Our Own Role in the Passion

" I have not rebelled, I have not turned my back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my bears; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame." --[ Isaiah 50: 4-7].

On Palm Sunday all around the globe, Christians meditated on this Reading, and they read the story of Jesus' Passion, as told in Matthew 26: 14- 27:66.

Some years on Palm Sunday, I cry as if I were at a funeral.

Some years, I rejoice at the triumphant procession into Jerusalem as, all along the way,  jubilant on-lookers wave palm fronds in adoration of Jesus -- the Christ, who will lose His life, and yet,  so joyfully gain it once more.

What strikes me this year are the wildly differing reactions of the witnesses and participants in this event. Each Palm Sunday, I am confronted with a crowd of adoring well-wishers who suddenly turn, as a mob, on Jesus. What began as a celebration, quickly turns to violence, blood, vengefulness and Crucifixion.

In previous posts, I have meditated upon the question of why Jesus had to die, and who killed Him?

In our contemporary world, I suppose we could poignantly ask the same questions. . . . Where is Jesus in our world today, and What is our relationship with Him?

Some theologians believe that every time we sin, we crucify Jesus all over again.

In another perspective, Mother Teresa put it this way: "If I am the spouse of Jesus crucified, He has to kiss me. Naturally, the nails hurt me. If I come close to the crown of thorns, it will hurt me."

And so, Mother Teresa saw herself as the spouse of Jesus, feeling every bit the pain which He felt.

And therefore, the question becomes, Who do YOU say you are in the Passion Narrative?

Are you like the woman in Bethany, who poured an alabaster jar of precious ointment on Jesus' head? Her adoration was extravagant, and destined to be told and retold in perpetuity, in remembrance of Jesus' preparation for His Passion.

Are you like Judas Iscariot who seeks out the chief priests and sells Jesus' life to them, for thirty pieces of silver? Do you put worldly riches ahead of even God's Son?  In the end, Judas hangs himself, and no one wants to touch the "blood money" that ransomed Jesus' life. Are you willing to risk this, for momentary earthly prestige and power ?

Or, are you like Peter and the disciples?  To them, Jesus says, "You will all become deserters because of me this night." In fact, after Jesus' death, the disciples hide in an upper room, for fear that they too will be crucified. Do you walk away from Jesus, telling yourself that to follow Him is too hard, too risky?

Or are you like Peter and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane-- asleep?  Jesus says to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay wake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial." Would you rather coast along, yielding to your own indulgence, instead of standing up for who Jesus is ?

Are you like the false witnesses who came forward, spreading misinformation about Jesus, without truly understanding His words? Are you willfully ignorant because it is easier to fortify the secular sycophants than to dig deeper for the Divine Truth?

Ae you like Pontius Pilate, who literally washes this hands of the whole matter of Jesus? : " When Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ' I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.' "
--- A priest whom I know identifies Pilate as "the most despicable man in the Bible."
Pilate believes that he is being virtuous by being neutral. He thinks that silence means he cannot possibly be tainted by what is going down. Are you putting up a shield of neutrality, when cosmic injustices are raging all around you?

Are you like the soldiers of the governor, or the chief priests, who mock Jesus by calling Him, "King of the Jews", all as they humiliate Him, as they strip Him, fashion His crown of thorns, spit upon Him, and offer Him wine mixed with gall. Do you mock Jesus in your words, your postures? Do you subject Christians to hatred as bitter as gall?

Or, are you like Simon of Cyrene, who carries Jesus' cross?  Do you walk with Jesus, in all His glory and His agony, even as He walks with you?

Are you like the women in Matthew 27: 55, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, and had made provision for Him out of their own funds? Do you invest in Jesus?

Are you like Joseph of Arimathea, who took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid Him in his own new tomb? Do you deal with Jesus tenderly, as your own brother, because He IS? Do you take Jesus deep inside your own space and wrap Him in your arms, even as the world violently rejects Him?

Are you like Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary", who upon seeing the empty tomb, realize the Resurrection with great joy and RUN to tell everyone about it? Are you a joyful witness to Jesus' Passion and His Resurrection?

This Holy Week, I plan to pray and meditate upon which of these figures in the Passion are the ones I most resemble. I hope that you plan to try this as well; and to pray for the Grace to strengthen your resolve, and to overcome your weaknesses.

[Related Postings: "Why Did Jesus Have to Die?", 8/31/14; "Who Killed Jesus?", 5/7/14; "The Cost of Christianity", 9/9/13.]

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