Pride, Passion, and Palms

     One of the most gripping and meaningful parts of the Lenten experience is the dramatic reading of the Passion narratives.  Seldom are we treated to the opportunity to so clearly find ourselves within the story of our Lord than by putting such words to our own lips.  Today as I listened and participated in the reading of the Passion, I reflected on a few specific elements of significance for the man aspiring to humility:


The Citizens of Jerusalem Wave Palms before Jesus

It is interesting to think about how many things the palms of Palm Sunday represent.  They are first and foremost a sign of reverence and fealty to one we name as our King.  They are a symbol of the natural beauty that is our gift from God offered back to Him in glorifying His Son.  Finally, they are a reminder of the fact that we are ready, at a moment's notice, to betray this same God.

For his part, Jesus seems to be (as we should expect him to be) fully aware of this manifold meaning.  Scripture does not show him either quelling the crowd or attempting to make any practical use of the wave of popularity he is riding on.  This as much as anything could be why the people turned on him--what is the point of supporting a king unless he is going to wield power to accomplish what the supporter desires?  Jesus is the Son of God, not a political figure.

We must count ourselves members of both the adoring crowd and the scornful crowd, and then we must strive to cut our the pride which seeks to turn our acts of reverence into what are essentially acts of self-adulation.  If our praise of God suits us, it can be because we have brought our selves and our minds into line with Him, or it can be because we are not really praising Him but our own desires instead.


The Guards Arrest Jesus in the Night

The scene of the arrest of Jesus has always stuck with me as an especially poignant moment.  This is the moment of crisis when everyone seems nervous and unsettled except Jesus (who had just gone to prayer with the Father in his own moment of crisis), who hands himself over as if the arrest were taking place under his own authority.

The timing of this moment is also significant.  Darkness surrounds this act because they hope to hide its significance from any who might object to their decision.  The chief priests here exercise what they consider to be their power to decide right and wrong with regard to the Law of God.  As Jesus himself attests, this authority is legitimate within the religious practice of the Jews.  However, the legitimacy of authority is not the same as morality.

Only in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do we see perfect authority and perfect morality/goodness.  How often do those in positions of authority dispense with the question of how to use that authority rightly?  Probably the biggest reason our culture distrusts authority is because pride undermines the appropriate and natural connection between might and right.  Pride encourages the abuse of power while humility reunites it with the true and the good.  


Judas Returns the Silver

Not to be overly critical of the chief priests, but the scene in which Judas returns his payment to the floor of the temple emphasizes the points made above in a different context.  The money created an unanticipated problem for the priests.  In solving the problem, however, they missed its true lesson.

The attitude toward the rules is that they must be obeyed only in their letter and not necessarily their spirit.  The money was deemed unclean for adding to the temple coffers, but the priests still used it.  We can be critical of the way in which the priests allocated the recovered funds, but what they apparently missed entirely was the fact that this "blood money" the had just gotten back was just as much "blood money" when they spent it.  Whatever they decided to do with the thirty pieces of silver, the blood was still on their hands and the Law of God was not respected.

Contrast this perspective on the Law to that shown by Jesus.  In all his actions and interactions with people he strove to engage and unearth the hidden core of every person.  The outwardly righteous he showed to be corrupt at the core.  The outwardly sinful he showed to have a great and desperate faith.  A common thread in the former was pride; in the latter humility.


Peter Makes Himself a Liar

Much can and has been said of the scene in which Peter denies Jesus three times after having vociferously proclaimed his own incorruptibility.  I will only add that the depth of Peter's betrayal is increased by his insistence that he would not betray Jesus.  Had Peter remained silent he might still have done the same (and considering the threefold commission Jesus gives him after the resurrection, things did not turn out so bad), but he also might not have had so much unwarranted confidence in himself.  This confidence created a blind spot in which temptation was able to creep up and take him unawares.

Humility is one strong gift that Peter and the other disciples who abandoned Jesus at the crucifixion ultimately received.  If we have our eyes open, all of our failures can be moments for the same gift to be imparted to us.

This Holy Week, I pray that all of you who so graciously read these thoughts might grow closer to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and that, dying with him, you may also share in the joy of his resurrection.  Please pray for me and my family in this holiest of weeks.