It snowed this week in Maryland—March 25. Snow doesn’t happen very often in late March
where I live.
But every now and again, if the timing and intensity of
precipitation is just right, you wake up, look out your window and say: Holy
Monday Batman! J
It’s snowing! The snow started
falling overnight, and even the roads were coated first thing this
morning—creating travel difficulties.
Snow in March—and even April!—is certainly not without
precedent here in Maryland. We may remember this snowfall a year from now, but
probably not. Some people, who keep
records about this sort of thing, will probably remind us about it the next
time a storm happens late in the season.
But, overall, I doubt the memory of today’s snow will last.
This is Holy Week—when followers of Christ remember
a series of events from the life of Jesus that had much more lasting impact
than a March snowstorm!
From the moment Jesus and his band of followers enter
Jerusalem on what we know as Palm Sunday, the atmosphere was primed for a
“storm.” The city was packed for
Passover. Rome allowed the Jewish people
to practice their “quaint religion” but always kept a close eye on them through
the Jewish leaders—who owed their continued “comfortable existence” to
Rome. The Roman governor of Jerusalem
worried about the Jewish people getting out of hand during their festivals, and
stood ready to crack down if necessary.
The Pax Romana must be kept at
all costs! (Ironic, isn’t it, how much
the “peace of Rome” depends on the looming threat of using overwhelming
violence to maintain it?)
In that day, Caesar
was Lord; no one opposed the emperor without severe and violent consequences. The cross was an instrument of terror that stood
as a grim reminder of what happened when you dared to cross Rome, and thus it helped
to enforce Rome’s absolute rule. For the
most part, the average person didn’t question Roman reality—it’s just how things were. Your life went
smoother—and you tended to live longer—if you didn’t ask many questions and
went along with the old saying: “When in
[the Roman Empire] do as the Romans do.”
All that changed when Jesus came along.
When Jesus went to Jerusalem—the ancestral home of Israel’s
greatest kings—he specifically went there to openly proclaim a God’s reality. A new “kingdom,” was present and available now through Jesus. It would be the fulfillment of all David’s
Kingdom was meant to be—and then some. In
essence by his actions Jesus proclaims:
No, Caesar is not Lord; I AM!
Jesus demonstrated God’s reality through the life he lived
up to this point, by what he did during that Last Week, and ultimately by the
death he died—and the “death” he defied.
As he approached Jerusalem, Jesus knew God had called him to
this; all that had transpired to this point prepared him for what was about to
happen. Jesus was fully human and struggled at times with accepting his destiny, but
he was also fully divine and, in the
end, he knew he could not waiver, no matter what opposition he encountered. Too much was at stake for humanity. He had to see this mission through to the
end. It was time for his solidarity with
humanity to become complete—it was time for Jesus to die.
Like a team of meteorologists tracking a snowstorm, Jesus “forecasted”
the future for his followers. On several
occasions, he tried to warn them about the approaching “storm”, but they
largely ignored the warning and were caught flat-footed when it hit. And the “storm” hit them hard! They would eventually recover and rally to
their risen leader’s cause, but that comes later. Right now, the storm rages, the darkness
rises.
Like a March snowstorm, what happened during Holy Week was a
rare confluence of human events. Political and religious leaders in Jerusalem really
didn’t trust each other, but as the old adage goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They came together behind what they perceived
as a common threat and were determined to find a way to eliminate Jesus.
And on Good Friday, it seems like they have succeeded. It looks like darkness and evil have defeated
the light. Roman reality once again reigns as the supreme reality.
But, as our lives can no doubt witness, sometimes the
darkest night proceeds the brightest dawn.
We usually only recognize it with the benefit of hindsight. On Friday evening, death seems to have the
final word and all hope seems lost.
Unbeknownst to us, however, things are happening in God’s reality. Important
things. No one knows exactly what happened
on Holy Saturday, but most theologians agree it is a crucial part of the
story.
The mystery and silence of Holy Saturday set the stage for the joy and celebration of Easter
Sunday.
On Easter, an event happens that makes a March snowstorm
look like an event as commonplace as the setting Sun. Jesus becomes the first—and only—one for whom
death, even a brutal death at the hands of Rome, does not have the final say.
The resurrection
proclaims once and for all that God’s reality as the most powerful reality that
was, is, and ever will be, and proves unequivocally that Roman reality at its worst cannot overcome God’s reality at its best.
Because that event happened, all other events before,
during, and since are bathed in new light and “seen” in new ways. Even the darkest situations are not beyond
hope of restoration. Death is no longer
the end—it is a new beginning. And that
reality makes this present life all the more important to live to the full!
Indeed the world was changed because the death and
resurrection of Jesus happened. This
week, we remember:
- · the “Hosannas!” that welcome Jesus to Jerusalem;
- · the unbridled passion and anger he shows in the Temple;
- · the agonizing prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane and the disciples lack of focus;
- · the arrest, “trial”, mocking, and beating at the hands of the Jewish leaders and Romans;
- · the betrayal, denial, and abandonment by all of his closest followers in his darkest hour; and
- · the horrific death upon the Roman cross and burial in a “borrowed” tomb.
As the week progresses, and the shadows lengthen, we spiral
down into despair and death. When we go
to bed on Good Friday the world seems drained of all its color and all hope
seems lost. We had hoped Jesus was the
Messiah; we hitched our wagon to him and followed him. Now what?!!
On Saturday, we are quiet and reflective, trying to figure out what
comes next. But then comes that wonderful
moment when we go to visit the tomb early on Sunday and find it empty. Seized by fear, we can’t believe our
eyes!
At first we are still stuck in Roman reality, and we think the most obvious answer is impossible, but eventually the
brightness of God’s reality dawns in
our hearts. We realize that even after the worst the humanity can serve up—God’s reality still reigns supreme. Jesus has risen, just as he said he would, and
is going ahead of us to the Galilee. It
is our job to run after him, proclaiming to everyone we meet along the way:
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!
