the lamb has run away

There are many ways to think of Jesus' final week. You could consider who he chooses to teach, the significance of the particular parables he uses, the transition in the gospel of John from Jesus teaching the crowd to teaching his disciples, and etc. But here, with me, think about this - it is a story of gradual betrayal. When Jesus rode into the city on Palm Sunday, who was on his side? Everyone! They welcomed him like a king. By the middle of the week, the religious leaders were disgruntled to say the least; at the last supper, Judas had already betrayed him (that is, "everyone" was now down to eleven, and counting). The eleven abandoned him in the garden, Peter denied him in the courtyard, and finally, on Friday morning, who is still with him? Well, maybe Pilate, but only for curiosity's sake, not for belief's. Jesus stood before the same crowd that loved him just five days earlier and heard them scream out, "Crucify him!"

But think about this picture, will you? The Truth Project talks about it as "The king of the universe put on trial by sinners." It is ridiculous. It is also a beautiful example of Jesus' grace.

Jerusalem at the beginning of that week was exactly as it should be - celebration of the Messiah's arrival. But the Messiah had not completed his work, and there was only one way for him to do so. I call it "systematic alienation": instead of healing, he curses the fig tree and turns all the rich people out of the temple; he teaches in what we call "fighting parables," announcing that judgment is coming; he frustrates the Pharisees' attempts to trap him, then does the same to the Sadducees. By the time he comes to the trial, he has righteously* insulted nearly every Jew in the city, and having the populus upset did nothing to endear him to the Romans either.

There is nothing understandable or forgivable in the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ, just as there is nothing understandable or forgivable in any sin: it was absolutely wrong. And yet, it absolutely had to be done... and Jesus made that possible. He forced no man into any action, but he made it possible for men to justify their sins. If he had not done so - if the king of the universe, the only innocent man to ever live, had not bowed his knee and "asked for it," there would have been no salvation.

So that's something to think on, isn't it? My church has a beautiful tradition during Holy Week that we call Maundy Thursday. Wikipedia tells me that many denominations recognize this day by many different names, but I don't know much of the history of the term. Wikipedia also tells me that "maundy" may come from the Latin mandatum, as in "Jesus said, A new mandate I give to you..."It may also come from the Latin mendicare, which means "to beg." Food for thought.

Grace Church's Maundy Thursday service looks like this: it is a remembrance of our Lord's last hours before the cross, as told by the gospel writers. We don't rescript it - in this one night, we hear from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning with the Last Supper and going chronologically through that terrible night of betrayal, trial, false trial, retrial, condemnation, and eventually the humiliation and execution. Hearing the Bible read aloud would be enough, but we go a step further - to symbolize the progressive isolation of Jesus' last hours, the lights are gradually put out, and candles for the twelve disciples and the two thieves extinguished, until the only light in the sanctuary is from a single white candle.

At the very end of the service (possibly my favorite moment of the year) Mr. Schaub sings "Watch the Lamb." It brings tears every time. This year, though, I got stuck on that one line: "the lamb has run away." In context with the song, it's cute - the father turns with his sons to the Lamb on the cross, indicating that the wooly variety is now obsolete as a sacrifice.  Perhaps there is more that we could say, though, about our lives as lambs: as dumb sheep who follow when it's easy but get lost quickly in the crowd, who run away from our responsibilities and who rationalize and justify the most horrible things daily... and whose efforts are made obsolete by the God-man who makes it possible for us to do those things in order to be our savior.

These are dark night thoughts, but I look forward to Easter morning and all of the promises that it brings.

*see what I did there?