Easter Revisited

From the passion in the Gospel of Matthew. “Crucify him! Crucify him!” The guilt of saying this phrase washes over me. On it’s heels comes an even more shocking phrase, “Let his blood be upon us and upon our children.” I am sitting in the pews at St. Mark’s and a standing room only crowd of more than five hundred people shockingly responds in unison. I have several reactions. My first reaction is, “It’s not fair! Why can’t we read the Jesus sections or even the sections of one of the other characters. After all we are the body of Christ!”

The priest gets to be the voice of Jesus and act in his role every day. Why not share the wealth with the baptized. Imagine us in the place of Jesus. Feel the sting of betrayal. The pain of torture. The empathy for the crowd and the crucifiers. Imagine the abiding benevolence that surges to the fore to allow me to go through with the death that will change the world. That is one reaction.

A second reaction follows. It is a reaction punctuated and overlaid with the Judeo-Christian biblical experience and memory. It is a reality layered with story and symbol that carries the ritual power to transform. In this reality words are not only sound vibrations they are a part of the the divine creative act. After all, in Hebrew speaking and making are the same word.

The base layer of the portrait is formed by the story of the Passover. In the story of the Passover, God is unfolding his process for freeing the Hebrew people from their slavery in Egypt. A string of miracles bringing calamity to the Egyptians has only hardened their hearts. In the final stroke, the Angel of Death is sent to kill every firstborn of man and beast in the land of Egypt. In a moment of high drama and revelation of the luminous power of death and life the Hebrews are given a ritual to save themselves and strengthen their bond with God. The sacrifice and unblemished lamb and mark their homes with the lamb’s blood. They are saved and quickly take their first steps toward freedom. The blood marks the chosen people.

The second layer occurs on Mt. Sinai (exodus 24). God and Moses perform a ritual to finalize the chosen people's covenant with God. Moses speaks with God and returns to share what the Lord had said with the people. In response to Moses the people say, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” Moses writes down all the Lord said, and the next day he offers sacrifices which culminate with the following:

 ⁸ Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

This covenant is renewed at least three more times.

The first with Joshua (Joshua 8), the second with King Josia and the high priest Hilkia(2 Kings 23), and the third with Ezra (Nehemia 8 &9).

It happened again. One more time. Outside the Praetorium an unwitting crowd says the words that echoe the actions of their ancestors. They will be saved even in their sin, stubbornness, and love of violence by the blood of the one they have condemned. We speak these words for ourselves in Holy Week. “Crucify him! Let his blood be on us and our Children.”

Are we any different? Any less sinful? True knowledge of our own sinfulness is a difficult ingredient to add and maintain in our spiritual perspective but it is vital. We must open our eyes to our sinfulness if we are to truly be Christian. It is not just that once upon a time we stole a cookie or that in a terrible breach of covenant we had an affair.

WE ARE SINNERS TODAY, YESTERDAY, TOMORROW AND FOREVER. We fall short of the love and justice that Jesus calls us to and gives us the grace to achieve. That is why we need his blood on a continual basis. His blood must be on us. His blood is on us. Through that blood we take our place with God’s people. Through that blood we are saved from the Angel of Death just as the enslaved Hebrews were. Through this blood we are saved from the Final Death of Sin.

And it continues, in each Eucharist. We accept His blood again. Our lives and our souls are marked with it. Our place in God’s holy people is renewed and our life in God is strengthened.

“Crucify him! Let his blood be on us and our Children.” It isn’t a threat; it is our hope for the Resurrection.

An Easter Meditation

Mathew, Mark, Luke and John slipped one past us. Every year as Easter draws near, I dread one storyline in the Gospels. I sit there every year as fathers and preachers stick it to the uppity future pope for his failure. You know the one I am talking about: Peter or St. Peter denied Jesus three times.

First for a piece of long term context. Peter was one of the first disciples to respond to Jesus call to follow him. Peter makes the first proclamation that Jesus is Lord. Peter is the only one to actually get out of a boat in the middle of a lake to follow Jesus. We all know these stories about Peter, but the stories that gets the most press proves to be the Achilles heel of his fame as a disciple.

When the chips are down, Peter folds. He sells out. In Jerusalem, the tensions are rising. The disciples know that the authorities are seeking to destroy Jesus. Yet, Peter stays close while Jesus prays in the garden. Peter takes up the fight alone to prevent Jesus’ capture even to drawing blood of one of the Jewish police. I imagine it as a good old country boy facing off against Dog the Bounty hunter and his family. The odds are bad, but they always fight don’t they?

What happens after this that leads to such a stunning denial? Let’s continue the story. Jesus is led away in captivity by the armed group. Peter continues to follow Jesus. He follows as he is lead in to face the Jewish authorities. With the conspiratorial assistance of the beloved disciple he even gets inside the compound where Jesus is being held. The courtyard must have been filled with still more guards. The gate is closed. Peter is only there for one reason; he knows Jesus is inside.

Peter has appeared with Jesus in the city and around the country continuously for the last three years. Is it any surprise he is recognized? Of course not. Peter knew he would be recognized.

Or have we missed the greatest revelation of the character and meaning of Peter’s discipleship. He chose to go in anyway. He chose to lie and destroy his image before all the generations of followers that would hear the story. For the sake of following Jesus, at the closest distance in even the most dangerous circumstance Peter sacrifices his honor. He lets his only valuable possession slip from his fingers. One thing surpasses the value of everything for Peter: remaining close to Jesus.

Should we see this man sneaking into the enemy’s compoundas a betrayer and coward? Is this compound of the men who will in short order happily execute his greatest friend and leader a place for cowards?

I do not believe it is.

Maybe the tears he sheds outside the compound are a reflection of the two great losses he has suffered. The loss of his closeness to Jesus and Jesus loss of his support. Peter faces the fact that Jesus endures his crucifixion alone and this aloneness leaves a dreadful hole in Peter’s heart too. He must have known his denials and curses would be seen as denials of the Messiah. Maybe the tears were tears of doubt that his presence and steadfast courage would be enough to allow others to understand that denial was his only path to continue his discipleship and stay close to Jesus.

After the Resurrection we know that Peter and Jesus met. One intimate conversation is recorded where Jesus questions Peter. It is often portrayed as Jesus confronting Peter about his denial (and giving him a chance to make it up by being loyal), but does that seem likely? Jesus had not hesitated to point out the faults of those who he encountered before. Even the disciples have felt the sting of Jesus accusation, but there is no accusation here. Should we read in a rebuke when there is no evidence that Jesus meant it as such? What we see here is the same as what we saw in each of the previous scenes. Peter standing by Jesus’ side.

Perhaps, it is merely the final scene to show us and the other disciples that Jesus harbors none of the doubts that we have regarding Peter. Peter finishes the story in his old familiar place: by Jesus side.