Mark 11: 1–11; Psalm 118: 1–2, 19-29; Isaiah 50: 4–9a; Philippians 2: 5-11; Mark 14: 1 – 15: 47
A
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at St. John’s Church in Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania on Sunday, March 29, 2015.
“WHAT
IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS WEEK?”
From the very earliest times,
Christians have observed Holy Week with great devotion. Pilgrims have walked the way of the Cross
(the Via Dolorosa) in Jerusalem, or –
if they were unable to do that in person and on location – they took part in a
service of the Stations of the Cross.
Palm Sunday processions, like the one we did this morning, recreated the
Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. The
institution of the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, on Maundy Thursday has been
celebrated – often with the washing of feet – each year. Christians have stood vigil on Easter Eve at
the tomb, waiting the coming of dawn.
Each Holy Week observance points
forward to the end of this week and to the earth-shattering event that took
place at the beginning of the new week.
But, if we think about it, the
things that happened during that first Holy Week consist of events that are
radically out-of-the-ordinary (which is why we celebrate Holy Week in the first
place), and events that were probably not all that uncommon in the first
century.
So, let’s take a look at the things that took place as Jesus
made His way into Jerusalem on this day, and as we do so, let’s distinguish
those things that weren’t all that unusual from those that are radically so.
The first thing we might look at is
the great feast of Passover. This is one
of three major festivals (which takes place on March or April each year) to
which observant Jews were expected to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem as often as
they could manage to do so. (In Luke 2:
41, we read that Jesus and His family went to Jerusalem each year for the
Passover celebration.) As a result, Jerusalem was the focal point for a large
number of people.
Then as now, whenever large numbers
of people gathered in one place, those in authority got concerned about
security.
There was good reason for their
concern:
In Jesus’ time, the Jewish people
were divided into four main groups: The
priestly group called the Sadducees, the lay movement known as the Pharisees, a
group known as the Essenes, and finally, the Zealots.
The Sadducees were largely concerned
with worship in the Temple, while the Pharisees were concerned about daily
observance of every provision of the Law of Moses. However, the Essenes were a group that
believed that the temple and most everything connected with it was
corrupt. As a result, they withdrew from
society. One aspect of this withdrawal
was their establishment of the Dead Sea community (from which the Dead Sea
scrolls emerged.)
But it was this last group, the
Zealots, who probably caused the greatest amount of concern, for they advocated
the violent overthrow of Roman rule.
Eventually, in the year 66 AD, it was they who would lead an armed
revolt against the Romans, beginning the Jewish-Roman War.
Rebellions in the outlying areas of
Judea weren’t all that uncommon. In the
Book of Acts,[1]
the famous rabbi Gamaliel relates the rebellions that were led by Theudas and
then another one which was led by Judas the Galilean.
It’s possible that, as these
movements made their way from the countryside into Jerusalem for the Passover, processions
such as the one that Jesus made, riding on a colt, made their way into
Jerusalem. Perhaps the leaders of these
movements were hailed as conquerors.
It’s important to note that the exclamation that greeted Jesus, “Blessed
is the kingdom of our father David that is coming,” carries with it political
overtones. Naming David, the great king,
amounted to a direct challenge to Roman rule.
Keeping the peace, and keeping a lid
on things, was the main job of the Roman governors of Judea. In fact, their job security depended on
keeping things under control, by whatever means were necessary.
The requirement to keep things under
control caused the Jewish leadership, the Sanhedrin, to collaborate with the
Romans. We can see this clearly in the
events which led to Jesus’ capture, His trial and execution. It is important to say that the relationship
between the Jewish leadership and the Roman authorities was, in essence, a
marriage of convenience. There was no
love lost between the two. But each one benefited from the alliance with the other.
So the need to maintain order and
control meant that, if necessary, crucifixions could be used to assert Roman
control over the population. Such events
weren’t all that uncommon, taking place with some regularity, and perhaps even
during Passover week. (My own theory is
that the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus were simply inmates in the
jail, who were sent to Golgotha in an attempt to clean out the population of
the jail. It’s also possible that Pilate
didn’t want to be seen to be singling Jesus out for punishment.)
Remember that crucifixion was
state-sponsored-terrorism, a mechanism to serve as a warning to anyone who
would try to go against Roman authority.
As such, it’s possible that such events took place with regularity, and
perhaps during the Passover week, when many people would be in Jerusalem for
the celebration. We don’t know this for
certain, but it seems plausible.
Another aspect of the Passover
observance was the Seder meal, which took place on Thursday of Passover
week. We know that Jesus observed this
custom, adapting parts of it to give us the gift of the Eucharist.
These are some of the aspects of
that first Holy Week that were, perhaps, not all that unusual.
What then, is different about this
week, and what is there that prompts us to observe this week with diligence?
As Jesus’ disciples pondered the
events of this week, they would come to realize:
·
The depths of God’s love for the world,
·
God’s power over evil, sin and death,
·
That the world’s history had been
forever changed.
Thanks
be to God!
AMEN.
