While reading the Palm Sunday gospel yesterday and today, I could not but notice the number of people involved in the event proper. There are several characters who come in and leave in the life of Jesus, but in this episode alone, just the entry into Jerusalem and the events that unfold thereafter, there are a variety of people playing different roles.
There is the crowd itself that welcomes him today into Jerusalem. Know not how many of them exactly knew what they were doing and saying as they praised and welcomed Jesus. Just like another crowd that shouted 'Crucify him' before Pilate. Most of them would certainly have heard of Jesus. Although not all of them would know exactly what the praise or condemnation was for.
Then, there are the apostles and the disciples around Jesus. Peter stands out as the mascot or the representative of all those close to Jesus, but not close enough to stand up for him. In the face of adversity, they crumble and retreat into their own securities. Judas, on the other hand, feels he has no cover to hide under. He seemed more plagued by guilt than Peter.
Then there are the scribes, the elders, the Roman politicians - all seeking the 'common good'. They are all so caught up in the act of being leaders that they fail to question their real motives of framing Jesus. Not all of them can be branded villains or evil. They were only upholding the social order that they were taught all their life and what they truly felt called to protect. Although some of them would have been schemers - not surprising, they were people in authority - the rest would have been honest men who felt responsible to maintain the existing order - social, political, religious.
There is then Jesus himself. Sometimes speaking, responding, challenging, but otherwise choosing to remain silent when he could have argued his way out. He certainly knew how to use words and arguments to drive home his point. I suppose, another Bible can be filled just with the thoughts running through his head from his intense meditative moments in Gethsemane until his last breath on the cross. Oh, what would he have been thinking, especially at those moments he chooses to remain silent!
Then there is me! Re-imagining these scenes in my mind. Sensing the pain of Jesus and in a way his resigned helplessness. Reading or listening to this passage, knowing what the end is going to be, is not always easy. Resurrection does not really come to mind and even if it does, offers little consolation - in the face of the ongoing agony and tension. Then, suddenly there is a flash of light. And my mind wanders trying to figure out, if that was caused by a car on the road or the one that turned into our cul-de-sac? From there my mind goes on to remember that one of the car's battery is down and I need to tell the others to completely compress the clutch and the brake while turning on the ignition to get it started. It takes a while to remind myself where I am and what I'm involved in.
And the meditation continues.
There is the crowd itself that welcomes him today into Jerusalem. Know not how many of them exactly knew what they were doing and saying as they praised and welcomed Jesus. Just like another crowd that shouted 'Crucify him' before Pilate. Most of them would certainly have heard of Jesus. Although not all of them would know exactly what the praise or condemnation was for.
Then, there are the apostles and the disciples around Jesus. Peter stands out as the mascot or the representative of all those close to Jesus, but not close enough to stand up for him. In the face of adversity, they crumble and retreat into their own securities. Judas, on the other hand, feels he has no cover to hide under. He seemed more plagued by guilt than Peter.
Then there are the scribes, the elders, the Roman politicians - all seeking the 'common good'. They are all so caught up in the act of being leaders that they fail to question their real motives of framing Jesus. Not all of them can be branded villains or evil. They were only upholding the social order that they were taught all their life and what they truly felt called to protect. Although some of them would have been schemers - not surprising, they were people in authority - the rest would have been honest men who felt responsible to maintain the existing order - social, political, religious.
There is then Jesus himself. Sometimes speaking, responding, challenging, but otherwise choosing to remain silent when he could have argued his way out. He certainly knew how to use words and arguments to drive home his point. I suppose, another Bible can be filled just with the thoughts running through his head from his intense meditative moments in Gethsemane until his last breath on the cross. Oh, what would he have been thinking, especially at those moments he chooses to remain silent!
Then there is me! Re-imagining these scenes in my mind. Sensing the pain of Jesus and in a way his resigned helplessness. Reading or listening to this passage, knowing what the end is going to be, is not always easy. Resurrection does not really come to mind and even if it does, offers little consolation - in the face of the ongoing agony and tension. Then, suddenly there is a flash of light. And my mind wanders trying to figure out, if that was caused by a car on the road or the one that turned into our cul-de-sac? From there my mind goes on to remember that one of the car's battery is down and I need to tell the others to completely compress the clutch and the brake while turning on the ignition to get it started. It takes a while to remind myself where I am and what I'm involved in.
And the meditation continues.
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