You’ve
sure heard some of these before:
-Bright as a burnt out lightbulb.
-A
few sandwiches short of a picnic.
-Not
playing with a full deck.
-When
they were handing out brains you thought they said “trains” and you said, “No
thanks. I already have a set.”
-When
the good Lord poured in your brains he used a teaspoon, and someone shook his
hand!
-Dumb
as a rock.
This
last one actually takes us into our gospel reading. While dumb literally means not being able to
speak, we often use it to refer to brainlessness. When applied to our gospel it can refer to
both.
As
Jesus is coming into Jerusalem he is riding a donkey and his followers have
spread their cloaks on the road. They
are praising God with a loud voice proclaiming, “Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of Lord!” Some of the
Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to
stop.” He answered, “I tell you if these
were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Let’s
jump to verse 44 where Jesus is later lamenting the eventual demise of
Jerusalem. “…they will not leave within
you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your
visitation from God.”
We
realize that even the stones of Jerusalem cry out to Jesus; both in lament and
in recognizing their creator’s presence.
We
haven’t read it yet because we’ve skipped over ten chapters in Luke’s gospel
since last week, but in 13:35 Jesus is being warned by some Pharisees not to go
to Jerusalem because Herod wants to kill him.
Jesus replies, “I must be on my way, … Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city
that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not
willing! See, your house is left to
you.”
Putting
all this together we realize that the religious experts, the ones who we would
expect to understand God’s ways most fully, are completely clueless. Are they in fact, ‘dumb as rocks’?
You
know me well enough to know that whenever I say something critical of the
Jewish religious leaders I do so knowing that I could easily fall under the
same condemnation. That’s not because I
am a religious leader in the church of today.
It is because so often the religious leaders present a point of view
that is highly logical and practical. I
suspect that on the whole they’d be the sort of people we’d like: hard working,
reliable, ethical, and even kind.
I
find their sort of thinking at work within myself and the society around
me. I am a highly practical person,
perhaps too practical. But if I don’t
see the productive value of something I tend to dismiss it. If I come across a wonderful idea, but it
isn’t workable, I’ll say ‘nice thought but so what?’
I
am an engineer. While I find scientific
discovery to be fascinating, if it can’t be applied to solve a real world
problem I ask what was the point? Was
the time and money spent in research worth it?
If yes, then well and good. But
if not, then no.
Quite
often the religious leaders took a highly practical point of view. They were an occupied nation. The Romans tolerated them. They danced a delicate dance between keeping
their faith alive and not being further oppressed.
Sometimes
we scoff at the way they wanted to maintain rules, laws, and traditions, but
keeping those things undiluted were what kept Judaism alive for centuries. They also had a very logical understanding of
how God worked. I find that same sort of
thinking prevalent in America today.
Many people call this a “Christian nation.” As I’ve personally studied the religious
history of America I’d say it never was, but many do. They say that our nation’s laws and actions
need to reflect God’s will. They say
that if America is God’s chosen nation to be an example the world we need to
live that way. Otherwise God will
abandon us.
The
exact same thinking was at work in the Jewish leadership. Why follow all the laws perfectly? Because that’s what God wants. “Why,” they would ask, “would God want to
come a save an unfaithful people?”
They’ve
got a very good point!
But
their point is based on human logic.
I
want you to notice something very important about the way Luke describes Jesus’
entry in Jerusalem. Yes, Jesus
criticizes the religious leaders for their criticism of his disciples. And yes Jesus goes into the temple compound
and causes a stir when he drives out those selling things. But he does all of it with a spirit of
lament. Jesus is not on a rampage of
unleashed fury.
It
comes down to this. Do we trust the
limits of human thinking, or do we trust in the boundlessness of God?
This
Friday we will be reading Luke’s account of what happens on Good Friday. Luke’s gospel is the one includes the one
criminal crucified beside Jesus saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) Jesus replies, “Truly I tell you today, you
will be with me in Paradise.”
That
criminal saw something in Jesus that was beyond all human logic. Of what possible value is there in putting
faith in a man who is being executed? My
logical mind says there’s no possible value at all. I am thinking like a religious leader. The criminal was thinking in terms of God’s
boundlessness that defies all appearances.
For
those of us stuck in seeing the world through human logic and limitations there
is good news. First, God does value our
practicality. God created practical
minds for good reason. We have an
important role to play. Things need to
be done in a way that is careful and constructive. One cannot be sloppy, lazy, mean, or
manipulative and not pay the cost sooner or later.
God
also knows our limitations. The temple
of Jerusalem was of central importance to Jewish faith. While Jews believed God could be anywhere
they were certain God’s presence could always be found in the temple. Their understanding was much like the way
many Christians see their churches today.
God knows that physical spaces help our faith expression. Technically as Christians places and
sanctuaries shouldn’t matter at all. We
worship God in the form of Jesus, not God in the place of a building. Christianity is about community. Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered
in my name there I am in the midst of them.”
Jesus did not say, “Whenever you go to a place that has been made holy I
am sure to be there.” So, our buildings
shouldn’t matter one bit. But they do to
us. God knows that. God values that. Jesus truly lamented the physical city of Jerusalem
and its temple.
Second,
there is forgiveness. As I said, Jesus
truly lamented what he saw. God’s
forgiveness defies all logic and goes beyond what can be seen. Luke’s gospel is the one that not only
contains Jesus telling the criminal he will be with him in Paradise. It is also contains the phrase that Jesus
says of those who are executing him, “Father, forgive them; for they do not
know what they are doing.”
Us
humans, in our practical logic, killed our only hope for salvation. There is no point thinking, “Well, if I were
alive then I wouldn’t have thought that.”
Don’t kid yourself. Yes, you
would have. Jesus himself points out
that hypocrisy in us when he says, “And you say, ‘If we have lived in the days
of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood
of the prophets.” (Matthew 23:30)
It's
best if we just realize we live in the grace of God and rely on God’s
forgiveness that goes beyond all belief.
Maybe,
just maybe, you are a person who can see what God is up to. Maybe you can see that God is doing things
far beyond what the human mind can comprehend.
Maybe you can see that God is not bound by limitations but overcomes
them with bounty. Maybe you can see
salvation in the face of a man being executed.
We
pray that God gives us eyes to see and ears to hear. And then we pray that God make us not dumb as
rocks. But instead able to both speak
and know of God’s abounding kingdom which is breaking into this world each and
every day.
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