Holy Week is Re-enacted Again and Again

We are celebrating Holy Week – the last week of Jesus’ life in human form.

It began, centuries ago, with what Christians call Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday and ended in His arrest on Thursday, His trial and execution on Friday, and an empty grave on Saturday.

Forget the theological speculations that have clouded our view of the week and look at it as a contemporary news reporter observing the events develop.

For background, the observer should be aware of Zechariah’s prophecy, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass.” This king will throw out the foreign rulers and restore the Israelite kingdom.

Jesus arrives at Jerusalem for the week of the Passover. He arranges to ride into the city in a style fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy. The entry is a protest march against and a challenge to the rulers in the Sanhedrin. It culminates in the arrival of the marchers at the temple, where the event known to Christians as the cleansing of the temple takes place. To the merchants and the authorities it looks like a riot with the illegal and violent destruction of private property (Matthew 21:1-12)

Jesus proclaims a new kingdom. He brings good news to the poor, proclaims release to the captive, and sets at liberty “those that are oppressed.” (Luke 4:18-19)

God is concerned about His children – the weak, the poor, the lowly, the neglected and the outcast. He is also concerned about the rich fool whose barns are bursting with hoarded grain (Luke 12:16-21); and about the self-righteous older brother of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25-32). It is a kingdom ruled not by force of arms but by a spirit of mutual sharing and a sense of personal worth and belonging to a great fellowship of God’s children.

The authorities try to discredit Him with trick questions, but fail. In turn, He bursts forth with a harsh indictment of their hypocrisy, greed, and smugness. The issue is joined. Trouble is imminent. “If we let Him go on thus, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation;” Caiaphas, the high priest announces. “It is expedient that one man should die and not that the whole nation should perish.” He is a threat to our position, our power, our prestige and our possessions. (John 11:48-50)

In their eyes Jesus is not the sinless Son of God, but a menace to all right thinking people. He must be put to death. They bribe one of His followers to reveal His hiding place, seize Him in the middle of the night, rush Him off to a farce of a trial, organize a demonstration to cry, “Crucify Him,” and lead Him off to Calvary.

So they dispose of the troublemaker.

Does this sound familiar? It is the scenario for a universal, cosmic drama, repeated time after time all over the world. The arrest of Lech Walese in Poland and the attempted suppression of Solidarity in order to forestall Russian interference is practically a replica of the original performance.

Wherever Jesus’ teachings on human worth and human rights interfere with the plans of authoritarian rulers jealous of their power and wealth, Holy Week is re-enacted again and again. It goes on in Chile, in El Salvador, in the Philippines, and wherever there is oppression and neglect of the weak and powerless.

“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”

If you are alive, you are there.