On the Way to Wonder

Mark 15: 20c-21 leaves the Praetorium, Pilate’s palace, and heads to Golgatha.  The “they” probably includes Jesus and the soldiers who mocked him.  The crowds are no longer in focus.  The disciples are not mentioned.  The two thieves are not mentioned.  Who is mentioned?  Who does the author remember?  Simon of Cyrene, a passer-by coming in from the country, a father of Alexander and Rufus, is enlisted to help carry Jesus’ cross to Golgatha.

         Cyrene was a Greek city in northern Lybia and home to about 100,000 Jews who had been displaced there around 300 BC.  These Jews had their own synagogue in Jerusalem and traveled to Jerusalem for feast days, the Passover for example.  But actually we know little about Simon, whether he was Jewish or not, and whether his sons were early missionaries of Christianity.  Gnostics present the idea that Simon was actually crucified by mistake instead of Jesus because God could never die.  All these are tales through the centuries.  Simon is honored in the fifth or seventh Stages of the Cross celebrated during Holy Week.  What we do know for sure is that Simon was a passer-by and a father.  We also know the man’s name!

         The woman who anointed Jesus for his death has no name.  The man who shared his upper room has no name.  The owner of the donkey has no name.  But Simon and his sons are named.  I sit at the window in the sunroom of my house and watch the cars racing to where and back from where every hour.  I do not know their name nor they mine.  I marvel that God knows my name and knows about my life, even if history does not.  The Good Shepherd knows his sheep!  Simon is named and remembered as helping Jesus in his hour of need.  God sees and remembers us even if others don’t.

         This little scenario mentioned by three gospel writers, raises an interesting point.  We think of God as all-powerful, omnipotent, but we see in this scene, a creator who accepts assistance from his creation.  We see humility.  So often we wish and even pray that God would use his power and zap away our suffering – but he doesn’t.  We are tempted to lament that God does not answer prayer, is not listening, or even wonder if he might not care.  Simon, a passer-by, who was not wrapped up in the events that are unfolding, helps carry Jesus’ cross. 

         Perhaps today we will be delayed from our “plan” and be asked to help someone who is struggling.  These interruptions to our schedule can be irritating but let us remember as we are tempted to grumble, Simon of Cyrene, and may we never forget that God knows our agenda and might choose to use our help for someone he knows needs it.  It is an honor.

Mark 15: 16-20 is the scene of Jesus being led away for punishment, crucifixion.  Jesus has been flogged so his back is bleeding but Mark shares how the soldiers, the guards, still have a little “fun” mocking their charge.  He’s covered with a purple robe, crowned with a crown woven together from thorn branches, given a reed for a scepter and spat on while they chant, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  Somehow life is all upside down.  Jesus is the King but his kingdom is not of this world.  Sometimes life feels for us upside down.  We hear the words that God is love and yet we hear the diagnosis: Cancer, Covid, operation.  We watch the news reports and it certainly seems that the innocent are the victim of cruelty.  Our candidate is not elected and we are convinced there has been hanky-panky, foreign interference is what we talk about now. 

         Spiritually we sometimes talk about “the dark night of the soul.”  St John of the Cross wrote a poem about days that seem meaningless as the person is journeying spiritually to God.  For people who struggle with depression, mental illness, or perhaps even prisoners of war, this scene is comforting.  We would like to think of God as all powerful in glory but the scene today presents a God, Jesus, who is powerful enough to walk through the depths of humiliation, rejection, and mockery.  We see a God who knows what it means to be at the bottom of the food chain, who has experienced police brutality and injustice.  I don’t often think of God as having walked those paths because I want to think of God as understanding “my path.”

         After the soldiers have their fun, they return Jesus to his own clothes and lead him away to be crucified.  “Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” shares Psalm 23, “for thou art with me.  Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.”  When we are forced to walk through the shadows of life, we know that our God is with us and has gone before us and allows us to draw strength from him.  It is not a pretty picture but bad times are not pretty.  Our God understands.

Mark 15:15, “So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.”  What a sad verse.  Let us look a bit closer.  The chief priests and scribes arrested Jesus in the middle of the night, at the Garden, while praying, because they feared the “tumult of the people.”  They were afraid of the crowd.  Pilate is afraid of the crowd and wants to “satisfy” it.  But how did Jesus see the crowd?

         John 10:11, one of the seven “I AM…” recorded in the Gospel of John, records Jesus saying, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep so when he see the wolf coming he abandons the sheep and runs away…I am the good shepherd.  I know my sheep and my sheep know me.  Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.”  Jesus does not see the people as a “crowd” but as sheep of his creation.  He does not abandon them to be controlled by anger and hate and jealousy.  He does not appease them but allows the anger to take its course, absorbing it into himself.  Perhaps you have had the experience of an encounter with an irate child or neighbor or stranger like in a car accident.  There is no point in talking while the other rants and raves about what has happened.  Often little can be done until anger runs its course, facts are sorted out, and the larger picture can be seen more clearly.  Sometimes for the child’s own good, they must be refused something they want very much and words fly.  Sometimes a child must be protected, restrained, from doing something they want to do because they could get hurt.  We’ve all seen the child having a temper tantrum in the grocery or toy store, yelling while mother watches.  The crowd’s screaming scares the religious leaders and is used by them, bullies Pilate and is appeased by him, but for Jesus who knows his sheep, he walks through the rejection to a better future.

         How comforting to know that when we are out of control, being driven by forces we do not understand or when we have lost sight of the big picture, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who knows our name, knows we are but dust, and is willing to go to the cross for us.  He walks with us through those times when we are our ugliest.  We can only bow our head in gratitude and worship him.

Mark 15:11-14. “Crucify him!”  Matthew, Mark, and Luke vary slightly on the details they include here.  Matthew tells us that Judas, the betrayer, observing how Jesus’ trial is turning out, is seized by remorse, returns the money given him by the High Priests, and goes out and hangs himself.  He found no comfort in knowing that Jesus knew what was about to happen and still offered to wash his feet or give him bread and wine.  He is overcome by grief.  Luke shares that there is an intermission here when Pilate realizes that Jesus is from Galilee. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod to give the death verdict as Jesus is a Galilean and Herod is in Jerusalem.  Herod is delighted to see Jesus but he too does not want the responsibility of the decision and sends him back to Pilate. 

         Mark shares that Pilate knows the High Priests are being driven by jealousy and tries to appease them by offering Barabbas to divert their attention and rage.  To his surprise the crowd chooses the release of Barabbas.  They choose the real revolutionary and murderer to be released.  Pilate now asks the crowd, “What shall I do with this man (Jesus) whom you call King of the Jews?”  The crowd, the majority, the masses have the final say when they chant in unison, “Crucify him!”

         How hard it is to go against the popular voice.  Judas realizes he is wrong and commits suicide.  The High Priests know they are being expedient and turn to government to orchestrate their death wish.  Pilate realizes the charges come from jealousy, washes his hands and allows the crowd to usurp his authority.  Herod finds the jurisdiction loop-hole and shifts Jesus back to Pilate.  How do we handle peer pressure?  Somehow “everyone is ….”, fill in the verb about whether it is playing popular music or wearing certain clothes or using certain language.  When masses gather we have recently seen the unfortunate and horrifying outcome of a sudden turn from mass to mob to violence and looting.  Today is a story about events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus but it is also a story that sounds all too familiar today and is seen in scenes through out history.  Do we call it discrimination?  Mass hysteria?  Police brutality? What or what?  God calls it sin.  Repentance, turning away from that ugly side of ourselves and seeking forgiveness and strength to lead a better life from God – is hard.

         The prodigal son demands his inheritance, squanders it, is reduced to poverty but then “comes to himself” and returns to his father.  “Father, I have sinned against heaven and earth and am no longer worthy to be called your son!”  The father runs to meet the son, kills the fatted calf and welcomes the long lost son.  But wait, that is not today’s story.  Today we see the ugliness of mob justice and bang our head in shame for the times when we have been mesmerized by the popular.  Thank you, Lord, for forgiveness.

Mark 15:6-11 Today’s narrative takes place in Pilate’s Palace as the High Priest’s have come with an accusation of treason against Jesus.  Is he the King of the Jews, disrespecting Rome?  Pilate realizes that envy is driving this charge and offers Barabbas, “son of flesh,” who has actually been a revolutionary and murderer, as an alternative for the cross.  Will the crowd choose to free the man who has actually been a revolutionary, Barabbas, or the man who stands quiet, feeling no need to defend himself?  The choice will reveal trut

         Choices are hard.  Which college will I go to?  Which man will I marry?  Which medical insurance will I invest in?  We in the West have perfected “choice.” Allowing choice gives a people a feeling of control about their fate.  Choosing allows them to express their values, hopes, and likes or dislikes.  Interestingly the author notes that “the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him (Pilate) release for them Barabbas instead.”   

         The crowd is being influenced in the choice process.  That sense of being in control is only a fleeting impression. We think we are in control but so many things influence the choices we make. In our public domain, we can look at all the energy put into the vaccination push.  Whew!  We use masks, social distance and stand in lines for shots all because of the fear of death for a loved one or ourselves.  Fear motivates but we can also be influenced by love or jealousy or any number of feelings. 

         What choices are you facing today and what is driving the choice?  Love or fear?  Jesus made his choice in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said, “Not my will but thine.”  We pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  I love the book of James as it has in chapter 4:13-18 the difference between wisdom from above and worldly wisdom, both of which impact our choices.  Worldly wisdom results in envy, selfish ambition, disorder and every evil practice.  Heavenly wisdom is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”  James says in chapter one that if any lacks wisdom for the choices they must make in the trial they are facing, “he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him.”  Sounds like a pretty good deal, a sale worth investing in!  May we find wisdom from above for the choices we will need to make today.

“First thing in the morning…” Yesterday we saw our cast of characters travel from the High Priest’s house to Pilate’s palace, from the center of religious power to the center of civil power.  They stand before Roman authority and their grump now is translated into language Rome will understand and that they hope will trigger a death verdict.  Blasphemy is not a social crime.  Many people swear and it is rather like water rolling off a duck’s back today.  At the High Priest’s house the question was, “Are you the Christ?” but has now been translated into an accusation that Jesus claims to be King (Mark 15:2).  Jesus is being accused of being a political threat.  The change of wording escalates the crime to trial.

         Somehow this scene is feeling very familiar to USA today.  A demonstration is labeled “insurrection.”  Our courts, investigators and journalists are trying to get to the “truth.”  A couple of the criteria are the action of the leader at the time and the language used leading up to the event.  Jesus was certainly talking about a kingdom but how does he act?  Jesus does not seem to be acting like a political threat.  Pilate asks point blank, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Jesus, who answered the High Priest’s question directly, deflects back to Pilate, “You have said so.”  Pilate is saying those words, not him, and yet he does not deny either.

         Accused.  Do you remember that childhood song, “Who has their hand in the cookie jar?”  “Not I.  Couldn’t be. Susie had her hand in the cookie jar.”  I think we call this truth with a small “t” and truth with a large “T.”  Jesus as True-God is King of the Jews, Truth, but as True-Man is not setting up a political kingdom.  How do we respond under accusation?  Do we come out swinging and fighting or are we able to stay calm and wait for the Truth to come out?  Being misunderstood and misrepresented hurts.  Jesus does not debate, defend, or try to engage Pilate at all.  Jesus’ behavior of silence speaks louder than any long-winded explanation.  Pilate sees the envy driving the mob.  So perhaps our prayer today is for integrity and consistency of actions. May we stay calm when misrepresented and misunderstood. May our words and our deeds speak to the Truth of who we are and to the Truth of who God is in our lives! 

“Houston, we have a problem,” is a famous quote from the movie “Apollo 13” when the astronauts realize something is not right and they are radioing earth for “the new plan.”  Our family uses it whenever we want to signal that we need to recalibrate, At the High Priest’s house, the scene of the religious trial of Jesus, Jesus appears to commit blasphemy by claiming to be I AM, God.  On the wilderness journey, people were killed for less.  One person was caught collecting wood on Sabbath.  Disrespectful children were dealt with severely.  Claiming to be God was way over the top in terms of offenses.  But the religious authorities are not in the wilderness but are in Jerusalem so now must involve civil authorities to get a death sentence.  I think we call it “situational ethics,” I modify how I behave to conform to the norms of the crowd.  Mark 15:1 says, “As soon as it was morning, the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole council held a consultation, and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him to Pilate.” Pilate is Roman authority and has the power to condemn Jesus to death.

         We know that from the beginning the religious authorities wanted to kill Jesus, but what about the crowd?  What about you and me?  We know this scenario!  It is our story.  People, gather at the capitol to demonstrate, are swept into a crowd, become a mob, and are charged with “insurrection.”  A demonstration turns violent and looting results.  That was not the intent of most but things got out of hand – perhaps.  Perhaps we would like to think we are not one of “those” but we see crowds at sports games that disagree with calls, yelling to “kill the ump!”  Swearing by the name of our God has become so common we do not even notice it on TV or at the store.  Hopefully we do not participate – just silence.  The slide from moral convictions we talk about on Sunday to social behavior on Monday, when income tax is due, is a slide we know.  Our lives are spent between Jerusalem and Rome, between beliefs and behavior. 

         Lent confronts me.  Where would I have been on that Good Friday morning?  Asleep in bed?  Following the crowd?  Hiding in fear?  Lost in grief and confusion?  May the passage of time not numb us to our very real tendency to compromise our beliefs and be silent in the public areas of our life.  We may hang our head and recognize ourselves but we are not people without hope.  Jesus is walking the walk and talking the talk that saves sinners like us.  He is not afraid and he cares for us, even when we are broken.  Thank you, Lord!

Mark 14:66-72.  We are halfway through the Lenten journey and we arrive at the story of a man torn in half.  Peter, the outspoken disciple who seems to often have his foot in his mouth, who faithfully promises that he will follow Jesus even to death, who rashly cuts off the ear of the man in the mob, has now followed Jesus to the High Priest’s house.  He sits by the fire listening, close but quiet.  A maid recognizes him as a disciple and he denies.  Interestingly, he does not flee.  He moves into the shadows by the gate.  He wants to be brave but he is moving further from the light.  His love for Jesus and his fear battle within him.  Yet even there a bystander recognizes him as Galilean, perhaps by his clothes or accent.  Again Peter denies, even invoking a curse on himself.  Love has drawn him so very close and fear has driven him to denial.  He is a man torn in half.

         The cock crows the second time.  In the midst of his trauma, Peter remembers.  Remembers what?  Jesus predicted this would happen.  Jesus knew he was weak and would be praying for him.  In the midst of trauma sometimes the right Bible verse comes to mind.  Or perhaps the phone rings and a friend calls.  Maybe the perfect song comes on the radio or iPod that gives the words we need to hear.  We remember that God knows we are but dust and we remember that we are not alone in our trial.  Awareness of our imperfection somehow humbles us as we remember that God knows and cares.

         Secondly Peter breaks down and weeps.  Having a good cry as we face our failures and acknowledge our limitations is sometimes the best thing we can do.  Crying, even for men, is therapeutic.  Lent reminds us who we are and whose we are.  We are sinners prone to wander.  Our lives are in God’s hands, not God is in our hands.  We come precariously close to thinking we can control God with prayer but Lent reminds us that God is in control.  He knows and loves us still.  Even as Peter has denied knowing Jesus, Jesus has not left Peter.  God does not leave us when we sin but patiently waits for us to humble ourselves and turn to him.  In our confusion, he remembers us and holds us.  Turn to him.  Thank you, Lord.

Mark 14:65.   Guilty.  Blasphemy.  Jesus when asked if he is the Messiah answered, “I AM.”  And here is the confrontation that is the core issue that elicits faith or ridicule.  “Some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying, ‘Prophesy!’ And the guards received him with blows.”  Unimaginable.  Some spat on him.  Jesus had used spit to create eyes for the blind man but these unbelievers use spit to ridicule.

         Spit, what are some of the idioms of spit.  We say, “Spit it out,” when we are encouraging someone to say something that is hard for them to divulge.  We say, “He is the spitting image of his father,” as if the child spewed forth into life looking just like the parent.  “Spit and polish” implies a thorough cleaning and shining as with soldiers.  Tevya in fiddler on the roof used the idiom, “if you spit into the wind, it will hit you in the face,” meaning to be doing something futile.  “I spit on your grave,” is a statement of total distain.  Some spit on Jesus and yelled at him to prophesy.  They ridiculed that man who had been healing them.  How fickle we are, even today.

         A popular song a couple years back that resulted in a movie was “I Can Only Imagine.”  The writer sees his alcoholic father transformed by belief in Jesus, the I AM.  Son and father are reunited as the father is dying of cancer.  The son then writes the song imagining his father’s response when meeting Jesus in death.  “Will I fall on my knees?  Will I yell hallelujah?  Will I be able to talk at all?  I can only imagine.”  How do we respond to Jesus’ claim to be God?

         Our society is so polarized now that we have become a bit numb to the humiliation and dehumanization we do to people we disagree with.  Our demonstrations, turned riots and looting, turned to murder are a national scandal. It is so easy to dehumanize those we disagree with.  The Lenten story presents the ugliness of this process of hate and calls us to look into our hearts as we interact and respond to those with whom we do not agree.  This brief scene presents two options.  Jesus does not retaliate.  Some spit.  May we have the courage to follow the Jesus example.