John 18:1-19:42
As we enter this weekend, many of us are preparing for Easter Sunday. Will the weather cooperate with our sunrise service and Easter egg hunt plans? What will we eat? Do we have special clothes for the little ones to wear for our photos? We look forward to worshipping and proclaiming, “Hallelujah and He is risen!”
But first, we need to get through Good Friday, the day that we remember Jesus being lynched.
Jesus came to dismantle the systems that oppressed people, and he offers us countless examples on how to do that. But many would rather focus on a narrow view of selected scripture, focusing on how Jesus came to die on the cross to forgive us for our sins so we can go to heaven after we die. And in the meantime, we can ignore everything Jesus taught us about how to live, and we can continue to participate in systems that benefit some at the expense of others.
This past week we have remembered Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, as he began his trip to Jerusalem. Jesus rode in on a colt, as those who had hope in this king waived and laid down palms, creating a path for this different kind of King that was being ushered in. It was quite a celebration and parade!
Later Jesus and his disciples spent the night in Bethany, a town about two miles east of Jerusalem. This is where Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead, and his two sisters, Mary and Martha lived. They were close friends of Jesus, and it is likely that they hosted Jesus and his disciples during their final days in Jerusalem.
On Monday, Jesus cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit, a reminder to us that genuine faith is more than just being outwardly religious; that we are called to bear spiritual fruit. Jesus goes on to turn over the tables in the Temple, clearing it of the corrupt money changers. This makes me wonder, if Jesus walked into our temples today, what tables would he turn over?
On Tuesday, religious leaders gathered at the Temple, upset at Jesus for establishing himself as a spiritual authority, and they organized an ambush on him, intending to place him under arrest. Later that afternoon, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives that overlooks Jerusalem and gave an elaborate prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and his second coming and final judgment. This is also the day that Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus.
We don’t really know what took place on Holy Wednesday, but since it’s not recorded, we speculate that Jesus and his disciples spent this day resting in Bethany. Jesus knew what was coming, and clearly had plenty of work that he could do, but he offers us this example of taking time to rest, and to spend time with his friends.
Holy Week took a somber turn on Thursday. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to the Upper Room in Jerusalem to make the preparations for the Passover Feast. Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet, demonstrating how we are to perform humble acts of service to show our love for one another. As the Lamb of God, Jesus was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover by giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed in sacrifice, freeing us from sin and death, establishing the Lord’s Supper that we celebrate to remember his sacrifice as we share in the elements of bread and wine.
Later Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed in agony to God the Father. In Luke’s Gospel we read that “his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground”. Jesus demonstrates what it means to Lament, to passionately express grief and sorrow. He accepted what he could not change, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. It didn’t mean that it didn’t cry out to God, pouring out all that was on his heart.
And of course, the worst day of the week was the trial, crucifixion, death and burial on Good Friday. Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Jesus endured the shame of false accusations, condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment. He was tried unlawfully multiple times and he was sentenced to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible and disgraceful methods of capital punishment known at the time.
James Cone, a world-historical figure in the 20th century Christian theology, points us to the similarities between the Cross and the Lynching Tree. The ties between the two are inextricable.
It is painful to imagine what Jesus went through, just as it is painful for us to consider what people who have been murdered on a lynching tree or who have died because they couldn’t breathe because a knee was on their neck. Unfortunately, we can’t go from a parade on Palm Sunday to a Resurrection party on Easter Sunday without acknowledging the valley of death that goes between.
It’s important to remember events that have taken place in our history, and the events of Holy Week remind us that our savior is acquainted with sorrow and knows first hand the kind of pain that many people endure. This is a savior who can gather us up; this is a savior who can redeem us.
Before Jesus’ last breath on the cross, he forgave those who persecuted him. His last words were “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
“Many women were there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. In Matthew’s gospel we are told that among the women that accompanied Jesus were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” -Matthew 27: 55-56
(Stay tuned to a reflection on these Marys and other prominent women who likely never left Jesus’ side.)
As people of faith, we believe in “The Body of Christ”, and that means we are called to be in this redemptive work together. When we follow Jesus’ example, we are to live in solidarity with the world’s pain. We are not called to run from necessary suffering-following Jesus sometimes means that we will encounter various forms of “crucifixion”, which is not a word that we use lightly. As Richard Rohr points out “The cross was Jesus’ voluntary acceptance of undeserved suffering as an act of total solidarity with the pain of the world.” “In loving solidarity, we each bear what is ours to carry, the unjust weight of crucifixion, in expectant hope for God’s transformation.“
We are a resurrection people. Easter Sunday is coming, but we’ve got to go through the rest of holy week first.
As we continue our journey with Jesus during this Holy Weekend, we are invited to examine ourselves and question the genuineness of our commitment. Holy Week and Easter shape our understanding of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ more than any other single event. “Will we choose to take up our cross and follow Jesus?
Peace y’all,
