Dumber than a Rock

August 22

(Luke 19:37-40 NIV) “When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: {38} "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” {39} Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" {40} "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

(Psalms 148:1-14 NIV) “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. {2} Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. {3} Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. {4} Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. {5} Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. {6} He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away. {7} Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, {8} lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, {9} you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, {10} wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, {11} kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, {12} young men and maidens, old men and children. {13} Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. {14} He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.”

Today we will wrestle with one of those deep theological truths of the faith. Are you ready for this? Here it is: Rocks are not dumb! For years you have been told that certain people are as dumb as a rock, but you’ve been misled. Jesus straightens us out today. As our Lord rode into Jerusalem, the crowd began to praise Him. The Pharisees demanded that Jesus silence them, but He proclaimed that if the people didn’t praise Him, the rocks certainly would. Christ was saying that rocks aren’t dumb. In fact, He was saying that if we don’t praise Him as Lord, we really are dumber than a rock. All of creation, even the rocks, know that Jesus is Lord, and they will proclaim it if we don’t. So the question becomes: Do you really want to be dumber than a rock? Recognize Jesus as Lord and proclaim it. If you don’t, the rocks will. Praise the Lord! --Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day