"THE COMPETING VISIONS OF HOLY WEEK"

 “THE COMPETING VISIONS OF HOLY WEEK”

“Ride On, King Jesus, no one can hinder us!”  This adapted line from the African-American spiritual tells us so much about Holy Week.  I used to love it when the Sanctuary Mass Choir, led by Ms. Joann Price, sang this anthem during the Lent and Easter season, and always at funerals.  It is a powerful song, so if you haven’t heard it lately, find it online and be lifted up.

Jesus does ride on in Holy Week, which began yesterday, and which takes us through his execution on Friday and resurrection on Sunday.  Whether you are a believer or not, take time this week to notice the dynamics of the story of Holy Week.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and he knows that this is the time when his vision must take hold – this is the critical week.  His followers are fired up, and why shouldn’t they be – he has healed their bodies and their spirits; he has fed the hungry; he has cured the sick; and he has given them a new vision of life and how to live their lives.  This is it – this year, Jerusalem!

Part of the fervor comes from the time of the Jewish calendar – it is the season of Passover, the commemoration of God’s defeat of Pharoah, a defeat that brought the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt and into the liberation of the wilderness.  Part of the Seder meal for Passover has the phrase “Next year, Jerusalem!”  And, as Jesus enters Jerusalem on a jackass to celebrate Passover, his followers are ecstatic – the hated Romans will be overthrown, and the corrupt religious leaders of Judaism will be replaced with compassionate and righteous leaders.  “Ride On, King Jesus!”   But, Rome is watching.

  While Jesus and his followers parade into Jerusalem from the north, another parade is entering from the west.  It is a Roman parade, led by Governor Pontus Pilate, bringing a garrison of Roman soldiers into Jerusalem at the time of Passover.  Their purpose is a display of power, to warn those pilgrims who come to celebrate Passover.  Their parade is impressive – calvary on powerful horses, infantry soldiers armed to the teeth, flag-bearers displaying the banners of the Roman Empire, the golden poles with the Roman eagles atop them.  Trumpets blaring, drums beating, an imperial demonstration of might and power, all designed to send a message to the Jewish folk who celebrate Passover:  “Pay Attention- remember who is in charge!  Celebrate your religious holiday all that you want, but remember that Rome is in charge, not the God of Jesus. Pay attention or risk imprisonment or death.  No liberation talk allowed here!”

    Jesus leads a parade based in love, justice, compassion, and healing.  Pontus Pilate leads a parade based in violence and domination and death – two competing visions of life.  We will see that drama played out in Holy Week.  The disciples began with hope and excitement and determination, but the power of Rome shrinks their hearts and their vision and their resolve.  By the end of the week, they too are crying out “Crucify him!”  All the male disciples desert Jesus when he is arrested, although Peter seeks to go a little way with Jesus – but he too fades away quickly.  Only the women disciples remain faithful to Jesus, and as we wonder whether women should hold power in the church, we should recall who stayed with Jesus and who the primary witnesses were.

Holy Week reminds us of the struggles in our hearts also.  We are longing for love, but we are believing in death.  We so desperately want to believe in the vision of love and justice and compassion, but the powers of the world roar at us or bedazzle us, and we fall in line.  For those of us able to hold out a little bit, as Peter did, the powers wear us down – we turn our hearts over to money, to racial classification, to redemptive violence, to gender identity, to class, to nation, to the Trumpdemic, to any number of other powers who compete for our devotion.  We seek to resist these powers, but they are so pervasive and so invasive, that we often yield, as did Peter.  We may not holler out “Crucify him!”, but we do say “Ride on, King Jesus?  Yeah, just ride on out of here, so we can get on with our lives.” We come to agree that Jesus deserves the death penalty.

The drama of Holy Week reminds us of the hopes and failures of our lives – we long for love, but we believe in death.  We know that is not the end of the drama of Holy Week, but for this week, seek to stay with it.  The stories in Luke’s Gospel from chapters 19-23 are a good companion, so check them out.  Let us acknowledge this struggle in our hearts between these two competing visions, and let us seek to be like those women disciples – choose love over death, choose compassion over redemptive violence, and seek to find our way to life, even in the midst of death.