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3/29/02
Good Friday - John 19, selected verses
It's always eye-opening to hear a passage of scripture and try to place one's self into the scene. Who are we in the story we hear? In this passage, there are many characters from who to choose. Are we a soldier? Are we Pilate? Are we Barabbas? Or do we seek to emulate Jesus, and try to put ourselves in his place? Yet, if we think a little more realistically, if we were really living during the life and passion of Jesus, chances are we would simply be another person in the crowd. One of the masses of people gathered to watch the unusual events that were taking place in Jerusalem. We might find ourselves as fishers, healers, traders, or tax collectors. Ordinary people, living in a world with one extraordinary person in our midst, the one called Jesus.
Fortunately, one did not have to be in Jesus' inner circle of disciples or companions like Peter, James, John, Mary or Martha, to be touched by his ministry, to wonder about who he was, and to follow the events of his life. Jesus' might have spent more time with certain people, preparing them for leaderships, but his ministry was for the people, for the crowds who seemed to gather around him where ever he went. His parables, his healings, his miracles - these were all done among the expectant, watchful crowds. When Jesus was baptized by John, it was done among the people, where all were coming to be baptized also, not off in some separate, private place. The Sermon on the Mount, containing some of Jesus' best-remembered teachings, were given on the hillside for all to hear. Where ever Jesus went, even to seek a moment of reprieve, the crowds followed him. Weary though he was, we read again and again that Jesus had compassion on them, and reached out to them despite his fatigue. He fed them thousands at a time, and healed multitudes.
Can't you imagine the long lines of people forming for just a moment with this mysterious man? And of course, the crowds were present on that festive day of Jesus' entering Jerusalem. Imagine the excitement of an impromptu parade, the fun of celebrating something for once, even under the pressures of Roman occupation, economic hardships, and struggles on every side. The crowds were there, waving palms, shouting hosannas, and welcoming Jesus. And now the crowds are present again - not eagerly waiting to hear his teaching. No longer hoping for healing. Not waving palms or spreading out their cloaks for him. Yes, the crowds are still here, but now they are demanding, with hatred and anger, that Barabbas, the criminal, the trouble-maker, the robber, be released to them instead of Jesus, the one who healed, fed, taught and loved them. What had happened in such a short time to turn the mood of the crowd so drastically? What changed their mind about this Jesus? Didn't they want him as their king just a few days ago?
We are all too familiar with the betrayal of Judas, all to ready to condemn him for his treachery, but what about the crowds? Aren't they guilty of betrayal too? Jesus stands before the crowd, the same man as just a few days before. He proclaims the same gospel that he did from the start. He shares the same message, the same teachings of love. He looks on them with the same compassion, even unto his death. Jesus didn't change, didn't waver, didn't go through some transformation. And yet, the crowds responded to him so differently now, here, as Jesus stood before Pilate. Are we a member of this crowd? If we can see ourselves in the crowds of Jerusalem, then we must not see ourselves only as the ones who celebrated his arrival with palms, but also as the ones who stand around him today, shouting to condemn him, pushing to convict him, ready and willing to betray him, choosing even despised criminals over him. Suddenly, being one in the crowd is not such a small part after all. In our lives, in our faith journeys, are we sometimes like the crowd in Jerusalem?
One day we respond to God with joy and celebration. We sing songs of praise, we worship, we commit to God. We ask God to heal us and protect us. We study God's Word, ready to learn God's teachings. Like the crowds who followed Jesus everywhere, we say that we will follow where ever God leads us. And then, like the crowds in Jerusalem, we find ourselves giving up on God as quickly as people gave up on Christ. The crowds in Jerusalem were upset with Jesus. He wasn't the kind of leader they were hoping he would be. They wanted a king, ready to fight for their freedom. Here was his chance, standing before Pilate, to claim his kingship. Yet, Jesus gives ambiguous answers at best, makes no struggle to fight back or even to escape. He talks about kingship, yes, but he claims kingship not of this world. This isn't the Jesus the people wanted. Enraged, they turned on him. We are like that crowd. We have expectations of who God is and what God is supposed to do for us. Yet, God moves in ever mysterious ways, working and loving in ways we can't see. And when it doesn't happen how we want, we become enraged with God. We turn on God. When we can't fit God into the box we've formed, into the role we've created, we simply reject God altogether. Give us something else instead, we cry. We don't want this God.
Christ stands before us, the crowd, again this Good Friday. Who will we take? Do we want Barabbas, the robber, or do we want Christ, the savior? Jesus makes no promises to come in the way we expected. God is never limited to the usual ways of acting in our lives. But God is constant in love. Christ is ever compassionate. Who do we want in our lives this time? They are waiting for our answer...