 We tell stories over and over
again because we have yet to hear the Truth in them
– the story is the vehicle in which the Truth
comes! We need another to help us to recognize our
Truth and learn what that story has within it that
we need to hear. It is why we tell the Easter
Story, the Christmas Story, the Miracles of Jesus,
the Parables of Jesus over and over and over again –
the world and those who live in it, including
ourselves, haven’t yet heard their Truth!
There is a step prior to
hearing the Truth which we need to take: we need to
KNOW the story of God’s Redeeming Love for all
people for all times and all places! We need to
KNOW the Easter Story and the Christmas Story and
all the rest! That is why we walk through Holy Week
each year and remember……
We remember that on Palm Sunday
when there were 2 parades into Jerusalem – one was
the Royal Emperor’s parade at the Passover festival
and the other was that motley band of peasants and
Disciples and Jesus riding a colt into the city to
celebrate Passover with His Disciples. The ‘Jesus
Parade’ was making great and joyous noise as they
sang psalms and waved palm branches, shouting
Hosanna’s. The ‘Emperor Parade’ was much quieter
for the people were afraid of drawing attention to
themselves lest the Emperor become angry with them.
The ‘Emperor’s Parade’ carried banners and horse
drawn chariots and sounded much like a military
march in the dust and the dirt. When the two parades
came close to each other, the Pharisees and
Sadducees tried to quiet the ‘Jesus Parade’ in case
the ‘Emperor’s Parade’ would be disturbed. Jesus
responded: “If the crowd was quiet, the rocks and
stones themselves would shout!”
Monday comes and Jesus is at
the Temple and He is angered by the marketplace
which has grown around the inner sanctum of the
Temple – the place of Jewish sacrifice and worship.
In one of the few times we see Jesus angry, He turns
over the tables of the merchants and money changers
crying out that His Father’s House is a place of
prayer and they have made it a den of thieves! In
effect, Jesus has cleared the way to the center of
Jewish worship and the people can get into the
worship area unhindered by the merchants.
Tuesday comes and the Pharisees
and Sadducees are plotting how to trap Jesus and
remove Him from the crowds which constantly surround
Him. Judas arranges with the members of the
Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders, how and when it would
be best to take Jesus into custody. He is given 30
pieces of silver for betraying his Savior.
Wednesday comes and
preparations are made for the coming Passover meal
where Jesus and the Disciples will share their last
meal together, the Seder Meal. Seder is the
celebration and recitation of the Exodus story where
Moses led the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt,
across the wilderness and through the Red Sea.
Maundy Thursday comes and
during the celebration of the Seder Meal, Jesus
washes the Disciples’ feet, reveals to the Disciples
that one of the 12 will betray Him, picks up the
middle piece of Motzah and calls it His Body and
after, picks up Elijah’s Cup and tells the Disciples
it is now the Cup of the New Covenant in His Blood,
and gives the world a new Commandment: “Love one
another!” Following the Seder Meal, the Disciples
go with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray
and while Jesus is praying, the Disciples fall
asleep – they cannot stay awake to attend to Jesus’
needs through prayer. The Roman Guards come and
take Jesus into custody after Judas kisses His
cheek, to identify Jesus as the one they are to
arrest. Jesus throughout the rest of the night and
into the next day is taken to a ‘court’ which is
unsanctioned and sent to Herod for sentencing.
Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate and Pilate has
Jesus flogged or whipped 39 times and a crown of
thorns is placed on His head.
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Good Friday dawns and Jesus is made to carry a heavy Cross to
Golgotha, (place of the skull) where he is nailed to the Cross until
He is dead, while His Disciples and His Mother, Mary, are watching.
Following Jewish custom, Jesus must be buried
before sundown on Friday which begins the Jewish Sabbath. All day
Saturday Sabbath is observed. At dawn on Sunday morning, the women
gather and go to the tomb where Jesus is buried to perform the
Jewish rituals for anointing the dead and find the stone that was
over the opening of the tomb to be rolled away and the tomb is
empty! Jesus’ Body is not there! Mary thinks she is speaking to
the gardener and asks him where they had taken Jesus’ Body. And
Jesus answers her, “Mary!”. And Mary sees and believes!
Christians from all walks of life, all cultures
on earth, walk through these Holy Days remembering the Passion of
our Savior. What is the Truth you need to hear as we make the
journey to Jerusalem once again this year? What will be necessary
for you to hear Jesus calling your name? What do you need to see
and believe?
Pray with me: O God, as we make the journey to
Jerusalem in our hearts once again this year, bless us with new
sight, that we might see the direction You would have us travel in
this life to make rough places smooth for all those who are seeking
You. Open our eyes and our ears and our hearts that we might follow
the New Commandment to love one another. We ask it in Your name, O
Christ, Amen.
Blessed Easter!
[Rev. Jan C. Johnson, Interim Pastor
St. John United Church of Christ] |
