Daily Liturgy and Scripture

It's intriguing to notice the difference people find between the Kingdom that Jesus preaches and the teaching to which they are accustomed. Is it that everything taught by the traditional Jewish system must be thrown away, because Jesus came to kick the cart over? Certainly not. Jesus said clearly that he didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. So how does he fulfill that law? By showing what wholeness looked like. The law was given to show how God's people are different. The Kingdom does have established boundaries, but Jesus shows what life looks like within it.

If you need to see the Trinity in action, here's your verse. Jesus the Son is baptized, God the Father speaks and the Holy Spirit descends. It's a holy moment in which we are invited to participate: as Jesus showed us the way to life, so is he present with us when we follow his example.

With the resurrection, Jesus is ending the time where he walks among his disciples to empower them to make new disciples. It's quite an act of faith on his part. These people he has spend only a few years teaching are now entrusted with carrying on the things which they probably barely understand themselves. What makes it possible? They're not doing it on their own, even when they're not sharing the dusty roads with him. He is with them always, and is with us as well.

As we enter Holy Week, our reading plan pushes us ahead a bit. Don't worry though, we'll definitely come back to this part of the story as we get close to Easter. The Son of God becomes man, gives himself away, and is exchanged for the revolutionary Barabbas. At his death, he is crucified between two other revolutionaries. Is it any wonder that this event is such a revolution?

The trading of Jesus for Barabbas is full of meaning. Not only is it the work of a conspiracy against the Son of God, it is the willful placing of a man of violence above a man of peace. It is exchanging the agent of a better Kingdom for the agent of destruction. To declare that the blood of an innocent should be on the crowd and their children became more true than they could have imagined. Indeed it was, and his blood is on us as well. However, that wasn't our doing, it was his. In so doing, by sacrificing his blood for those who called for his murder, the better Kingdom still won over the violent kingdom.

Well, Peter blew it. Just like Jesus said he would. There's not even the sense that he went to the high priest's house out of some sense of duty, he just wanted to see how it would end. He left in shame. We may all think we would have done better under the circumstances, but we know how the story ends. Peter wasn't so sure, and there are certainly times when we aren't either. Perhaps the reading from Psalm 65 today is our best refuge in those times. "All of us must come to you. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all." Just as God did for his people in Exodus, he will stay among us.

It's almost absurd to imagine the God of the universe stooping to become a fetus, and a baby, and a man. Why do such a thing? Wouldn't it have been easier to split the sky open and make a flaming throne that everyone must bow to? But that's not how God operates. From the formation of Israel into a chosen people to the forming of a baby in the womb of a simple young woman, God has chosen to forego the spectacular to join mankind in the mundane. 

The behavior of the disciples at this critical moment is almost infuriating. Falling asleep? Several times? Drawing a sword to defend Jesus, as if that had ever been preached by him? Deserting him after he was arrested? It’s a small wonder the church ever came into existence at all. But we mustn’t be too hard on them. These poor guys were taking in a lot that night, and it probably was past their bedtime. Would you think the Son of God needed your paltry defensive effort to keep him safe? Three people, no less? And yet all of this became part of the execution of God’s plan. Even in the midst of failure and shame, God is still at work. It’s as true today as it was then.

The time of Christ's sacrifice and the sacrifice itself were all the working of God. As Jesus came in the flesh, so was his flesh ordained to be a sacrifice for many. His enemies wanted to kill Jesus, but did not want to do so during the Passover. Despite that, it was the Passover feast that set the stage for Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. From start to finish, tied to covenant and promise, God brought together each detail of man's redemption by His own hand. 

Jesus's encounter with the rich young man back in chapter 19 makes a bit more sense in light of this verse. Why was it so hard for the rich young man to enter the Kingdom? Because becoming wealthy, it was likely that his focus was on keeping his wealth. Because Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, that seems like a certainty. Now we see why: it's not that being rich makes you naturally wicked, but because it is far less likely that you have given to others in need if you are determined to keep all you can. Jesus describes those on his right, those entering the Kingdom, as holding loosely what they have and serving others. It's not about a magic prayer, a specific denomination, or perfect theology. It's about loving your neighbor.