The Earth Cries Out: Palm Sunday
By Avery Davis Lamb
Today, we enter Palm Sunday with a reflection on care for God’s Creation. The theme of our Lenten devotional series is “The Earth Cries Out: Reflections, Lamentations, and Prayers for the Injustices to Our Earth and Our Communities.”
Each week contains a short reflection, discussion questions, and a prayer. We hope that you can utilize these devotions with your congregation, friends, and family.
Luke 19:28-40:28
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.37 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!”[a]“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.”
Meditation:
On Palm Sunday, we see the good news of God’s Kingdom for all creation.
As Jesus marches into Jerusalem, he offers an alternative ethic to that of the empire. While the empire triumphs in the power of war and destruction, Jesus triumphs in the power of peace. As he marches in, Jesus’ followers treat him as King, laying down their cloaks and shouting “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Creation itself shouts praises for the kingdom of God, not the empires of our world! While the Pharisees plead with Jesus to quiet his followers, he replies, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” The good news that Christ brings as a counter-ethic to the Empire is not just good news for oppressed and marginalized people. It is good news for all of God’s creation, and the stones shout out in praise.
Today, we look around and see a creation that is not shouting with praise, but groaning in travail. Its shouts for joy are muffled and twisted. The empires of today – economies and political systems of extraction – exploit creatures as resources in a warehouse, rather than as gifts from God.
And when we are silent, the stones shout out. The earth cries out in pain and suffering instead of praise.
The work of building God’s Kingdom on earth requires a reversal of empire ethics. Rather than deriving our power from war and coercion, we derive it from peace and cooperation. Rather than seeing the world as resources in a warehouse, we see it as God’s beneficent creation. Rather than staying silent in the midst of the world’s destruction, we cry out alongside the stones in praise of the peacemaker King.
Reflection Questions:
Where do you see the empires of the world degrading creation? Where do you see God’s Kingdom breaking through to restore creation?
How can you shout out in solidarity with all creation – human and nonhuman?
How are you actively engaged in the work of peacemaking in God’s creation?
Prayer:
Creator God, we cry out with the stones in lament and in praise. We lament the destruction of your world. We lament the exploitation of creation as resources rather than blessed gifts. We lament the ways we have been silent in the face of injustices. We praise your way of peace and seek your kingdom over the empires of the world. May we partner with you in the restoration of justice and live out hope for the resurrection of creation. Amen
About the Author:
Avery Davis Lamb is the Co-Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries, whose mission is to educate, equip and mobilize communions and denominations, congregations, and individuals to protect, restore, and rightly share God's creation. He lives in Durham, NC. Follow Creation Justice Ministries and Avery on social media at:@CreationJustice (all platforms)@averydavislamb (Twitter, Instagram)