Too Scary?

by Deborah Beach Giordano
© April 2, 2007

 

As they were nearing the Mount of Olives on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead. He said, "Just inside the next village you will find a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it to me. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell them ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back immediately.’"

The disciples brought the colt to Jesus and covered it with their cloaks, and he rode upon it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Those who walked in front and those who followed behind shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

....

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." He was crucified alongside two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.

Those who passed by scoffed at him, shaking their heads and saying, "Hah! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days — if you’re such a miracle-worker, then save yourself, and come down from the cross!" The chief priests and the scribes sat together, making fun of Jesus, "He saved others; but he cannot save himself. Let this ‘Messiah’, ‘the King of Israel,’ come down from the cross this moment, so that we may see and believe." Even those who were crucified with him sneered at Jesus.

~ The Gospel according to Mark 11:1-10; 15:25-32

Several years ago a parishioner told me that she never attended Holy Week services because it was "too depressing." She found Palm/ Passion Sunday particularly troubling because the children — who led the congregation into the sanctuary with swaying palm branches — "had to hear that terrible story" of Jesus’ crucifixion.

It’s true: it is a terrible story. An innocent young man is falsely accused, arrested, unjustly convicted, tortured and executed. No one spoke up on his behalf, no mercy or compassion was shown to him, no sympathy was extended to him. Even as Jesus suffered on the cross passers-by sneered at him and others sat in their comfy parlors making jokes about him.

It is horrible, wrong, and wicked. It should never have happened — and it should never happen again.

But it did. And it does.

Our children shouldn’t have to grow up in a world where hatred, violence and corruption exist.

But they do.

We are horrified — rightly — by the brutality of the Crucifixion, yet we are often blind to the violence that permeates our culture. We avoid telling the little ones that our Lord was beaten and murdered — yet the evening news recites a litany of equally terrible events: robberies, shootings, murders and assaults. What passes for entertainment is worse: a constant stream of car crashes, gun battles, kidnapping, robberies, decapitations, and people eating live bugs. And then there are the commercials that try to convince us that a burglar is casing our home, a bogeyman is skulking in the parking lot, and we are at risk of being poisoned by the chemicals in our water or a hidden disease lurking in our bodies.

Our children are exposed to all of this — though we try to protect them. Their friends may discuss the programs, they may see advertisements, overhear grown-ups’ conversations ... the steady drone of violence and fear is heard in the classroom, on the playground, and in our living rooms.

And it isn’t only the children who suffer.

We are all exposed to this unending message — and it takes a toll on our hearts, our hopes, our beliefs. We grow ever-more watchful, wary, and suspicious. We distrust the outsider, we assume the stranger means to do us harm, we draw back from one another.

When we are afraid we can become angry, combative, poised for attack. Or we may respond by avoiding contact with others: shrinking away, narrowing our circle to a few friends or relations, hiding from the world "outside."

Fear makes us lonely: we become isolated; imprisoned inside our own imaginations.

Fear makes us deaf: we no longer hear our Lord’s call to compassion and care above the pounding of our hearts. The Christian’s mandate to love and to serve is drowned out by the worldly motto: "every man for himself."

Fear makes us forgetful: Jesus’ teachings slip from our minds and no longer inform our thoughts and deeds. We blame the poor for their poverty, the abused and the ill for their hurts; we ignore the sad and the lonely. We forget the Sermon on the Mount, and instead accept as gospel that "might makes right."

We no longer speak out when things are wrong. We no longer work for peace, justice, mercy, and compassion. We forget that our Lord said, "as you do to the least of these, so also do you do to Me" (Matthew 25:35-45).

Fear makes us stop behaving like Christians.

...

When I was a little girl I asked my Sunday School teacher, "Why didn’t somebody say something? Why didn’t one of Jesus’ disciples stand up for him? They all said they believed in Him."

And Mrs. Nelson, poor woman, could only reply, "They were afraid."

But I wonder.

What if ...

What if just one person had spoken out?

What if, instead of running away, James or John had stayed and testified on Jesus’ behalf? What if one of the scribes had said, "This man’s teachings are true!"? What if Peter had admitted that he was a follower of the Lord? What if, instead of washing his hands of the matter, Pilate had said, "This is wrong, and I will not condone it!"?

Perhaps the Time of Fullest Blessings would have begun on that very day.

Maybe, instead of having to await our Second Chance — which the Beloved has graciously extended to us — God’s Kingdom would have been revealed in full glory right then and there.

I wonder.

If those people had not been ruled by fear; what might have happened? How might their world have changed?

Jesus was never afraid of anything: his confidence in God’s love was absolute. Our Lord came to lead us to abundant life here and eternal life hereafter. He showed us how to be fully human, and gloriously alive — and taught us to share that joy and courage and love with everyone we meet. As Christians, we have promised to follow Him.

And so I wonder.

If we were not ruled by fear; what might happen? How might our world change?

What if we had faith enough to look past the horror stories, warnings, and threats that come at us from every direction — to see the Promise and the Life? What if we honestly believed what Jesus taught us: that there is another Way, a better Way, that brings hope and healing and joy? What if we lived our lives as if the Gospel is true — with compassion and love and generosity?

Perhaps the Kingdom of Heaven would appear in our midst. Maybe only a little bit at a time, in a few places at a time. But it could happen. If only we dared to truly believe.

Virtual hugs and real-time blessings,

Deborah +

This Week’s Suggested Spiritual Exercise: Take note of how much our culture focuses on fear. Count the ways in which television programs, films, commercials, and advertisements try to "scare" you. If they can convince you to be afraid — what is the result? Will you buy a product or service? Will you become angrier, closed-down, closed in? Will you start to hate a person, a group, a nation? Will your walk with Christ be at risk?

The Lord told his followers, "Do not be afraid" at least 15 times in the gospels. He must have thought it was important.

If you cast fear out of your life, how will things change? What will you do differently?

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