Tuesday, April 11, 2017

If the stones cried out... I wonder what they'd say? ( an instillation for Palm Sunday).

'If the stones cried out I wonder what they'd say?' This was my unlikely reflection leading into Palm Sunday. I started to write my typical flowery prayer but decided it might be better to invite people to voice (or at least write) their own prayers of thanks using rocks and chalk...

If the stones cried out I wonder what they'd say.
Would they recognize their creator in Jesus voice and presence. That he spoke them into being amidst the immense pressure of  earth cooling and volcanic fire and tectonic drift. Would they speak of the grace of God they had seen over the centuries, his hand with his people, the feet of prophets bringing God's word, the passing of kings anointed to serve, would they tell that this one was different, that our hope and theirs was in the new Creation he would bring. In forgiveness and freedom that would come from his blood spilt on them. Would they know of a stone that would be rolled away in Resurrection's victory dawn.

If the stones cried out I wonder what they'd say.
Well we will never know, the disciples and the children refused to be quite and we are invited as well to sing and tell of his goodness and grace, to point to Jesus as God's chosen king and our saviour.

So on Palm Sunday as our prayer of thanksgiving I invited people to take a rock  and with chalk to write or draw on it something they wished to thank God for. How this king Jesus had brought change and new life to their lives...and we placed them on an instillation in our church foyer... A short road made of cloth from palm trees to the cross. But behind the cross was one of our stain glass windows with the light shinning through a  window that spoke of God's creation. Pointing beyond the cross to the hope of new life and fresh creation in the resurrection.

We processed out of the church to lay our rocks on the road and then processed back into the church with palm fronds... To Carl Tuttle's song 'Hosanna, Hosanna'.


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