Jesus approaches Jerusalem. It is the capital of power and authority, the seat of religious tradition and a symbol of institutional compromise with Rome. Yet, Jerusalem stands, opulent and extravagant, amidst the suffering of its own people. Worse, the city stands in cooperation with the forces that have given rise to the suffering. The Temple exists as proof of the collusion. It dare not speak up. It dare not act out. It dare not express its opposition to empirical power, lest it be utterly and eternally destroyed. The Temple must be protected above all, even if it means silence in the face of oppression and injustice.
This fact is especially sentient during Passover. Now, Passover was an ancient recognition of Israel's emancipation from nearly three centuries of Egyptian slavery. You know the story. Moses, the one-time pretender to the throne of Egypt, had been found guilty of murdering an Egyptian guard who was abusing a Hebrew slave. Moses' unintentional subterfuge was revealed. Before he was sentenced to flogging or death, Moses escaped to the land of Midian, where he married into the High Priest's family. There he became heir to the high priesthood of Midian, following his father-in-law, Jethro. One day, Moses saw, on the side of the great mountain, a bush that was afire but not consumed. He went up on the mountain and was directed, by a cloud-voice, to return to Egypt and emancipate the Hebrew slaves. Moses went. After a series of plagues, the spirit of death killed all the first-born of Egypt, including the son of Pharaoh. The Hebrews were spared only by painting their doorposts withe the blood of a lamb. The spirit of death "passed over" them.
From the time the Hebrews settled in the "Promised Land," to the time when they returned to the land from Babylonian exile, Passover remained the core celebration. Within the celebration, Jews recognize the bitterness of their slavery, the oppression of the Egyptians, the emancipating power of God's outstretched arm, and the responsibility to which God's benevolence called them in the land.
In the time of Jesus, Jerusalem stood in allegiance with the forces of oppression, violence and fear. Jerusalem stood with Rome. In fact, many of the policies and practices of Judaism were, at worst, amended and, at best, accentuated, in order to fit the Roman agenda. While the Pharisees and Sadducees protected the Temple system in compromise with the Romans, the Zealots and Essenes separated themselves from the collusion of the Temple.
Jesus was likely an Essene who followed his mentor and Rabbi, John, who we know as "the Baptist." Jesus stood against the Temple authority. A year earlier, John had been arrested and martyred. Jesus had taken over the mantle of leadership and was distinguishing himself as "The One."
It was Passover. Jesus returned to Jerusalem from Galilee, where he had created a movement of his own, based on inclusion, the Spirit of God and the potential in each person to represent God's power on Earth. He was going there to state his case, to argue his point, to speak up for those who had been victimized by the Roman way of life, and to work the kind of emancipation that Moses had accomplished centuries earlier.That the Temple had become the enemy of God's people was meaningful for Jesus. After a "triumphant" entry, he went there. The town was abuzz, in turmoil, the Gospel of Matthew reads, because Jesus entered in the symbolic manner of an ancient king on the day of coronation. (He also entered miraculously in Matthews account, on two animals.) He went to the Temple and found exactly the kind of economic and spiritual corruption that he anticipated. Jesus reacted violently, clearly challenging the Temple authorities.
It is perhaps ironic, during Passover, that an attack on the Temple authorities is also seen as an attack on Rome. The Temple authorities react. They get Rome to react. Jesus ends up dead, on the Cross of social revolution and political dissidence, as the sun sets to begin the recognition of Passover.
Who stands today for those who are victimized by the systems under which we live? Who will march on our Jerusalems? Who will speak up? Who will act out? Who will dare to put themselves at risk? Who will place themselves, with Jesus, on the Cross? Or will we simply remain silent, abandoning him, like his own disciples, waiting for some divine miracle to deliver the oppressed? This is a dangerous age, my friends. These are challenging times. Let's stop concerning ourselves with the unpopularity of the church in our culture and act for those who are rejected and excluded by it. You know, following Jesus.
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