Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 4, 2020 - 5th Week of Lent - Sat
[Ezek 37:21-28 and John 11:45-56]"What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation." [John]
The account of the deliberations of the Sanhedrin was written, of course, long after the death and resurrection of Jesus. So it would appear that the evangelist is engaging in irony. The adversaries of Jesus succeed in their plot to get ride of him, but eventually the Romans destroyed them anyhow! Caiaphas' prophecy about the spread of Christianity by the time this gospel was written shows more irony. Jesus' death resulted in the very thing Caiaphas was afraid of.
The Gospel According to John, precisely because it was written much later than the other three gospels, invites a more historical and global perspective. Jesus is not simply a victim of scheming religious authorities afraid of losing their power. He is the master of his mission which had triumphed in the spread of his teaching, which resulted in the expulsion of Christian believers from their synagogues.
Sorrow and joy are part of Holy Week, which we observe not only in the sorrow of Jesus' own sufferings, but also in the sorrows we are experiencing in the pandemic which will make this Holy Week one that will live in terrible memory as we participate in the services by the internet! Even our cultural observances of hunting for Easter eggs may be denied to us. Resurrection will take on new meaning as we slowly work toward conquering the virus that has brought the planet to its knees! It is a special cross that we bear with Jesus this year.
Palm Sunday will begin this special drama of which we are all a part. Our prayers and hearts are in good company! AMEN