Sermon 
2009 
Advent 
1 
Text: 
Luke 
19:35-40 
Theme: 
“Crying 
Stones” 


There 
are 
some 
things that 
just 
are. 
Whatever 
you 
think 
or 
don’t 
think, 
does not 
change 
the 
reality 
of 
what 
is. 
For 
instance, 
I 
am 
often 
amused 
that 
some 
parents will 
deny 
the 
reality 
of 
their 
child’s behavior 
even 
in 
the 
face 
of 
compelling 
evidence. 
Like 
when 
little 
Susie 
got 
caught 
by 
the 
Kindergarten 
teacher 
drawing 
on 
the 
cloakroom 
wall 
with 
crayons and 
little 
Susie’s mother 
looked 
at 
her 
daughter 
and 
asked, 


“Susie, 
did 
you 
draw 
on 
the 
cloakroom 
wall 
with 
crayons?” 
Whoops. 
You 
caught 
Mrs. 
Neidhold. 
She’s been 
teaching 
kindergarten 
for 
30 
years and 
sometimes she 
is 
just 
likes 
to 
lie 
to 
parents and 
make 
up 
stories about 
their 
children’s behavior. 


Or 
sometimes people 
have 
their 
own 
theological 
beliefs that 
they 
make 
up 
to 
comfort 
themselves 
and 
I 
will 
hear, 


“We’ll 
I 
don’t 
care 
what 
the 
pastor 
says. 
I 
believe…” 
Yes, 
what 
need 
have 
we 
for 
those 
pesky 
pastors anyway? 
They’re 
always confusing 
our 
private 
theology 
with 
what 
the 
Bible 
says 
and 
who 
really 
cares anyway 
so 
long 
as 
my 
theology 
takes care 
of 
whatever 
I 
need? 


We 
like 
to 
deny 
reality 
when 
it 
conflicts with 
our 
chosen 
world 
view. 
Don’t 
confuse 
us with 
facts! 
And 
people 
were 
no 
different 
in 
Jesus’ 
day 
either. 
As he 
came 
riding 
into 
Jerusalem, 
people 
began 
to 
recognize 
who 
he 
was. 
He 
was fulfilling 
all 
the 
ancient 
prophecy. 
Lame 
were 
being 
healed. 
Blind 
were 
being 
given 
their 
sight. 
The 
ears of 
the 
deaf 
were 
unstopped 
and 
the 
tongues 
of 
the 
mute 
were 
loosened. 
He 
had 
even 
raised 
the 
dead. 
If 
they 
had 
had 
electronic billboards in 
those 
days, 
it 
would 
have 
been 
flashing 
the 
word 
Messiah 
as he 
rode 
into 
town. 


Here 
was the 
opportunity 
for 
the 
religious leaders of 
the 
day 
to 
re-evaluate 
their 
positions 
and 
change. 
Here 
was the 
opportunity 
to 
see 
that 
they 
had 
been 
intentionally 
blind 
to 
the 
signs all 
around 
them. 
But 
instead 
of 
backing 
up 
from 
their 
wrong 
position, 
they 
did 
what 
so 
many 
religious leaders do. 
They 
pushed 
on 
in 
the 
wrong 
direction 
full 
steam 
ahead 
hoping 
that 
somehow 
they 
would 
vindicate 
themselves. 
They 
were 
too 
afraid 
of 
the 
other 
option. 
What 
would 
it 
mean 
for 
their 
lives and 
their 
jobs and 
their 
families if 
this Jesus 
was the 
Messiah? 
What 
if 
he 
really 
did 
fulfill 
the 
law 
and 
abolish 
the 
sacrificial 
system? 


Then 
people 
in 
the 
crowd 
started 
yelling 
what 
they 
most 
feared. 


"Blessed 
is the 
King 
who 
comes in 
the 
name 
of 
the 
Lord! 
Peace 
in 
heaven 
and 
glory 
in 
the 
highest!" 
That 
is one 
of 
those 
moments when 
the 
truth 
of 
the 
situation 
just 
comes out. 
The 
people 
are 
caught 
up 
in 
the 
moment 
and 
without 
thinking 
of 
the 
Pharisees even 
being 
there, 
they 
blurt 
out 
what 
they 
know 
is true. 
They 
know 
this at 
a 
deeper 
level 
than 
theological 
head 
knowledge. 
They 
know 
it 
at 
a 
heart 
level, 
or 
as the 
Greeks would 
have 
said, 
a 
gut 
level. 


The 
Pharisees immediately 
want 
Jesus to 
shut 
them 
up 
before 
things get 
worse. 


“Teacher, 
rebuke 
your 
disciples!” 
I 
am 
reminded 
of 
a 
time 
I 
took 
a 
group 
of 
youth 
from 
my 
church 
in 
Seattle 
to 
a 
servant 
event 
and 
the 
event 
was horrible. 
These 
kids 
had 
been 
to 
many 
events with 
me 
and 
knew 
my 
expectations for 
a 
servant 
event 
and 
while 
I 
had 
said 
nothing 
negative, 
they 
had 
unloaded 
regularly 
on 
the 
leadership 
who 
had 
no 
idea 
of 
what 
they 
were 
doing. 
The 
leadership 
came 
to 
me 
and 
insisted 
that 
I 
rebuke 
my 
youth. 
My 
kids were 
speaking 
the 
truth. 
Perhaps they 
could 
have 
been 
more 
subtle. 
Perhaps they 
could 
have 
been 
more 
diplomatic, 
but 
the 
truth 
is 
the 
truth. 


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Jesus looked 
at 
the 
Pharisees and 
said, 


"I 
tell 
you, 
if 
these 
were 
silent, 
the 
very 
stones would 
cry 
out." 
Jesus seems to 
intimate 
that 
the 
truth 
of 
who 
he 
is has 
become 
so 
evident 
that 
all 
of 
creation 
knows, 
even 
if 
some 
parts of 
creation 
don’t 
want 
to 
admit 
it. 
And 
that 
makes sense 
because 
St. 
Paul 
says in 
Romans 8, 


“For 
the 
creation 
waits with 
eager 
longing 
for 
the 
revealing 
of 
the 
sons of 
God. 
For 
the 
creation 
was subjected 
to 
futility, 
not 
willingly, 
but 
because 
of 
him 
who 
subjected 
it, 
in 
hope 
that 
the 
creation 
itself 
will 
be 
set 
free 
from 
its bondage 
to 
decay 
and 
obtain 
the 
freedom 
of 
the 
glory 
of 
the 
children 
of 
God. 
For 
we 
know 
that 
the 
whole 
creation 
has 
been 
groaning 
together 
in 
the 
pains of 
childbirth 
until 
now.” 
Sin 
effected 
creation 
too. 
And 
Jesus told 
the 
Pharisees that 
even 
if 
his disciples were 
silent, 
creation 
itself 
would 
rise 
up 
and 
proclaim 
him 
the 
Messiah. 
There 
is no 
stopping 
this now! 
The 
main 
event 
is 
almost 
here 
and 
you 
can 
either 
get 
onboard 
or 
get 
left 
behind 
but 
your 
days of 
altering 
reality 
and 
creating 
your 
own 
little 
world 
are 
over. 


And 
here 
we 
stand 
on 
the 
other 
side 
of 
the 
death, 
resurrection 
and 
ascension 
of 
Christ. 
And 
here 
we 
go 
on 
living 
as 
though 
it 
did 
not 
happen 
and 
as though 
he 
has not 
promised 
to 
return. 
How 
would 
our 
day 
to 
day 
lives be 
different 
if 
we 
couched 
everything 
in 
the 
reality 
that 
Jesus is returning 
for 
us? 
Would 
we 
agonize 
over 
even 
a 
fraction 
of 
the 
stuff 
that 
occupies our 
minds? 
How 
would 
our 
priorities be 
affected? 
Is 
worship 
or 
sleep 
more 
important? 
Is 
giving 
a 
faithful 
offering 
to 
God 
or 
buying 
that 
new 
outfit 
more 
important? 
What 
excuses would 
seem 
completely 
infantile 
if 
we 
truly 
believed 
that 
he 
was returning? 


That 
day 
will 
come. 
And 
it’s not 
that 
you 
have 
to 
make 
sure 
that 
you 
have 
worshipped 
enough 
or 
given 
enough 
to 
be 
sure 
you 
get 
to 
go. 
It’s just 
that 
everything 
you 
do 
that 
is 
not 
centered 
on 
Growing 
in 
Christ 
is wasted 
effort 
because 
your 
growth 
in 
your 
relationship 
with 
him 
is eternal 
and 
everything 
else 
is temporal. 
It 
all 
goes away. 
The 
houses and 
cars and 
fancy 
outfits – 
all 
gone. 
The 
job 
that 
so 
consumed 
our 
lives – 
all 
gone. 
The 
faithless people 
we 
so 
wanted 
to 
impress for 
whom 
we 
even 
compromised 
our 
faithfulness – 
all 
gone. 
Even 
the 
stones rise 
up 
and 
cry 
out 
against 
us, 
repent, 
turn 
around, 
stop 
denying 
the 
truth 
and 
defending 
your 
poor 
choices. 
The 
Messiah 
is at 
hand 
and 
nothing 
else 
matters. 


Advent 
is the 
start 
of 
a 
new 
Church 
year. 
Today 
we 
remember 
our 
Lord’s arrival 
into 
Jerusalem 
at 
the 
start 
of 
Holy 
Week 
as we 
look 
forward 
to 
his arrival 
when 
he 
returns for 
us. 
Today 
is a 
unique 
opportunity 
to 
listen 
to 
creation 
as it 
groans in 
expectation 
of 
his arrival 
and 
to 
adjust 
our 
lives to 
reflect 
what 
we 
are 
really 
doing 
here. 
To 
stop 
denying 
the 
truth 
and 
trying 
to 
create 
our 
own 
realities but 
rather 
to 
embrace 
His truth, 
His reality 
and 
allow 
Him 
to 
shape 
our 
lives instead 
of 
trying 
to 
fit 
Him 
in 
where 
it 
is convenient. 


The 
joy 
of 
Advent 
is 
not 
preparation 
for 
Christmas. 
The 
joy 
of 
Advent 
is 
preparation 
for 
eternity, 
immortality 
and 
blessed 
peace 
with 
our 
King. 
AMEN. 


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