The Passion Narrative for Palm Sunday 28 March 2021

 Mark 15.1-39          As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Reflection     Remembering the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, I can almost hear Judas singing,

“Listen, Jesus, do you care for your race?

Don't you see we must keep in our place?

We are occupied; have you forgotten how put down we are?

I am frightened by the crowd.

For we are getting much too loud.

And they'll crush us if we go too far.

If they go too far....

Listen, Jesus, to the warning I give.

Please remember that I want us to live.

But it's sad to see our chances weakening with every hour.

All your followers are blind.

Too much heaven on their minds.”

When Jesus begins his ministry the Jews have long been waiting for a superstar to rescue them from their Roman oppressors.  Even though the homeless Jesus of Nazareth seems  to have no shortage of superpowers to heal, cast out demons and teach with authority, he fails when it comes to miraculously freeing the masses from their afflictions.  So it is not surprising that the same crowd that waves palms and sings “Hosannas” as Jesus enters Jerusalem a mere week later exchanges their praises for the piercing cries, “Crucify him. Crucify him.” 

It is the morning after his donkey ride into Jerusalem when Jesus enters the temple and immediately  “drive(s) out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturn(s) the tables of the moneychangers…” And then Jesus dares to declare, “Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 

Can you hear the people protest? “Jesus, what are you doing? You are making things worse for us? The Temple is the centre of our worship, commerce and national identity. Not only does it house our religious scripture but also the national literature. It is the meeting place of the highest court of Jewish law, the Sanhedrin. Jesus, you are upsetting the chief priests and scribes, making them afraid. Nothing good can come of this.”

Undeterred, the next day Jesus and his disciples return to the temple. Once again Jesus foils both religious and political officials when they plot to entrap him and then in a fate filled turn of tongue he hammers the proverbial nail into his cross when as he leaves the temple he says, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” (Mk 13.2)  

And we hear CAIAPHAS singing.

“Tell the rabble to be quiet, we anticipate a riot. 

This common crowd, is much too loud. 

Tell the mob who sing your song that they are fools and they are wrong. 

They are a curse. They should disperse.”

Jesus is silent.

Realizing it is out of jealousy that the chief priests have handed Jesus over, Pilate asks the crowd, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” Meanwhile, hoping to secure their place of privilege with the Romans the chief priests stir up the crowd. Should such a thing happen today I suspect the instigators would  use social media to incite the crowd. But I digress.

Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” So “Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd… handed Jesus over to be crucified.” 

Here it is tempting to reference the sociology of crowd behavior; how a combination of social conditions that cause people to be frustrated and angry (being occupied and oppressed by the ruling class), a distinctive precipitating event (someone or something is identified to blame, the superstar has failed to save them)  and a lack of social control (no fear of punishment or reprisal for acting out, the officials are actually inciting the crowd), are the ground from which protest and violent collective behavior arise. * 

Returning to our story we see Jesus nailed to a cross. All who pass by him, including the chief priests and scribes, mock him and demand that if indeed he “would destroy the temple and build it in three day,” he should use his superpowers to save himself.  And when Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” we are not surprised that other bystanders call for another superstar, Elijah, to intervene. 

What is surprising is this. A Roman centurion, no doubt the soldier responsible for Jesus’ execution, a man with neither connection nor affection for the Temple or the Jewish God, the centurion is the only person in the crowd who recognizes God in the presence of the crucified Jesus. The centurion is the first person to see, know and believe the paradox of the cross which he declares saying, “Truly this man was God’s son.”

I have no idea what awakened  the centurion. I wonder if it was the dignity with which Jesus faced his accusers. Perhaps Jesus’ courage and composure while enduring unspeakable humiliation broke something open inside him. However we explain this, in some way the soldier was profoundly present. With no personal stake in the outcome he was able to see beyond the chaos of the circumstance to the mysterious presence of God with the suffering Jesus.  

Another surprising thing about this story is the unlikely superstar; a homeless Jewish man who wanders the Judean countryside loving on people, preaching peace and praying, a superstar murdered by political and religious officials who are afraid of his superpower love, a superstar who consents to his life and his death without ever turning away from God. 

Therein hides the secret of  the superstar’s power.  He finds his superpower in God alone.  Which makes me wonder if as Jesus faced Herod, Pilate and all those who mocked, scorned and betrayed him, if he might have been silently singing the words of David’s Psalm? 

^“”For God alone my soul waits in silence… 

 God alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; 

I shall never be shaken.” (Ps 62.1-2) 

I wonder if in some mysterious way the centurion heard Jesus’ silent song. Do you?

*Smelser, N. J. (1963). Theory of collective behavior. New York, NY: Free Press.

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Passion Narrative for Sunday 14 April 2019

Luke 23:1-49        The assembly of the elders of the people rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king." Then Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He answered, "You say so." Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man." But they were insistent and said, "He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.”

When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him."

Then they all shouted out together, "Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!" (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.) Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him." But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; and to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent." And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Reflection        Last Sunday during our forum on Jewish and Christian Values one of Rabbi Helen’s M’kor Hayim congregants asked, “The second commandment instructs us to make no graven images or idols of God. How does that fit with the crucifixes we see in many Christian churches and homes?” A great question especially as we walk with Jesus to Jerusalem this Holy week and the image of Jesus nailed to a cross looms high above us. The question gave me pause and reminded me of an experience I had when assigned to a field education parish as a first year seminarian.

The church was an ultramodern building nestled in a sumptuous Marin County residential setting.  Passing through a lush garden, mesmerized by the water music of a fountain mixed with the fragrance of perennial  blossoms I was stopped dead in my tracks as I passed through the sanctuary doors and came face to face with a twenty plus foot contemporary painted wood sculpture of a Mexican/Spanish styled Jesus nailed to a cross, hanging in the chancel, high above the altar. Thankfully no one else was present as I am sure my gasp was audible.

“Oh dear. How can I be in this place? How can I gaze at this enormous dead Jesus every week?” Looking for a place to escape, I anxiously searched the sanctuary. It was stark, no ornament except the regnant crucifix. After a time my eyes settled on a line of seats mostly hidden in the shadows far below the imposing sculpture. I actually felt my breath release as I realized, it would be on one of those seats that I would sit with the grand graven image well above and behind me. “Thank you God.”

It took several months for me to screw up the courage to ask the rector, my supervisor, how he could live with the daunting sculpture of dead Jesus reigning sovereign from on high above his head? He paused for awhile before responding. “Hanging there above us is a constant reminder of what we humans are capable of at our worst. We should never forget our potential for evil, the killing of innocents, all the ways we do so by our actions and inactions every single day.” And that reframe turned me around. 

We are not worshipping the mangled body of a god and thereby violating the second commandment. No. We contemplate the unsettling sculpture of love crucified to remind ourselves how easily we turn away from good, misuse our position, power or privilege, then either willfully or unwittingly execute evil and elevate it to regal heights. No wonder we do not like to look at the vexing sculpture of an innocent man’s dead body nailed to a cross. It brings us face to face with an inconvenient truth. Just like the crowds of people who follow Jesus as well as the religious leaders and public officials, ever so easily we too can be swept up in the emotional fray of a moment, we too give way and  shamelessly wheel around from following good to executing even the most innocent among us, we crucify love.

Too often I catch myself in the rear-view mirror hurrying on my all-important way rather than pausing to offer a handful of help and hope to the neighbor or stranger whom I fail to love as I love my self. Far too often I leap past disconcerting news stories rather than face the horrors that are happening just a few miles south of my comfortable home. No, I do not worship a graven image, but far too often I make an idol of myself; fashioning my security, my safety, my esteem,  my power, and my control into five demanding deities and crucify love. How about you? Lord have mercy upon us  and incline our hearts to keep your law. 

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Gospel text for Sunday of the Passion 25 March 2018

Mark 15.1-39         As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Reflection       Each one of our stories is a variation on the theme of Jesus’ story. Some of us were planned from birth, others, not so much. Some were welcomed to the world with gifts, (if not frankincense and myrrh, perhaps a silver spoon) others driven into hiding. All of us encounter “other” people; the sick, wealthy, poor, wise, powerful, weak, fearful, bold. A few of us have friends who really know who we are but most people only think they do. We have families who love us and misjudge us; civil and religious officials who try to tell us who and how we ought to be. And, if we dare to pick up our cross and live our lives by faith rather than fear, if we dare to strive for love and compassion rather than power and privilege, there is every chance we will be misunderstood, hated, persecuted and likely hear ourselves cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

Here is the thing. As we progress on our journeys of faith with God, sometimes God seems to be absent especially if we have experienced moments of joy, comfort or great consolation with God. Experiencing the presence of God with us is like fueling our deepest desire, and of course, all we want is more, more of the amazing God feeling. So God, in God’s wisdom steps back, inviting us into deeper, more faithful relationship with God, a relationship that does not depend on signs,  miracles, good feelings or even rescue from suffering or death.

We share this story that we call life with Jesus. Woven throughout our stories there are paragraphs called suffering and others called death because our lives are punctuated  with all kinds of suffering and who knows how many deaths; deaths of our self image, ego, ideals, youth, dreams, deaths of our pets and loved ones, death of the way things used to be, until our physical death. 

There is no superhero God who is going to break into space and save us from suffering and death. But the good news is,  Jesus shows us the way to navigate these paragraphs with grace and equanimity. Rather than praying for divine rescue or miraculous cure we look to the presence of God who is faithfully with us, no matter what because God is faithful. 

The curtain that separated the divine from the human has been torn for ever. As the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God…” (Ro 8.38-39) God is faithful, no matter what.

May your walk to Jerusalem be blessed this Holy Week and always.

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Gospel text for Passion Sunday, 9 April 2017

Matthew 27:11-54        Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

So 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.” Then the people as a whole answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; then they sat down there and kept watch over him. Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Reflection        “… let him be crucified…crucify him” It is hard to hear those words. Even more difficult to say or shout them. The other day I was talking with someone who finds the words, “Crucify him,” down right offensive - he does not like that we say them in our passion narratives. They leave a bad taste is his mind and in his mouth. They are not the winsome version of Christianity he prefers. But here is the thing, every time we judge ourselves as too short, too fat, not good enough, too old, not right, not smart, not worthy…  only human… we are essentially shouting, crucify him, crucify him.

How is this so? Because the Christ, the Word made flesh, lives and breathes and finds its being in and of and as each and every one of us. Divinity, the Christ, is not distant, remote or other. This is the message of the Incarnation, this is the gift of Christmas. God is present and active in and of and as each of us.

That said, when we judge ourselves, mistreat, disregard or abuse ourselves we are essentially crucifying Jesus, the Christ that dwells with us. Likewise, when we dispise, debase, devalue or deny another person, we may just as well be throwing stones and shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify her!” 

It may be difficult to wrap our minds around this. It certainly was for the religious officials whom we hear in John’s gospel castigating Jesus, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God." Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods’?” (Here Jesus, a good and faithful Jew, is quoting the Hebrew scriptures, Psalm 82.6 “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you.”)   Jesus continues trying to explain to the irate religious officials that this is not blasphemy. This is the true identity of God’s people who from the beginning are made in the image and likeness of God, children of the Most High. “If those to whom the word of God came were called 'gods'-and the scripture cannot be annulled- can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, 'I am God's Son'? (John 10.33-36) Remember, this is what actually gets Jesus crucified… claiming his identity with God.

We are gods, children of the Most High, all of us. It is difficult for us to wrap our minds around this message because we see where it got Jesus - crucified! Nonetheless, as Jesus’ sisters and brothers,  we are children of God, we are inherently good, unquestionably valuable and find our identity in God. 

The way we treat ourselves and one another is the way we treat Jesus. When we value and care for ourselves and one anther we are turning toward Jesus and revering the Christ that abides with us and all people. On the other hand, when we devalue, degrade or otherwise fail to care for ourselves and one another we are crucifying Jesus, the Christ, our own True Self.

It is no wonder we balk at the words, “Let him be crucified.” They strike at the core of our own being because they condemn the Divinity the lives and breathes and finds its being in each of us, “children of the Most High, all of (us).” It is no wonder we deny our Divine True Self. We are afraid of what other people will say and do to us. 

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Luke 23.1-49 Reflections on Passion Sunday text

Almost everyone was accusing Jesus of things he didn’t do and things he didn’t say. The Roman soldiers, the Jewish officials, the chief priests and scribes, even the people who only days before gathered to hear him teach and to be healed – they were all in a frenzy accusing Jesus. Only Pilate and King Herod did not accuse him. They found Jesus innocent, actually three times. But in the end they too were implicated in the wrongful death of an innocent man because both Herod and Pilate failed to use their authority to oppose the crowds that were swept away in an emotional fervor. The two men in authority failed to execute truth and justice. An innocent man was crucified and died.

When I ask myself, “Who are the bad guys?” I have to answer, “Everyone.” That makes me nervous. I wonder what I would have done if I was in that crowd? I wonder what I would have done if I was one of the priests, or King Herod or Pilate? When have I stood by and let an innocent person be slandered or wrongfully accused? When have I watched and done nothing when innocent people have been mistreated? Misunderstood? Judged? Condemned? Neglected? Forgotten? Abused? Too many times I haven’t slowed down to walk with an elderly person. Too many times I have not stopped, looked into a homeless person’s eyes and offered them a blessings. Too many times I’ve listened to hostile gossip. Too many times I have judged the people I say I love. Yes – I am one of the crowd, I am one of the officials who failed to exercise my authority and I have crucified an innocent man.

Still, that is not cause to despair. Then Jesus said, “”Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” In some bibles this verse appears in brackets because scholars cannot agree if it was in the original text and at some point was cut out, or if it was a later addition to the text. What matters to me is that it is there now, and I am grateful. Jesus’ words are an incredible affirmation of our human condition, “…they do not know what they are doing.” Isn’t that the truth! I cannot for a minute believe that the entire assembly of Roman soldiers, Jewish officials, chief priests, scribes and ordinary people were ill willed or evil. Nor can I believe that Herod and Pilate were inherently bad. I cannot believe that any more than I can believe I am ill willed or evil when I fail to seek and serve and save the suffering people in my world.

Who among us is innocent? Blameless? Pure and free of wrongdoing? Let me suggest that the answer is – not one of us is innocent. And the good news is we are forgiven because we are the beloveds of God, just the way we are. Does that mean we have license to be corrupt, self-serving or live without regard for the consequences of our behavior? Absolutely not. What it means is when we inevitably act and reveal that we “know not what we are doing,” we are already forgiven. Thanks be to God.