by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
Several months ago, my wife and I flew to New Orleans, Louisiana, where we met up with her family so that we could embark on an 8-day cruise on the Carnival Glory with them. In case you missed the lessons I learned from that experience, you can check out my blog about that trip here. After we enjoyed our Caribbean cruise, we stayed a few days in New Orleans to tour the sites and escape a bit of the colder weather up north. One of the landmarks in downtown New Orleans is the Saint Louis Cathedral, located in the center of the French Quarter. Facing Jackson Square and the Mississippi River, at the corner of Chartres and St. Ann streets, this church is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States. We were there on a Sunday, and just after their morning mass, we got to tour the inside of the beautiful cathedral. But, what struck me most was when we exited the church and saw an interesting sign posted just outside. It read, “Church Quiet Zone.”
What made that even more remarkable to me was that just outside the front steps of the church, in Jackson Square, there are numerous psychic readers perched behind card tables where crystals shine in the sun and tarot cards are arranged like a fan. There were about a dozen merchants set up with their little booths, some dressed as gypsies, ready to take money from tourists. These were palm readers, tarot card readers, fortune tellers, and purveyors of various oils and incense all offered to help people feel better about themselves and their future.
Within the earshot of a historic Catholic church where you were supposed to be quiet you could find all manner of self-help sages and seers, sitting right alongside some of the homeless folks who live in downtown New Orleans. I love the food of that town, the beignets and lattes, the grits and catfish I feasted on for breakfast, the oysters and red beans and rice—but there are so many folks there in desperate need of Jesus!
Quiet in Church?
Are we supposed to be quiet in church? You may have grown up being told that, as was I. In case you didn’t know, it didn’t stick for me, though.
Last Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday at Christ’s Church. It was an incredible Sunday with great worship, preaching and several baptisms, but the best part of the day was the opening of the worship experience when our CCKids choir led us in worship. They were amazing! Several elementary-aged kids quoted Scripture before each of the two songs they sang. During second service I stood in the back of the auditorium next to Haylee James, one of our incredible worship team vocalists, and I said to her, “I think that little girl singing the solo is going to bump you off.” And, without missing a beat, Haylee responded, “I hope so!!!”
At the beginning of the week in which Jesus would lay down his life for you and me on the cross, he rode into the capital Jerusalem on a foal of a donkey. The crowd spread palm branches and their cloaks on the road for Jesus to ride on—a procession fit for a humble King. Doctor Luke tells us that as Jesus came to 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’” (Luke 19:37-40, NIV).
This fulfilled what had been prophesied by Zechariah over 500 years before the coming of Christ: “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9, NLT).
The crowd that day could not help but sing the praises of King Jesus. They had witnessed his many miracles. They had been fed, both physically and spiritually. They had listened to his powerful stories and his teaching—and how he taught with authority! They weren’t going to remain quiet and reserved, and they certainly weren’t going to let the stones cry out instead of themselves doing the shouting!
Dignity Is Overrated
After our CCKids sang in church this past Sunday, I heard a number of people talk about how hearing our kids praise our Lord is such a blessing to us! Kids are not meant to be quiet. They are not shy and reserved, though sometimes they do get stage fright! They have no problem shouting praises to their King Jesus, and we would do well to emulate their childlike faith during this season.
About a month ago at Christ’s Church while our worship leader Jeremy was leading us in worship songs to our King, something spontaneous broke out that I did not begin—a conga line! Several adults, kids, and teens skipped through the crowd as we sang the song “Praise”. I wondered what some of our first-time guests were thinking when that happened. I wondered what some of our longtime members were thinking when that happened. I know what I was thinking. I immediately thought of one of my favorite passages in Scripture in which King David got undignified in his worship of God.
The account takes place in 2 Samuel 6. King David and his men (the Bible tells us there were 30,000 troops with him) were carrying the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. They were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs of praise, and playing lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals. David became so elated at the Ark of God coming to the great city that he “danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing only a priestly garment” (2 Samuel 6:14, NLT) as the crowd shouted for joy and blew rams’ horns. He was so moved with joy because the presence of God was coming to rest with him and his people that he made a fool of himself.
David’s wife Michal was terribly embarrassed by her husband’s behavior, as she looked down from her window and saw David leaping and dancing before the Lord. The Bible says she “was filled with contempt for him” (v. 16), and when David returned home, his wife came out to meet him and said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!” (v. 20).
But David responded to Michal, “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” (vv. 21, 22, NIV). Then we read a sad commentary in verse 23, “And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death” (NIV). God allowed her womb to be barren, which was a travesty for a Jewish woman in Israel. Don’t miss this lesson: Be very careful not to ever judge someone else’s worship expression toward their God! Our God takes this very seriously.
When’s the last time you put your dignity aside and followed Jesus with the passion and zeal because his very presence in your life stirred something inside you that you couldn’t help but express? You can let the kids sing their praises to God, or you can let the stones cry out for you . . . but God is calling you to praise his name. I can’t wait to do that along with you this coming Sunday as we celebrate the greatest victory in all the world—the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave!!