The aim of this blog is to meditate on the vitality of praise as a natural expression of gratitude towards divine providence. In doing so, this write up identifies the praise shouted out by the stones (gentiles) as the articulation of extreme gratitude which made the natural children (the heirs) jealous. The first part of this blog mediates on ‘praise’ and in the second part, the shouting of the stones and jealousy of heirs are briefly meditated upon.
The term providence represents the protective cover that God freely extends to His creation. The expanse of God’s providence covers everything that He created which includes the seas, the earth, the rain, the wind, the vegetation, the animals, and most importantly, the human beings. This providence characterises and represents the nature of God which is agape (unconditional love). There is nothing visible or invisible that is excluded from God’s providence (Colossians 1:16) which would otherwise limit the scope and span of God’s love. Therefore, the creation has a greater responsibility in praising the creator for his unconditional providence.
‘Praise’ is often misunderstood as a reciprocal relationship between man and God, thus representing a give and take approach. This means God earns praise from human beings only by answering their prayers and granting their material wishes. Further, this school of interpreters frames praise on explicit and verbal articulations in a flashy manner. Such interpretations of ‘praise’ have a selfish underpinning that could limit one’s spiritual progression. Moreover, such (mis) understanding reflects the Western culture within which interpersonal relationships are regulated by a rather conclusive ‘thank you’ (for your help) approach in contrast to the Eastern approach of extended relationship of gratitude.
‘Praise’ on the other hand is a natural, perpetual (Psalm 145:2), and unconditional acknowledgement of our eternal relationship with God Almighty. A close analogy could be the cry of a baby at birth. Following the medical interpretation, the ‘first cry’ (of the baby) represents the kick start of its lungs when it starts breathing the air for the first time. Likewise, a person born in Christ is a new being (2 Corinthians 5:17), brought into the spiritual world through baptism. And, praise is the first cry that demonstrates the spiritually newborn’s relationship with God. In other words, the newly born in Christ kickstarts breathing the pneuma (air, which is the Holy Spirit). This spiritual breathing is what praise predominantly represents. This is further intensified by verbal praise (Revelation 7:9) when the newborn joins the world of fellow beings, the cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1; cf. Psalms 142:7b).
‘Praise’ therefore is a natural phenomenon in a spiritually newborn, in the same way as breathing is. Referring back to the analogy, as soon as a baby is born, its nostrils and the mouth are cleared of any amniotic fluid so as to enable uninterrupted breathing. The very first clearing of nostrils was undertaken by God Himself – Adam was brought to life after God breathed life into his nostrils (Genesis 2:7). However, ever since the fall, mankind has failed in expressing gratitude to and praising God. Romans 1: 21 says for though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.
As said above, praise is an unconditional acknowledgement of our gratitude to God, and hence should be diffused in our breathing so that it becomes a non-stop exercise. In the same way as the ceasing of breath pronounces death, the ceasing of praise results in the spiritual death of human beings. King David said, ……so that my soul may praise you and not be silent……..forever (Psalm 30:12). King David could not stop praising even when his lips stopped, hence said, when I think of You on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of night…(Psalm 63:6). He again said, At midnight I rise to praise you….(Psalm 119:62). David could not even think of a moment without praising the Lord. For him, even the time of his sleep is a loss because he could not praise God when he is asleep. He felt being distanced from God as he could not praise God in his sleep. And not praising God was nothing less than being dead for David as we read in Psalm 6:5. The suffocation that he experienced could be understood as the reason for his rising up in the midnight (Psalm 119:62) to praise God.
Praise, therefore, needs to be discerned as a natural phenomenon unlimited by rituals and institutions. This means, praise cannot be timetabled and factored in as part of the ritual such as different forms of church worship only, nor can it be dictated by the churches in terms of ‘how’ and ‘when’, Praise is the umbilical cord between the creator (God) and the creation (humans), the relationship and communication which the recipient keeps seeking for, day and night. Hence it is something to be taught and encouraged as a natural phenomenon. Isaiah (26:9) defines this as the ‘yearning of the soul and the spirit, day and night’.
The brief conversation between the Pharisees and Jesus on His triumphal entry to Jerusalem brings forth the former’s ignorance or rather misunderstandings about praise. The Pharisees did know that only God Almighty deserves praise (Psalm 115:1). However, they probably did not know that praise is a natural phenomenon like breathing, which the creation cannot hold back, especially in the presence of the creator.
In the same way as the newborn cries, if a person maintains the characteristics of a newborn, praise will just occur. Jesus had already stated explicitly …..unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). The Chief Priests, Pharisees and the scribes were spiritually mature and should have actually led the praising of the Lord who was in their midst. Unfortunately, they were so myopic with materialism that they neither could recognise ‘Immanuel’ nor could guide anyone to Him. Jesus once rebuked them as ‘spoilers’ who lock people out of the Kingdom of heaven, neither going in themselves nor allowing anyone to enter (Matthew 23:13).
When the Chief Priests, the Pharisees and the scribes opposed the praising, Jesus had to remind them with a counter question, …..have you never read, Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself? (Matthew 21:16). In other words, Jesus asked them to do their homework before raising an issue about the umbilical cord that connects the creation to the creator. Unfortunately the custodians of faith did not know or rather conveniently forgot Psalm 8:2 which Jesus had to remind them. Jesus also added, I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out (Luke 19:40), again reminding them of what was written in the Old Testament book Habakkuk 2:11.
The second quote of Jesus (from Habakkuk 2:11) links praise to ‘the children’. This can be better understood by referring to John the Baptist’s warning …….God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9). These Pharisees should have been the same people who lined up to get baptised by John the Baptist (see Matthew 3:7). Whilst anyone who gets baptised is turned to become a new creation, the same seems to have only hardened the Pharisees as they were trying to kill Jesus, as He reminded, If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me……this is not what Abraham did (John 8: 39-40). It means the natural children of Abraham (the Israel) could not sustain their status and God started looking towards stones (the gentiles) to get children for Him.
The brief conversation between the Pharisees and scribes on one side and Jesus on the other, could be numbered as the third and final opportunity granted by the Lord to the former to repent and change, and reactivate praise as spiritual breathing. The first opportunity was at the time of their baptism, the second one in their conversation with Jesus and the third one again immediately before the triumphal entry of the Lord to Jerusalem. From a spiritual perspective, the Pharisees and their allies had the final opportunity to return to a praise oriented relationship with the Lord, before He ascended to heavenly Jerusalem. Sadly, it did not happen as evident from Jesus’ lamentation Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37); and ….if you, even you, had only recognised on this day the things that make for peace (Luke 19:42).
The chosen children of God (Israel) rejected their Father, as a result of which the stones (gentiles) were given the opportunity to receive that status (Matthew 8:10-12). The entry of this new group of children could be termed as the glorious and historical moment in God’s Kingdom. The new entrants who were accepted as the children of God received an opportunity to praise the creator, a privilege that rested with God’s chosen- the Levites were officially appointed to praise God walking before the ark of the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:4), and later to offer praise to the Lord in the temple (1 Chronicles 23:5).
The quality of the praise by the gentile converts is given in Acts 10: 45-46 where it states that the Jewish converts (to Christianity) were astounded by the way the former were praising the Lord. The discerning factor here is the realisation of John the Baptist’s statement about raising children from stones (Matthew 3:9), and more importantly, Jesus’s warning which implied ‘if you keep quiet, these stones will shout out’ (Luke 19:40).
If the praise of the newly born children of God (the gentile converts) were found astounding, it must have been a zero-defective praise. The Jewish converts would have only expected a deficient praise from the gentile converts as they were just born and missing could be obvious. As the chosen children of God, the Jewish Christians might have thought that only they knew how to praise in perfection. In fact they cannot be blamed just in case they thought in that line because there are seven types of praise identified in the Old Testament which obviously the gentiles would not have known.
These seven types of praise are:
1. Barak (to kneel or bow down before the Lord) (Psalm 72:12-15 & Psalm 103);
2. Halal (to shine, boast or celebrate) (1 Chronicle 16:4 & 23: 5) ;
3. Shabach (to shout loudly or command) Psalm 63:1-4;
4. Tehillah (to sing unrehearsed, or unplanned praises) (Psalm 34:1 & 40:3);
5. Towdah (to extend or raise one’s hands to give thanks for something that has not been received yet) (Psalm 50:23 & 17:26);
6. Hodah (to extend hands vigorously as in complete surrender) (2 Chronicles 20:21 & Psalm 9:1); and
7. Zamar (to touch the string in rejoice) (Psalm 150 & 92:1-3).
The meaning of the Greek word to describe the praise of the gentile converts used in Acts 10:46 is ‘extol’ which is not just ordinary but a higher and enthusiastic form of praise. This means the praise by the newborn children of God covered all the seven types of praise- no wonder why the Jewish Christians were astounded. Moreover, it would not be a surprise if the heirs became jealous of their privileges being shared or even taken away.
We can draw an analogy of this incident to that of what happened at the return of the prodigal son. In Luke 15:25-27 the elder son was caught in a similar situation where he felt his status as the heir to his father’s household being challenged. The music and dance at home could be equated to the praise of a newborn, which the father explained to the elder son that his brother was dead, but is now a newborn (Luke 15:32). Praise as an expression of gratitude is something that could be discerned in the prodigal son when he was unconditionally accepted by his father. Jesus gave the example of two debtors and asked Saint Peter, who would love the money lender more, to which the disciple replied, ……the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt (Luke 7:43).
This means, the degree and quality of praise has a strong relation to gratitude which would be more who are accepted not on merits but by the grace of God. Hence, the people like the prodigal son and the sinful woman (Luke 7:36f) who otherwise had no hope in their life, when forgiven of their sins, started praising with full intensity, outstanding the natural heirs. For instance, even though Nicodemus was a high profile Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, still struggled to understand what Jesus meant when he was told to be born again (John 3:3). Whereas, the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 wasn’t told anything but from the very moment she saw Jesus, knelt down in tears and started bathing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair (Luke 7:38). The reason for her act was because there was no one else in this world except Jesus who could bring her back from her sinful past to a normal life. The gratitude of the woman flowing through her tears could be discerned as natural praise for us to emulate during the Lenten season, and especially during the Passion Week.
The Great Lent and especially the passion week facilitates everyone to be born again. The forty days of Great Lent could be considered as our journey to the heavenly Jerusalem. In the same way as Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem was ‘triumphal’, we too have the opportunity for a triumphal entry to the heavenly Jerusalem. We can only triumph if we become like a newborn. In order to enter, we need to raise up the weights of our sins unto the Lord. Psalm 55:22 says Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you.
Therefore, let us lift our burden of sins up along with the palm leaves during the Palm Sunday procession and the worship throughout. In that way every stone will change and will become eligible to shout out. It will of course be an envy to the fallen (Satan), but a proud moment for the children of God.
May God bless us.
Fr Saji. K. Mathew
Fr Dr Saji K Mathew 