When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday at the beginning of Passover week, it must have been a little bit like our modern parades. People gathered at the roadside. Dads and Moms brought their kids to see the sights. There was music, noise, excitement - a huge hub bub! Surely some people came along just because everyone else was there.While modern parades are amplified by marching bands, revving engines and the sirens of fire trucks - the people themselves had to create all the noise in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago when Jesus came to town. The volume was turned up so loud for Jesus that the Pharisees (those well-behaved religious leaders who surely preferred lower volume settings) asked Jesus to tell everyone to dial the noise back. Jesus would have no such thing. The Palm Sunday parade was a day for praise and thanksgiving. Parades are for celebrating and remembering the people and events for which we are grateful.Jesus not only refused to quiet the people, he went of out of his way to let the Pharisees know that there would be no stopping his parade. Jesus said, “if the people keep quiet, then the very rocks would cry out!” On Palm Sunday, the people did their job and offered their songs, prayers and praise to the one who deserves them. The rest of the week, however, is another story....Activity: Gather a small collection of rocks. Perhaps you can go “hunting” for them in your yard, neighborhood, or at a nearby park or beach. Use a sharpie to write a cause for praise or thankfulness to God on some of the rocks. You can make a small “pile of praise” on the table where you eat, or on your kitchen counter to represent your thankful heart and the praises of the people on Palm Sunday.