April 13, 2025
Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus
“When we can't hush"
by Rev. Trip Porch
April 13, 2025 Based on Luke 19:28-40; 45-48
I once visited a Quaker meeting — it was in an old meeting house with creaky chairs and wide windows letting in the morning light. It was winter, and the radiators hadn’t quite warmed the space, so everyone had their coats on.
They were sitting in silence — wrapped in stillness, but fully present with each other. There was no bulletin, no organ prelude, no sermon to look forward to. Just… waiting. Listening. For the better part of an hour, we sat together in that deep hush. But it wasn’t empty. It felt like a kind of silence that is listening back.
Then, with no cue or crescendo, one elderly woman — sitting near the back — stood up.
She had that slight tremor in her voice. The kind that comes when you're not sure if what you're about to say is worth interrupting the silence. She said something simple — about her daughter, about forgiveness, about how hard it is to love when you feel disappointed. Just a few sentences. And Then she sat down. That was it.
And somehow, that tiny crack in the silence let light in. It made everything feel more real, more shared, more sacred. Her words didn’t break the silence — they fulfilled it.
That’s what Quakers believe, after all: that the Spirit speaks — not just from pulpits or prophets — but from within the people. And when that inward nudge becomes too strong to ignore, when someone feels that inner stirring so strongly that they have to say something… they stand up and speak. Not to draw attention to themselves,
But to bear witness to what God is stirring in the room, at this time, for this people.
Now imagine that stillness… that expectant hush… that inward nudge stretching out across centuries, across empires, across generations of prophets. And then one day— on the dusty road into Jerusalem — someone stands up. A peasant on a donkey. A crowd with palm branches. Stones ready to shout. Tables waiting to be flipped.
The hush of the world breaks. And Jesus — the one who so often kept quiet — chooses this moment to stand up and speak, not just with words, but with a whole, disruptive procession.
That is where we begin today. at a threshold moment — one that demands noise. Noise not for the sake of noise, but for the sake of justice.
Today, we witness Jesus refusing to stay silent in the face of empire, in the face of corruption and exploitation.
Let’s enter the story — and ask ourselves what it means, in our time, to break the silence too.
Now, I know many of us grew up thinking of Palm Sunday as a kind of sweet parade — children waving branches, Jesus smiling like a hometown hero, people singing praises.
And sure, praise and worship happened that day. But worship was not the point of what was happening.
According to scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was an act of intentional resistance.
Their book, The Last Week, lays it out by claiming there were actually two processions entering Jerusalem that week.
From the west came Pontius Pilate, Rome’s representative, and his “triumph” ceremony, entering town as a returning hero… riding a war horse, surrounded by military spectacle — a show of imperial power. Swords, banners, gold, horses trained for war. Rome flexing its muscles to remind the people who held control.
But from the east on the same day comes Jesus — not on a steed, but on a donkey. Not only that but a young donkey. A historic symbol of a peaceful animal, the people’s working animal an intentional choice by Jesus to contrast the display on the other side of town… No armor. No banners. Just peasants churning out to offer praise for a king who is obviously not in power… laying their cloaks in the road as though to lay out the red carpet. Though there are not Palms in Luke’s telling of the story they’ve become so anchored to the telling of this story in western culture, we imagine them included as well.
It was street theater. A loud public display to parody those in power. A peaceful protest mocking empire. A deliberate and strategic counter-procession that said: This is not your kingdom, so look out, here comes another.
Jesus wasn’t just proclaiming himself Messiah; he was proclaiming an entirely different reign to powers that be. One not built on domination but on dignity. Not enforced by swords but sustained by solidarity. It was dangerous. It was deliberate.
It was the moment when the inner nudge within Jesus had pushed long enough that he decided: Now is the time to stand up and speak. The crowd cheers. But not everyone is happy.
The Pharisees say, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”
Which could be just as easily translated to:
“Jesus, tone it down. Can’t you just not cause such trouble? …can’t we handle this in a more civil way?”
You can almost hear the anxiety: Don’t stir things up. Keep it peaceful. Be polite. Be safe.
But Jesus replies, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Because sometimes, silence becomes complicity.
Or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the pastor in the German confessing church under nazi rule, said: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
There comes a time when the hush must break. When speaking up is not optional — it’s faithful.
Last weekend, millions of people around the world — in all 50 states and cities like London and Paris — gathered to speak out. In the Hands Off! protests, people from every background stood together to say: Hands off democracy. Hands off our neighbors. Hands off the most vulnerable. Hands off our rights.
They marched. They chanted. They carried signs and lifted voices — not to stir up chaos, but to say: This is not the kingdom we were promised. We will not be silent while the powerful consolidate control and strip away justice and freedom from everyone else.
It was, in its own way, a kind of donkey ride into Jerusalem. People listening to their inner nudge boil over to the point that they have to stand up and say something. The people stood up and marched to the seats of power to cry out at the injustice they were seeing, because they could no longer remain silent.
Jesus’ procession to the seats of power doesn’t end at the city gate. It ends in the Temple. And what does Jesus do there? More intentional public action.
He flips the tables. He drives out sellers using faith to exploit people. He disrupts the commerce of religion that had begun to abuse rather than liberate.
He quotes Scripture: “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.”
Again: not violence. But disruption.
Public, symbolic protest.
And in doing so, he makes visible what others preferred to ignore.
And the very next line says,
“The leaders kept looking for a way to kill him.”
Jesus speaks — and it costs him. He knew standing up and speaking out would bring risk, he had seen the empire easily squash insubordination, and knew what could happen to him… And yet, he knew he could no longer stay silent, he knew he needed to stand up and speak.
So… when do we speak out?
How do we know when we should hush, and when we should holler?
We stand up and speak when power tries to silence the vulnerable.
We stand up and speak when the church forgets its mission and becomes a marketplace.
We stand up and speak when justice demands a risk.
We stand up and speak when the only other option is stones shouting on our behalf.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem foolishly. Not as a conqueror, but as a protester. Not to shout for war, but to call for peace. Not to show off might, but to display mercy.
And he did it loudly. Boldly. Fully aware it would cost him.
But we aren’t Jesus…. We aren’t able to singularly raise this much commotion. But we can still, in our own ways… stand up and speak. So how will you listen to that inner nudge. How will you stand up and speak?
Here, at the end of Lent — after all our hush and stillness — Jesus reminds us:
To Speak when justice needs you.
To Cry out when love is threatened.
To Flip tables when religion loses its soul.
To Be foolish enough to follow the one who chooses a donkey over a war horse.
May we have enough silence to listen to the spirit’s stirring… and may we follow the spirits nudge to stand up and speak.
May the stones never have to cry out in our place.
Amen.
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE “Palm Sunday Medley for Piano” arr. Lois Mountz
INTROIT “Come, Come Everybody Worship!” Sonja M. Stewart
Sung by the IPC Children’s Choir
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
One: This is the day that the Lord has made
All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: We come into God’s presence with what we have: palm branches and open hearts.
Many: We come to worship the One who rides a donkey, not a war horse.
One: With ears ready to hear, and voices ready to shout out,
Many: We come to join the fight for love, justice, and peace.
All: Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
*HYMN INSERT “Praise, Praise, Praise the Lord” Louezle Seigneur
Palms will be collected at the conclusion by the choirs to decorate the chancel.
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION Brian Roe
God of courage and compassion, we confess that we often stay silent when we should speak. We fear disruption more than we fear injustice. We prefer comfort over truth, and peace without risk. Forgive us for turning away from your call to witness and action. Forgive us for silencing your Spirit in ourselves and others. Teach us to speak out with humility and conviction — to follow Jesus not only in joy, but into the places where love dares to challenge power. Amen.
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPONSE OF PARDON 626 “As the Deer” AS THE DEER
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
* indicates stand as you are able
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM “God So Loved the World” Bob Chilcott
Sophia Haws, Soprano
CHILDREN’S RECESSIONALl 188 “Jesus Loves Me” vs. 1
Children: May God be with you here
Congregation: May God be with you there
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE Luke 19:28-40; 45-48 adapted from The Voice
Jesus was pushing onward, climbing the steep hills toward Jerusalem. He approached the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, which are near Mount Olivet. He sent two of the disciples ahead, saying “Go to the next village. When you enter, you will find a colt tied—a colt that has never been ridden before. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you why you’re untying it, just say, “The Lord needs it.”
So the two disciples found things just as He had told them. When its owners did indeed ask why they were untying the colt, the disciples answered as they had been instructed.
They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their coats on the colt’s back, and then sat Jesus on it. As Jesus rode along, some people began to spread their garments on the road as a carpet. When they passed the crest of Mount Olivet and began descending toward Jerusalem, a huge crowd of disciples began to celebrate and praise God with loud shouts, glorifying God for the mighty works they had witnessed: “The King who comes in the name of the Eternal One is blessed! Peace in heaven! Glory in the highest!”
But the Pharisees who were in the crowd called to him: “Teacher, tell these people to stop making these wild claims and acting this way!” Jesus responded “Listen—if they were silent, the very rocks would start to shout!” When Jerusalem came into view, He looked intently at the city and began to weep.
He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. He began driving out the temple merchants, telling them: “The Hebrew Scriptures say, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a shelter for thieves.”
He came back day after day to teach in the temple. The chief priests, the religious scholars, and the leaders of the city wanted to kill Him, but because He was so popular among the people—who hung upon each word He spoke—they were unable to do anything.
Holy Wisdom, Holy Word
Thanks be to God
SERMON Rev. Trip Porch
WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD
*HYMN 200 “A Cheering, Chanting, Dizzy Crowd” CHRISTIAN LOVE
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Time of Offering online giving is available at www. indianolapres.org/give
OFFERTORY “With High Delight Let Us Unite” arr. Michael Burkhardt
*OFFERTORY RESPONSE “We Lift Our Voices” OFFERING
*PRAYER OF DEDICATION
God of protest and palms, we offer these gifts in response to your call — not just to praise, but to participate. As Jesus turned toward Jerusalem with courage and compassion, may these offerings turn us toward acts of justice, mercy, and bold love. Use what we give to flip the tables of injustice and build your kingdom of peace. Amen.
*HYMN INSERT “Lord, What a Parade!” LYONS
TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING
CHARGE & BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE “Ride On King Jesus” setting by Hall Johnson
Skye Johnson, Soprano; Emily Foster Piano
Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452