Friday

“…the stones will cry out…”

Read Luke 19:40.

We had a sunny Saturday not too long ago. Because I’m a Northwest girl, I threw open the windows and let the fresh air in (ignoring the fact that the heater turned on almost immediately because it was still ridiculously cold). As the day progressed, I was treated to the sounds of nature through my open window. It seems that the birds were as excited by the sunny day as I was, swooping around, chirping happily. The resident deer were out in full force and I could hear the sounds of them munching on our front lawn.

I’ve always thought that those sounds of nature are sounds of praise, since the plants and animals are doing exactly as God intended. When a bird is flying and chirping and eating worms, it is being the best bird it possibly can and continually brings praise and glory to God in its actions. When the Pharisees in this story tried to quiet the crowds, Jesus told them that if the crowds were silenced, even the rocks would cry out.

That’s intense joy and praise, when the rocks cannot even contain themselves. When are we like that? Children are so good at uninhibited exuberance, but we lose that as adults in an effort to be socially acceptable. But what would it be like if we allowed ourselves to connect so deeply to the joy that is in Christ that we would cry out in delight because we could not help ourselves? -AB

Jesus, help me to experience the depth of joy that the crowds experienced during your triumphal entry. Remove the barriers to my joy and delight.