The Very Stones
Psalm 140, 142 • Psalm 141, 143:1-11(12)
Zech. 14:1-11 • Rom. 15:7-13 • Luke 19:28-40
“And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, ‘I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the very stones would immediately cry out.’” Luke 19:39-40
Today’s reading from Luke’s gospel brings two disparate pieces of music to mind. Remember this from the 1960’s Jesus Christ Superstar, when Caiaphas demands Jesus quieten the rabble-rousers welcoming his entry into Jerusalem?
Jesus—
Why waste your breath moaning at the crowd?
Nothing can be done to stop the shouting
If every tongue was still, the noise would still continue
The rocks and stones themselves would start to sing:
Whenever I listen to our old tape of that musical, I can’t help breaking into jubilant song along with the crowd:
Hosanna Heysanna Sanna Sanna Ho
Sanna Hey Sanna Ho Sanna….
Hey JC, JC you’re all right by me
Sanna Ho Sanna Hey Superstar
Just as moving, in a very different way, is Richard Wilbur’s* poem “A Christmas Hymn,” set to David Hurd’s hauntingly beautiful music and a favorite carol in our Episcopal hymnal. With each of the four stanzas interspersed with the bittersweet refrain, “And every stone shall cry; and every stone shall cry,” Wilbur leads us from the humble stable that “harbor’s heaven,” to the ultimate reign of peace, when even the stars will sing the praises of the child “by whose descent among us, the worlds are reconciled.”
One song makes me want to shout and sing along with the crowds welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem, while knowing their joy will be short-lived as Jesus’ days on earth draw to a close. The other song leads me to consider the word “cry” and how it isn’t sadness Wilbur is talking about but enduring joy because Jesus—God incarnate—died, is risen, and comes again to us in love every day.
Written by Kay DuVal
* Poet and translator Richard Wilbur was the recipient of, among many notable awards, the National Book Award and two Pulitzers, and was appointed the nation’s second Poet Laureate. A devout Episcopalian, Wilbur was a weekly communicant and regular lector at his church in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He died in October of 2017 at age 96.