"Preparing For Good Friday"Dr.
James Mayfield
April
13, 2003
Text: Luke 19:41-48 In Jesus' day, kings on missions of peace approached cities on donkeys rather than war horses so that it was clear to all they came in peace. Jesus was coming like a king on a mission of peace. He was surrounded by followers who were singing and shouting that he was the king. It was a kind of inauguration parade. For his followers and disciples, it was a day of long awaited celebration. But Jesus, sitting on that donkey, looking across the little valley toward the hill top where Jerusalem had been built, did not share their joy. Tears filled his eyes. He was aware of the zealots' acts of rebellion. He was aware of the nationalistic pride that drove some of the people to believe God would give them victory over the Romans. After all, they were the chosen people. But they were insensitive to the will of God; they were blind to the grace of God; they did not recognize the Messiah, and they were deaf to his message. Jesus knew it was only a matter of time until a crisis point would be reached, and the Roman Army would destroy the city and kill its inhabitants. Jesus paused looking across that little valley to Jerusalem on the hill with the beautiful temple at the heart of it, and he wept saying: "If only you could recognize the way to peace. But you cannot see it; and because you cannot see the way to peace, you will be destroyed." As Luke tells the story the temple was a special place for Jesus. As a baby had been taken to the temple to be presented to the Lord, and it was there that the old man Simeon and the woman prophet named Anna recognized he was the Messiah. Jesus had special memories of when he was 12 years old, visiting the temple and being involved in conversation with the teachers there. For Jesus the temple was a special, holy place. But as he entered Jerusalem and saw those who had come to worship being cheated in the temple court yard, his grief turned to anger. Offerings could not be made using Roman money because Roman money was stamped with the image of Caesar and whoever was Caesar was worshipped as a god. This meant Roman money had to be exchanged for money that was acceptable in the temple, and the money changers who had a monopoly were taking advantage of the people. Birds and animals that were to offered as sacrifices in the temple, had to be approved by the priests, and there was major padding of the price. And all this injustice was being done on the temple grounds and sanctioned by the religious leaders. Jesus' sorrow about Jerusalem exploded into anger, and he drove out the money changers and those who were selling animals and birds shouting: "The prophet Isaiah said this place is to be a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers." It is easy to see why the religious leaders wanted to get rid of him. They were not upset because he quoted the Scriptures saying that the most important commandments were to love God with all we are and have and our neighbors as ourselves. They were not upset because he did good things for people, such as feeding the hungry or healing the sick, or freeing people from bondage to demons or enabling the blind to see. Oh, they were upset when he did these good works on the Sabbath, but it was not the good works that upset them, it was his doing work (even though it was good) on the day the Ten Commandments declares we are to rest. They were not upset with his healing people, it was just when he healed by declaring that their sin was forgiven. As religious leaders, they knew only God could forgive sin -- not this traveling rabbi from Nazareth. To admit Jesus could forgive sins, one would have to believe he was the Son of God. To them that would be blasphemy. What made them want to get rid of Jesus was that he not only called into question their way of trying to be in relationship with God, he rather clearly declared they were in error. What made them want to kill Jesus was not the kind things he did for others, but for calling into question, their way of perceiving and living life, their values and priorities. Not only that, he pointed out the gap between their pious talk and unjust behavior. He even dared to call them hypocrites, people who pretended to be more religious than they really were, people who tried to use piety as a tool for getting what they wanted rather than as a resource for serving God. Jesus not only exposed their hypocrisy to others embarrassing these religious leaders, his words and deeds also made them so uncomfortable with themselves, the best solution they could think of was to get rid of this man - permanently. And to get rid of him in the name of God, declaring him to be a blasphemer so that not only did they get rid of him, they also, at the same time, declared his ministry was worse than wrong; it was evil. It took some doing, but they did it. And by Friday afternoon, Jesus was dead, executed in the most painful and humiliating way of that day. What made Christ unpopular to them, is what makes the Gospel unpopular now. It is not the work of feeding the hungry, taking care of the needy, healing the sick, and other such acts of kindness and compassion that gets Christians into trouble. What makes Christ and Christians unpopular is when in the process of loving God and loving neighbor, injustice is exposed, hypocrisy is revealed, people are made uncomfortable in their prejudices, and familiar ways of thinking about God are revealed to be wrong thinking. It is when the Gospel comes in conflict with the greed we have camouflaged with all sorts of pious rationalizations, that we become defensive, sometimes to the point of being angry. It is when the Gospel's demand for justice and compassion comes in conflict with our desires, that we get upset. As long as the Gospel only deals with being kind and helpful to individuals who are in some kind of need, it is not offensive. It becomes offensive when the implications of loving our neighbor as ourselves is carried into the political arena, and calls into question legislation that benefits us and our friends while causing harm to others. It becomes offensive when the implications of loving God and neighbor are carried into the arena of economics, and our business ethics are called into question and our selfishness is exposed. Then, the Gospel becomes unpopular. If Jesus had only fed the hungry, healed the sick, lame and blind and been kind to outcasts, he would not have crucified -- perhaps seen as being a naive, unrealistic dreamer and idealist, but he would not have been tortured to death. It was his calling into question what people really worshipped, the values and priories that really shaped their daily living that got him into trouble. It was his exposing hypocritical behavior that had long been accepted as the realistic way to behave, that got him into trouble. It was because he refused to isolate the implications of the loving God and neighbor from the way we handle our money that got him into trouble. It was because he not only forgave people everyone knew were sinners but that he went home with them and ate with them, that got Jesus into trouble. It was because his relationship with God was not just a personal, private matter, but drove him to speak the truth -- the truth that gave comfort to the outcast but all too often caused discomfort for folks such as I. As we approach Good Friday, I think it will be instructive if we do more than feel sorry for Jesus and regret what happened to him. I think it will be helpful if this year we examine our own lives to discover the ways we are like the people who wanted to get rid of Jesus. In what ways does Jesus' ministry call our attitudes and priorities into question? What is the Gospel telling us about what we need to change in our living? What is our sin that needs forgiving? If we will do this sort of self-examination between now and Good Friday, I am confident that we will be able to appreciate more than ever the depth of meaning and mercy conveyed in this ancient declaration of the Gospel: God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God, help us honestly examine our living in the light of the Gospel so that we will be open to receive your merciful grace - your merciful grace that enables us not only to confess our sin but also to change our behavior. Amen. Pastoral prayer: God, just as the people that first Palm Sunday longed for easy answers to the problems they were facing, so do we. Like those people waving palm branches when Jesus entered Jerusalem, we too want a special salvation that will deliver us from our problems, pain and confusion. Like that first Palm Sunday crowd, we want to be rescued from the consequences of our wrong choices, and from the consequences of the wrong decisions our ancestors made. God, help us remember that Jesus did not get rid of the Romans and their army, nor did he bring harmony and happiness to Jerusalem. What he brought was grace to live in the midst of the mess. What he brought was the awareness that you are with us, trying to bring out the best in us. What he brought us was a sense of purpose and hope as we deal with whatever life sets before us. What he brought us is the assurance that even the worst, even crucifixion, is not the last word. God, help us focus on what he brought us and to live as he taught us to live when he taught us to pray: "Our Father ...."
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