“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” Mark Twain

“As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.  As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,

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

Some of the Pharisees…said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”” Luke 19:33-40

Silence is deadly. Yes, silence in worship is a blessing, for finding some time to meditate on our blessings, especially the blessings that come through the cross of Jesus requires time to meditate on it day and night. But our very lives are not defined by such silence. Only monks and hermits can find such silence daily. We, on the other hand, live in a cacophony of sounds: noises, digital devices, and the shouts of daily life. And it is into this noise that we seek to live out our lives, and our faith lives as well. We live in a society today where people have decided it is better to shout down their enemies and those who disagree with them, seeking to silence the opinions of others in order to defend what they think is the preferable, the smart, the right opinion. If they can silence the opinions of others, then they will believe their opinion is superior. It is true in the life of politics, and it is true in the life of the church. Somewhere in the 21^st century, some people of our society determined they could not tolerate dissenting opinions. Silencing the opponent, in whatever means was necessary, was more advantageous than debating the merits of both. How far is the leap that a society will take from people silencing the opinions of other people, to a government that will seek to do the same?      

The disciples of Jesus are shouting “Blessed is the King…” and “Hosanna to the King” as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. The Pharisees are uncomfortable because in first century Judaism, there is just one king – and that king is Caesar. Within Roman occupation, the people of Israel were just hoping to survive without being crushed by the occupying government. Jesus’ “triumphal entrance” is both a political statement, as it is a religious statement. It is the classic battle between religion and government, between “David and Goliath”, between the underdog and the superstar. And if the people are silent, are forced to be silent, or choose to be silent, Jesus says that G-d will produce those who will not be silent.

We must choose whether, as a church, as a community of believers, and as a denomination, will we choose to be silent about our faith, or will we shout out against injustice, intolerance, and religious censorship? Will we censor ourselves, or will we shout out our faith, and our belief that Jesus is “the one who has come in the name of the Lord?” Just as we cannot accept censorship in the political and personal aspects of our lives, we cannot tolerate self-censorship in the church – because silence is the enemy of the church.

Pastor Dave