Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 1, 2023 - 5th Week of Lent - Sat
[Ezek 37:21-28 and John 11:45-56]So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, "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." But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year said to them, "You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish." He did not say this on his own, but since he was igh priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. [John]
In the Gospel According to John, the raising of Lazarus from the dead is the last straw in the minds of Jesus' adversaries - the leadership of Jewish faith. To them, Jesus is a "man" performing many signs, and the leadership is afraid of his growing popularity because they think he will antagonize the Romans. Ironically, the Romans eventually would destroy Jerusalem because of an uprising 66-70 A.D., and not because of Jesus! Nor did Jesus' death bring back the Jews living outside Israel. The plotters decide to get the Romans to do the dirty work and wash their hands of Jesus by claiming that Jesus proposed to create a new kingdom.
Holy Week begins tomorrow, Palm Sunday, with the commemoration of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. One of the major players in the drama is the crowd who take palm branches and meet him on the way, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel." But the crowd will later cry, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Can we excuse ourselves by claiming that it's a different crowd? Are we mere spectators, members of a reluctant audience forced to watch what is going on? Can we turn our backs or close our eyes and pretend we aren't there?
Holy Week beckons us to a deeper understanding of Jesus' life, death and resurrection which we will commemorate in the days ahead. He is our "resurrection and life!" How can we be mere spectators at our own salvation? AMEN