chasing the sun

I've been watching some of the footage from the Live 8 show two summers ago. There were millions of people in cities all over the world watching some of the best performers out there give live mini-concerts. And Brad Pitt and Bono and Bill Gates, along with countless others, were saying how glad they were to be part of a generation that stands up for humanity. Brad talks about putting privilege into action in defense of others who are dying needlessly of hunger, AIDS and extreme poverty. Their estimates had it at 30,000 people a day who die of these things.

And all the while, I was thinking of Luke 19:39-41:

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."
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.

And I felt sad and sick that the loudest voices in our day crying out for mercy and justice in defense of the under resourced and oppressed are movie stars and rock stars and do-gooders who bring a message of temporary hope. And we with the hope that is eternal wear bracelets and t-shirts and sing redemption's song to one another while people die without any hope!

May we no longer keep quiet about the things that matter and may we refuse to let stones take our place.