A Reflection on the Passion Gospel [Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday - Matthew 26:14 - 27:66]

 The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Matthew’s Passion [26:14-27:66]

 

A Reflection on the Passion Gospel

St. Thomas, Tupper Lake

 

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

 

Today we heard a story of unfathomable tragedy.  It is the story of an innocent man captured by the tremendous momentum of human violence.  It is the story of the one Roman crucifixion that is still worn around our necks.

 

And it occurred so long ago.  And so you, of course, were not there.  Because this tale transpired almost two thousand years ago, in a place far from here, a place still too familiar with violence and death.

 

The events of our Gospel took place long before St. Thomas Episcopal Church was founded.  Long before the Episcopal Church held its first Convention.  Long before Anglican missionaries settled in this diocese to share the Gospel with the Mohawk people.

 

This Gospel is ancient.  It happened before the Mayflower set sail.  Before the first Book of Common Prayer went to press.  Before the Church crusaded under the banner of the Prince of Peace, and before the East split from the West, and before Charlemagne donned a crown.

 

These events of the Passion came before Benedict wrote his famous rule.  Before the Nicene Creed was first confessed.  Before Constantine decided to brand his empire with a cross.

 

It all happened so long ago.  And so, of course, you were not there.

 

And yet today, as you picture the scarlet robe and the twisted thorns, it feels so immediate.  And as your voice cries with the agitated ancient crowd, it is difficult to avoid choking on the lingering bitterness and soured antipathy.  And as you paused in the silence of the cross, the weight of humanity’s guilt feels overwhelming.  Almost like you were there.

 

And in a way, despite the expanse of time and space, you are.  Or perhaps, better said, it is here, with us, still.  The Passion of Jesus is branded on our souls when the cross of Christ is traced on our baptized heads. 

 

And we cannot escape.  It is the inheritance we accept when we accept Jesus.  It is heavy but it is necessary.  Because the only way to experience the Risen Life of Christ is to share in the death of Christ.

 

This week we feel the guilt of our compliance with the evil forces of this world that crucified Jesus.  We will wrestle with our indifference to violence and hatred.  We will feel the horrible words of condemnation in our mouths and picture the hideous mallet in our hands.  We will weep for our sins and the sin of our human race.

 

But even in our sorrow and sad regret, we are reminded that this story does not end at the foot of the cross.  It does not end at the sealed tomb.  It does not end on this sorrowful Sunday.

 

There is more to the story.  And we will hear that next week.  And next week, we will be there: at the empty tomb, in the presence of the Risen Christ.  Because the story of God does not stay in the cemetery, it fills the world with life.  It does not end in the despair of death. In fact, it does not end at all.