the final moments of a mission that had begun long ago. The opening chapters of our Bible define the problem that the world faced. God had called into being a world that was functionally perfect. Human beings chose to turn away from God and establish themselves as the masters of their own fate. Like a virulent virus, sin advanced with the spread of the human race. Having corrupted their own earthly existence, human beings sought to storm the gates of heaven. In dramatic form God has drawn a definition of the nature of the problem—we like sheep have gone astray. All of us are infected. As St. Paul put it succinctly, “the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” The Bible is very clear that human sinfulness falls under the judgment of God.

The Bible says more than that we are poor miserable sinners. From the beginning God was moving forward to deal with the problem. As Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, he was embarked on the final resolution of the problem of sin. He, the Son of God himself, would accept responsibility for the sins of the world. Through his own suffering and death he would create a bridge over the gulf that separated humans and their God. As St. Paul wrote to the people of Ephesus: “By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” That is the central message of the people of God and that is the message that will be proclaimed in every age. As Jesus said, “If these were silent even the stones would shout.” The message of grace will be proclaimed in spite of any external circumstances.

The battalion to which I was attached was ordered to a position just south of the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam. A number of us were ordered aboard a C-130. Sit on the deck back against the legs of the person behind you. Crowd as many aboard as possible. When we arrived the order was passed from on high that there would be no gathering of troops because of the danger of mortar, rocket, and artillery fire. Some came to me and requested communion before they swept into the DMZ. After discussion the colonel and I agreed that the needs of our people overrode the orders that we received, and I could hold a worship service for twenty five people. When the service concluded and the twenty five filed out, another twenty five filed in and the service was repeated. And after that twenty five, another, and then another, and then another. In the field of battle or on the fantail of a ship at sea in spite of danger or inconvenience the message of grace is still proclaimed.

Down the hillside from the Mount of Olives the procession wound. As they approached the gate to the city, the disciples broke into a chant: “Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord.” The refrain was probably picked up and echoed by the gathering crowd of onlookers. Some began to pull fronds from the palm trees and wave them. Some cast them into his path. Some even pulled off their cloaks and spread them in his way. Jerusalem’s King and Lord had entered the city. The path from this point on would be doleful and ultimately lead to an area outside of the city to a cross. The cross would not be the end of the story. Beyond the cross lay an empty tomb. The journey which began with a triumphal entry would proceed through the utmost pain to an ultimate triumph over sin, death, and the devil. The journey begun on Palm Sunday would lead to freedom for God’s people.

That is the message, the Gospel itself, over which no court or political jurisdiction has control. Seek to silence it and even the stones will shout.