2000 years after the fact, it is difficult for us to hear these words and have any real understanding of the events of that incredible week. We call it Holy Week, but the word "holy" probably never crossed the minds of those who witnessed or participated in the drama of those days. Some might have called it amazing. Others might have felt the events were a let-down or a disappointment, while still others might have seen it as painful, awful, or heart-wrenching, but I can't imagine that they would have referred to that incredible week as "holy". As we look back, it is so easy for us to hear the story and to condemn those who were involved in the heinous acts ending in the cruel death of God's Son.
The week itself began innocently enough. Jesus finally enters the holy city of Jerusalem and makes his way to the Temple. Many things occurred that day and during the week which followed, but in Matthew's version of the story, Jesus and his disciples were able to be together, to spend time with the one they came to know as the Messiah. It was a week in which they were able to be with him as he entered the city of Jerusalem and would exercise his kingship over the Roman occupation. They would finally be a part of the uprising which would put an end to their oppression. And what better time than during the Passover celebration? What a great week this would be! I'm sure their excitement was evident.
By the middle of the week, the festival of Passover about to begin, but now there was little chance for a political uprising like Judas might have hoped for. Once the festival began, they would not be able to participate in anything but the celebration. Perhaps that is why Judas chose to hand over Jesus to the Temple authorities. We don't really know for certain why he did it, but we do know the results of his fateful decision. After spending time with Jesus and the others during the week and realizing that nothing would happen, perhaps Judas had just had enough. He had given up everything to follow Jesus and now, finally, as things should begin to happen, nothing was going as he had planned. Perhaps it was time for Judas to bail out. And he left the table where, together, they all ate and drank, shared their hopes and ambitions with one another, and they laughed and celebrated together. They discussed the events of the week and their journey together. Jesus sat with them and, as usual, he began to teach them. It was so great to sit with him. And then he told them of the events which were yet to take place that fateful week. And Judas left, convinced all the more of the task which lay before him.
Once Judas was gone, the group left to go pray together in the garden. Again, Jesus tells them of the next events which were to take place. How could he think that any of them would be involved in the things which he said would take place? How could he think that they would actually turn their backs on him in front of others? It was more than they could imagine, and Peter protested. How could Jesus think that of them? After all they'd been through together? This was the man they had come to love and worship as the Messiah! Not even if he had to die, Peter would never deny his friend as Jesus had said.
And so Jesus went on a little farther, just beyond the others so that he could pray alone. He knew what would take place that very evening, and warned Peter and the others to pray now so that they would be strong in the face of the coming trials. Three times he went away to pray alone, and three times he returned, only to find his friends sleeping instead of praying as he had asked.
Already, one of his trusted friends had plotted to betray him to the authorities, and now his best friends slept as the hour drew close. Can you imagine the fear and anxiety which moved Jesus to throw himself down before God, praying that God might find another way and spare Jesus this hideous fate? How awful it must have been to know in advance that he would stand in front of the people, tortured, mocked, and handed over to his enemies, put to death in a most agonizing manner, and to know as well, that his friends had not only left him alone, but that one of them had been responsible for leading the enemy to him. Can you imagine the horror Jesus might have felt?
Ironically, as Jesus stood before the authorities, strong in his convictions and firm in his resolve, Peter was in the courtyard below, swearing he was not a friend of Jesus. At that moment, he fulfilled the prophecy which Jesus had foretold just hours before, and he then cursed Jesus so as to disassociate himself from Jesus entirely. Jesus had been betrayed, deserted and left alone to face the cries of the mob and the sentence which was handed down amid the humiliating jeers and taunts of the soldiers.
Alone in a hostile world, Jesus is alienated, abandoned by those who loved him, and betrayed by one who called him friend. What a horrible turn of events. And 2000 years later, we know what we would have done if we had been there. We would have been faithful. We would have stood by him through it all -- at least until they began to shout our names. "Aren't you a friend of his?" Imagine your horror when your name is associated with the one they want on the gallows. Can you blame Peter? Can you blame any of us?
How much like them, we are. We allow ourselves to get so caught up in the world that we see the church as just another business. We betray Jesus each time we are too tired or too busy, too cynical or too caught up in other activities. We, too, are guilty of betraying Jesus for love of money. We allow our jobs, our projects, our worldly commitments, to come before our commitment to Christ. We betray the one we confess as Lord when our thoughts and words honor the way of darkness, bringing shame on ourselves. We deny our association with Christ rather than facing the more difficult way of caring for one another and for God's creation. When the way is hard, we forget the one we claim to follow. When the cost is too high, we just give up or give in.
But isn't it supposed to be nice to be a Christian? At one time in the recent history of the church, perhaps that was true, but nowhere does Jesus claim that the way of the cross is nice, or easy, or safe, or fun. Being a follower of Christ calls us to a more difficult way - to think about God and God's way before we think about our own lives, to put others before ourselves, to consider the commitment of our whole life to God's will for us. It is far easier to deny Christ when the world around us calls us to buy, sell, play, use, cheat, look out for number one and forget about the consequences to others. Being Christian does not mean that we aren't allowed to participate in the world, but when the world's ways get in the way of our servanthood, when they lay claim to our lives and our very souls, it is far easier to bail out on Christ than to face the cross.
In reality, we are no different than that first, fickle Holy Week crowd who shouted "Hosanna!" one day and a few days later shouted, "Crucify him!" Was the truth Jesus brought too much for them? This truth which focused on the importance of commitment to and love of God and of all others.
So the question is left with us: In what ways are we like those folk who, despite their good intentions, are loyal until the going gets tough? It is easy for us to condemn those from long ago, but if the gospel is to have any real meaning we must see it directed at us and speaking to us its message of challenge as well as its words of hope. (1)
During the coming days of this Holy Week, we should reflect on this message of challenge as we participate in the events of Holy Week. How does the Holy Week story intersect with our story? Where does it convict us and pronounce us guilty? For we are no different than Judas and Peter, James and John, and the rest of the disciples. We are no different than the crowd on Palm Sunday who turned into the Good Friday mob.
The message of Holy Week cannot be seen as separate from the message of Easter. It is in and through the life, death and resurrection of Christ that we are able to consider our lives and our involvement. It is the hope we have in Christ that allows us to examine ourselves honestly, to name the ways in which we too, participate in the betrayal, denial and desertion of our Lord. It is because of God's promise in Christ that we are able to face our guilt and confess our sin and seek true repentance in order that we might also accept the promise of freedom and forgiveness which we have been given through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Amen.
~~~~~~~~ Notes
(1) From a sermon entitled "Palms Become Crosses," 31 March 1996, by Beth W. Johnson. Posted on the Internet website "Sermon Ideas 4 U".
© 1999 Michelle James, all rights reserved
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