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 After Baptism: Which Parade? |
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April 2006 Multiple choices confront me every time I shop at Safeway, even for something as simple as a container of yogurt. Do I want the store brand? Non-fat? Low-fat? Which flavor? Or do I want Breyer's? Or Yoplait? Or one of the organic varieties? Each with their own choices of flavor and fat content. And don't forget the pre-stirred or fruit-on-the-bottom varieties. Most of the time, I don't even think about the choices. I buy the pre-stirred low-fat store brand in the flavors we like best, and move on to the next item on my list. But just because I don't consciously think through the choices doesn't mean I'm not making them. The scriptures we read this morning, from the jubilant procession of Jesus and his followers to the sobering passion and crucifixion are also studies in the choices made by Jesus and his followers-and by Caesar and his followers. In their latest book, The Last Week, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan develop the contrast between the kingdom of God that Jesus lives and into which he invites his followers, and the kingdom of Caesar which subjugates Israel and projects imperial power through military might. The contrast is as dramatic as it is subversive. Pontius Pilate-like the Roman governors before and after him-leaves his residence in "Caesarea on the Sea", a new and stunning city on the coast, and enters Jerusalem, the political and spiritual capital of Israel. This is standard practice-Pilate and his ilk take up residence in Jerusalem for each of the major Jewish festivals-just in case there is trouble. And Passover is especially troublesome, with its ritual celebration of the Jewish liberation from another, earlier empire. These troops with Pilate reinforce the permanent Roman garrison which overlooks the Jewish temple and its courts.[1] Their arrival projects the imperial power of Rome. It projects the imperial theology of Rome as well. This theology found expression with Augustus, the greatest of Rome's emperors, who ruled from 31 BCE to 14 CE. It held that his father was the god Apollo, who conceived him in his mother, Atia. Therefore, his was known as the Son of God. Other titles called him 'lord' and 'savior,' one who brought 'peace on earth.' When he died, he was seen ascending to heaven to take his place among the council of gods, and his successors continued in his stead. Tiberius, emperor during the time of Jesus, carried these same divine titles.[1] So into Jerusalem they come: marching feet, beating drums, foot soldiers, cavalry on horses, helmets, armor, weapons, banners, golden eagles. And in what can only be described as political and theological theater, comes the 'counterprocession,'[1] a popular teacher, a man of God, not with armor and helmet and cavalry...but on a donkey, heralded not with banners, but with branches torn from the trees. And the people call out "Hosanna!" "Save us!" Those not marching in Pilate's retinue for Caesar, those not greeting his advent with cheers of adulation -orchestrated and otherwise-have reason to cry out. They are the ones whose labor plants and tends and harvests crops in fields they do not own, the ones whose labor cleans the offices of those whose laws deny them citizenship and its benefits. The choice is not whether we are going to live under some form of rule, some agreed-upon system, some realm or empire. Experience tells us otherwise. Nor are these choices always as easy as those we make at the grocery store. But they can be just as routine. When we make them over and over they become, as Robert Bellah once noted in his book of the same title, "habits of the heart." Whether it's the habit of thanksgiving or anxiety. Whether it's the habit of trust or fear. Whether it's the habit of welcome or suspicion. Whether it's the habit of compassion and generosity. This is the choice, forever enshrined in the act of grace by the woman with the alabaster jar. Hers is an act that is personal, public, and sacrificial. It brings the realm of God into being, and stands as a powerful counterpoint to the denials of Peter. And Judas. Our choices come down to this: does our way of living, does our behavior or policy or action, communicate Jesus' message of God's healing, redemptive love for all people? Or does our way of living-in behavior, policy, or action-cause whole groups of people to cry out to the one who comes in God's name, "Hosanna!" "Save us!"? Does the empire we build, choice by choice, bring life or death? Hope or fear? Love or hate? Our Palm and Passion narratives remind us that two different kingdoms-Caesar's and God's-are embodied in their leaders-and in their followers. After our baptism, we still have to choose: which parade? *** |