Gospel Text:
Luke 19: 28-40

Last Sunday after church we talked about some of the measures being taken to protect our building during construction next door, construction that we now know for sure will include getting through bedrock to build a parking garage. We’re told blasting will not be used. I’m not sure what other methods are used to get through solid rock, but whatever those methods are, they can’t be good for our 100 year old building.

One of the things our lawyer fought for was getting the developer to install monitoring devices. These include crack monitors that track the growth of cracks and seismographs that track the level of vibrations assaulting the building. Although they fought against it, they will also pay us to get someone to monitor what is called differential settlement. If you don’t know what that is, neither did I. I’m learning too and from what I can tell, monitoring differential settlement is basically checking to see if our foundation is moving or not.

I’d never thought about crack monitors, seismographs and differential settlement before, until I realized that-- yes I had. Throughout history, prophets have served as human seismographs and living, breathing, crack monitors. Prophets warn people of signs of danger or impending damage ---not so much to physical structures but to the structures of justice, the structures of mercy, the architecture of God’s shalom.

The prophets monitored the situation day by day and sounded the alarm, but often the prophets were ignored by those intent on their own plans, those who didn’t want to hear about how those plans were impacting others in negative ways. Those who got rich erecting high-rise hierarchies of injustice had no interest in hearing the prophets speak about all those falling through the cracks any more than those who are getting richer and richer in Manhattan’s real estate market want to monitor the situation of all those who cannot afford decent housing, those who are homeless, the frail elderly, the poor, working class and even middle class families falling through the cracks. Throughout the historical periods chronicled in the Bible, those intent on waging war to secure wealth had no interest in folks who were monitoring all the collateral damage, exactly like our own nation’s administration.

The people addressed by God’s monitors or prophets were often like children who cover their ears and say “lalalalalala” when they don’t want to hear because they already know they’re not going to like what’s being said. One of the prayers at Holy Communion speaks of God sending the prophets and now, in this age, God sending Jesus.

Jesus came to bear the realm of God into a world full of cracks. Many received him with joy, especially when he healed them, fed them and freed them, but when Jesus began exposing the cracks and their causes, things were different. When Jesus began to monitor and record the impact of injustice and speak truth to power, things were different. When Jesus said, “stop this right now!” and began to call for corrective action, it was another story. It still is. Some environmental prophets have been monitoring our environment for many years and their cries to stop dangerous, damaging actions have fallen on deaf ears until some signs are too frightening to ignore. Even then, many do…like children… “lalalalalala” “I don’t’ want to hear it.” We have an administration leading our nation that doesn’t like to hear bad news. All kinds of seismic problems, foundational shifts, cracks in credibility of many in leadership, all ignored.

Yet before judging too harshly, let’s be honest…who likes criticism? Even constructive criticism is hard to hear because it probably means changing some of our dearly held constructs, doing something differently that we’ve done one way for as long as we can remember. Most of us have a natural resistance to that.” Lalalala,” or today, “hosanna hosanna hosanna!”

The folks on Palm Sunday, lined the streets singing hosannas may as well has been closing their ears. They didn’t want to see the signs before them which is why by the end of the week they were shouting “crucify him, crucify him.” Their Palm Sunday hosannas were based on a whitewashed fantasy of what they wished were true, not a broken reality that Jesus came to restore.

The Palm Sunday crowds hailed Jesus as a king but they didn’t realize what his kingdom was all about. According to Hebrew tradition, a king bound for battle rode a war horse, but a king coming in peace, rode a donkey, a sign of humility and vulnerability. Jesus rode into the city, not to make war but to offer peace. As he approached the city, he cried out,
“oh that you knew the things that make for peace…but you do not.” Peacemaking required a new plan, a new mind, a new spirit. A whole new social construct.

Some folks on Palm Sunday were singing without heeding the signs, while others knew exactly how to read the signs but didn’t want to face the truth because they wanted to keep right on erecting more high-rise hierarchies without a care for those falling through the cracks. “Teacher order your disciples to stop.” “Shut up about that differential settlement. We’ve got it all under control.” I imaged we’re going to be hearing a version of that in the coming months. Jesus answered, “I tell you if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

The stones would shout out. Do you know that at one meeting with our lawyer, the developers mentioned that the church was not a good influence in this community because it attracted homeless people? Does that make you angry? Does that cause a tremor in your soul? I hope so. It means the monitor we were born with, that tells us right from wrong, good from evil, love from hate, is still functioning.

Our windows will not be with us much longer and they hold so many things to meditate on. I want to call your attention to the window where Jesus is praying in the garden of Getsemane where Jesus went after the last supper with his disciples on what we call Holy Thursday. Jesus’ heart is breaking. His heart is a ultra sensitive monitor, recording every injustice, every slight, every wrong, the slightest hairline crack. Jesus feels it, his own body measuring every shift in your life. Every trembling of your heart.

Crack monitors, seismographs, differential settlement. These are things that have come to matter during the past few weeks. They will matter as construction begins to rock our world next month. But there is something that matters far more. The instruments of Christ that monitor justice, truth and love throughout this community and throughout this globe. Prophetic Instruments of God installed in this place. They are far more costly than the monitors that will be installed in our church later this month. They cost not less than everything. And as we remember again this week, Jesus has borne the cost. Those highly sensitive, costly instruments are us. If these be silent, I tell you, the stones will cry out.