The term "dumber than a rock" is a scientific way of qualifying the intellectual capacity of something benchmarked against a standard rock. The rock is used as a point of reference as rocks have no brain and exhibit no intellect.

So you see if someone is "dumber than a rock", that person is completely unaware of what is going on around him or her. That person is unable to take in what is happening and react accordingly.

There was a time when the word "dumb" meant unable to speak. That would certainly put most rocks I have encountered in the category of "dumb".

In Jesus' day as he was riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, there were some who go it. They understood what he was doing. Others of supposed intellect, that is the religious, either missed it or refused to see it.

This passage from the book of Psalms was an appropriate one to use in worship. I hope you read Psalm 117 and 118 some time today.
It is believed to have been written by King David as he praised God for restoring his kingdom to him after it was nearly overthrown by his son, Absalom.

The words of these Psalms are repeated in what Jesus is doing in the Gospel reading for today.
Jesus and the people of his day had made their way to Jerusalem, the Holy City of God for the purpose of keeping the Passover.

God had commanded Moses that this Passover celebration must be observed until the end of time. It was to commemorate God rescuing the Hebrew people from the slavery of Egypt and calling them back to the land God had given their ancestor Abraham.

Worship was something that the Jews of Jesus' day understood. They understood the connection between their past, their present and their future. All were in God's keeping and they trusted God to direct them in whatever God had planned.
Jesus knew that the people, especially a political group called the Zealots, were looking for a Messiah who would overthrow Rome.
They wanted King David's descendant God had promised them. A warrior-King like David was their ideal and they would settle for nothing less.

King David was anointed by God's Prophet, Samuel, to be Israel's King. God had chosen David while he was still a shepherd boy. He had no political or military background. He would not be able to say he had the experience to deal with anything a leader would have to deal with on "day one". He knew he would have to depend on God.

Because David obeyed God, he became the man described in Acts 13:22 "after God's own heart".

In this plan to call the world back to God's love and care, God had gone to a great deal of trouble to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem at just the right time so Jesus could be born there in the same town as King David was born. Joseph's ancestry would link Jesus to the "house of David".

The religious knew that the Messiah would be from the "house of David". Bethlehem in Hebrew literally means the "house of bread". This Son of God called himself the "bread of life"

Jesus was going to Jerusalem for the Passover and this time to connect himself to King David and thus signal to Israel that their Messiah had arrived.

At one time King David's grown son, Absalom, wanted to be King and tried to unseat his father. King David heard of the plot and decided to leave the capital city for safety. Those who loved David sang no songs but cried in despair. At the Mount of Olives, David stopped to cry and to pray remembering the good times behind him. Israel's best King was leaving in defeat and despair.

Just outside of town past the Mount of Olives someone caught up with David and gave him a donkey to ride. Not only was it fit for the rocky road ahead, but it was also the symbol of humility, for David left not in royal robes but in sad old clothes.

On that Sunday, five days before Passover, just before the Mt. of Olives, Jesus got on a donkey and deliberately rode, knowing the way was going to be rugged, not in terms of the lack of pavement, but in terms of trouble.

He rode toward the Holy City while the crowds were shouting "Hosanna to David's Son. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." There were those there who got it. They were reciting Psalm 118. It was the Psalm used as pilgrims journeying on foot got closer to the Holy City.

Jesus stopped at the Mt. of Olives and cried, on his way into the City, as King David had on his way out. Jesus looked at the Jerusalem and cried at what was ahead of him and how they would reject God's plan.

King David's trusted friend and advisor, the grandfather of his beloved wife, Bathsheba, was Ahitophel. When it looked like David would be defeated, Ahitophel joined those who wanted David dead. He became Absalom's advisor betraying David.
Jesus' trusted friend, Judas, would join up with those who wanted Jesus dead and betrayed him.
Ahitophel's advice on how to capture King David was not taken and he went home and hung himself.
Judas' advice on how to capture Jesus was taken. Later in sorrow, he tried to return the money. Then he went out hung himself.

Jesus was warned before he crossed the Jordan River going toward Jerusalem that there were those there who wanted to kill him. Jesus proceeded.
David was warned before he crossed the Jordan River going away from Jerusalem that there were those who wanted to kill him, and David ran.
David's two most important men hid in a well to escape being discovered by Absalom.
Jesus' men hid to escape being discovered by Rome.
David was wanted the restoration of his Kingdom.
Jesus said his Kingdom was "not of this world".

David's friends caught up with him and brought him food fit for a feast.
Jesus' friends prepared the Feast of the Passover.
David remained safe while his men defeated Absalom in battle.
Jesus fought the battle and his men remained safe. He defeated their enemy.
David's goal was to preserve Absalom. The death of his enemy was bad news.
Jesus' goal was to preserve those who believed and thus destroy the enemy "death". This was Good News.
David again became the King of Israel
Jesus became the King of Kings.

The story of King David was something the religious knew. They had studied the story of David the Shepherd boy rising to be Israel's greatest King.

They knew well how David was forced out of the City riding a donkey; did they not see Jesus was coming riding into the City on a donkey?
They should have known better than to oppose him; banding together to destroy him. Were they dumber than the rocks intellectually?

Jesus was saying, "Be careful with what you do with the stone you mark as too misshapen to fit into your plans." God intends it to be the cornerstone.

The religious of Jesus' day knew the story well. They understood that King Saul, who "stood head and shoulders over every man in Israel", rejected the shepherd boy, David, as worthless in facing the giant, Goliath. Yet it was David's throne and not Saul's on which God would build a great nation.

In those days, the cornerstone was the first stone laid in the foundation and from it the other stones were placed in relationship or reference to this stone. It was the cornerstone that determined what was true, straight, and plumb.

This day, Palm Sunday announced that Jesus was the Cornerstone. He was being placed in the foundation of what God was building. He would be the standard by which every other stone would be measured as God would build His Kingdom.
The established religious were insulted. What had they built? Was it not a building of God? Look at the Temple! For crying out loud, how could a carpenter from Nazareth be the Cornerstone God was going to build upon?

They knew that Psalm so well, they knew the next verses,
This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is! This is the day of the Lord's victory; let us be happy, let us celebrate!

This Psalm had been written to express the joy David had when he went to praise God for all that God had done for him, when he went to worship the Lord as he returned to his kingdom.
Those loyal to David joined in the praise. "This was the day of the Lord's victory". David was giving God the credit. That brought him real joy.

Yet the religious of Jesus' day when they heard the words of David's worship Psalm, demanded that Jesus silence his followers. These were sacred words reserved only for praise to God!

Intellectually, the religious were "dumber than rocks." Jesus turned to them and said, "If I try to silence them, these dumb rocks, unable to speak, will begin shouting for joy."

What was the joy in the hearts of the people that day?

Is like the joy of knowing you passed the math or history test you were so worried about?
Is it like the joy when the one whom you love and had pledged your love said, "I love you too"?
Is it like the joy of having a soldier-child return after being listed "missing in action"?
Is it like the joy of the birth of a healthy child?
Is it like the joy of having your bills paid and being out of debt?
Is like the joy of hearing the doctor say, "you are going to be fine"?
Is it like the joy of knowing your children are healthy and happy?
We can certainly describe those as experiences of joy.

Yet this joy is far deeper. This is the foundational joy. This is the joy on which life is built – the joy that is the cornerstone to every day.

That kind of joy is worth pulling off a palm branch and joining the parade with others who shout, "Hosanna, to God's Anointed One!"

Jesus knew that the joy in the hearts of those present at the parade was so great that praise must be expressed to God, and if they had not the rest of God's creation, even the very rocks could no longer be dumb, but would shout out praise to God.

Today we know the whole story. We know Christ the "Cornerstone". We can also know the joy of measuring our dedication to God's Kingdom by his as we do our part in building God's Kingdom.

They replied, "The Lord needs it."

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

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:

"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
(From the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.)

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