- Gospel Reading: Luke 19:28-40 Triumphant Entry
- Maundy Thursday Discussion: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 and Luke 22:14-46
- Good Friday Discussion John 18 and John 19 and Luke 23:1-49 Passion Service
- Psalm Nugget: Psalm 31 with Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist)
Featured Musician - Bryan Sirchio “Stand with You” from his album Something Beautiful for God.
Hello and welcome to the Pulpit Fiction Podcast, the lectionary podcast for preachers, seekers and Bible geeks. This is episode 159 for Sunday March 20, Palm Sunday Year C, but we are also going to talk about Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
- Gospel Reading: Luke 19:28-40 Triumphant Entry
- Maundy Thursday Discussion: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 and Luke 22:14-46
- Good Friday Discussion John 18 and John 19 and Luke 23:1-49 Passion Service
- Psalm Nugget: Psalm 31 with Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist)
- Pre-Holy Week vacation?!
- Anti-Semitism in Holy Week - A note by Rev. Mary Luti
When the crucifixion narratives speak of “the chief priests and leaders of the people,” they are referring to officials who collaborated closely with the Roman systems of oppression, and were viewed with contempt by much of the Jewish community in their time. They should not be identified with the Jewish people of the past as a whole, and certainly not with Jews in the present.
It may be helpful to recall the cultural context of our Christian scriptures, emerging as they did from a small, originally Jewish community of believers in Jesus as the Messiah. All of the Gospels originated from Jewish communities. Jesus himself, was born, lived, and was crucified, a Jew. Any criticism of Jews from Gospel writers should be understood as the expression of differences of opinion among or about their fellow Jews. The gospels’ use of the term “the Jews” therefore, should not be read as a criticism of the Jewish religion, and especially not as a condemnation of an entire people, either then, or now.
It is one of the bitter ironies of history that our sacred texts have been used to justify the persecution of the covenant people, from whom our Savior came, and who are created, as we all are, in the precious image of God.
Featured Musician - Bryan Sirchio “Stand with You” from his album Something Beautiful for God.
DONATE: www.pulpitfiction.us/donate
Gospel Reading: Luke 19:28-40 Triumphant Entry
Initial Thoughts
- No Palms. Not even cut branches on the road.
- No Hosanna.
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According to Fred Craddock, these are symbols of nationalism. They are intentionally left out of Luke’s story. The “King” to whom they refer is a call for peace, not a call for rebellion.
- In Luke especially, the King is associated with peace. Think back to Jesus’ birth. Jesus is worshiped as King, but deeply connected with the heavenly host promise “Peace on earth.”
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Almost verbatim from Mark 11:1-8
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In Mark:
- Jesus enters Jerusalem on the colt no one has ridden.
- People cheer “Hosanna Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessings on the coming kingdom of our ancestor David. Hosanna in the highest.”
- Goes to Temple, goes home because it was late, and returns to Bethany.
- Comes back next day he curses the fig tree and clears the Temple.”
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In Luke:
- Jesus enters Jerusalem on the colt no one has ridden (in Matthew it is a donkey and a colt.)
- People cheer “Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens.”
- Pharisees tell people to be quiet.
- Jesus weeps and predicts Jerusalem’s destruction.
- Enters the Temple, throws people out.
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In Mark:
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Same setup
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Wild horse - uncastrated, never ridden. Horse or donkey? Only Matthew says donkey.
- Never ridden - typical for sacred events.
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There seems to be some foreknowledge.
- Did Jesus set it up beforehand?
- Did a disciple own the horse?
- Divine foreknowledge?
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Wild horse - uncastrated, never ridden. Horse or donkey? Only Matthew says donkey.
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Disciples heavily involved
- Secure the colt
- Place Jesus on the colt
- Called him the King
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No general crowds - named specifically disciples
- As opposed to John, where crowds were there because of Lazarus and Matthew’s crowds there because it is Passover.
- “His disciples did not fully understand his messiahship, to be sure, but neither are they person who sing praise and scream death in the same week. The portrait of such a fickle crows must come from some account other than Luke’s.” (Fred Craddock, Interpretation: Luke, p. 227).
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Objection by the Pharisees
- Unknown motivation, but it fits with their previous action (in Luke 13:31) that they wish Jesus to preserve his own life.
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They fear reprisal.
- Selfish - because they fear greater wrath will come down, possibly even unsettling their position.
- Care for Jesus - misunderstand his mission, and wish only for him to play it safe and survive.
- “That stones would shout is, of course, a figure of speech, but the expression does remind us that in biblical understanding, the creation is involved in events that we tend to think affect humans alone” (Craddock, p. 228)
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Difficult to faithfully separate the entry into Jerusalem from going into the Temple - especially since in Luke it all happens in one day.
- Luke’s understanding of clearing the Temple is not directly connected to the plot for his death nor is it directly tied to its destruction. They seem to take umbrage with the fact that he set up his own operations there.
- Pharisees want to silence the people from rocking the boat. Who wants to silence us? The disciples were making so much noise that the leaders wanted to keep thing quiet.They feared reprisal. It is important to wonder - who is fearful of us? This is not to say we must be loud just for the sake of being loud, but if no one hears our churches, our preaching, our service, what’s the point? If we are doing things that upset the status quo, there will be retaliation.
- Palm Sunday - if you want to call it that - doesn’t happen with Jesus alone. It happens because the disciples are faithful. They carry out Jesus’ orders, but they also help him - literally - carry out the plan. They get the horse. They put him on it. They cheer him when he enters. They praise him “for all the great things they have seen.” They might not completely get it, but they know they have seen something special. They cheer for this King - not because he is going to come and conquer - but because he will usher in peace. Some wish they would just be quiet, but in the end, they cannot be silenced.
Psalm Nugget: Psalm 31 with Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist)
Maundy Thursday: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 or Luke 22:14-46
- The story of Holy Thursday
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- Tell the story Christmas Pageant style? Or do we stick to one Gospel?
- Luke or John?
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John is the text and the reason we call it Maundy Thursday
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Maundy -
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from the Old English Mande which comes from the Latin Mantatum or Commandment (or mandate)
- “commandment: to love one another as I have loved you”
- from the Old English Maund- which means to beg because beggars would gather outside the churches during Holy Week
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from the Old English Mande which comes from the Latin Mantatum or Commandment (or mandate)
- NO “LAST SUPPER” other than “during supper”- happens the day before the passover (John 13:1)
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Foot Washing- only Gospel this appears
- Possible origin of the “stole”
- Focus on serving one another in love, not obligation or charity, but friendship and love
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Longest day in John- chapters 13-18:28!
- mainly due to the extensive farewell discourse
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Maundy -
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Luke
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Last Supper = clearly a passover meal - words of institution
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Cup - bread - cup
- Foretelling the cup of suffering v.42
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The bread and cup are deliberately shared with everyone:
- Peter - denyer
- Judas - betrayer
- Thomas - doubter
- rest - of the disciples - deserters
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Cup - bread - cup
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Betrayal - woe to you who would betray the Son of Man
- Argument about greatness - same as Luke 9
- The very act of their argument reveals their betrayal by misunderstanding and misrepresenting Jesus - they have learned nothing in the last 13 chapters
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Servitude- again calls back to Luke 9, “the least among you is the greatest”
- connection with John 13 - BUT NO FOOT WASHING
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Prayer in the Garden
- Not my will but yours be done
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Last Supper = clearly a passover meal - words of institution
- “One of you will betray me” - “Surely Not I?”
Good Friday: John 18 and John 19 or Luke 23:1-49 Passion Service
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The story of Good Friday
- Tell the story Christmas Pageant style? Or do we stick to one Gospel?
- Luke or John?
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Luke - political
- Jesus is innocent by both Herod, Pilate, bandits, the Centurion -everyone can see Jesus’ innocence except those whom we would expect
- Even in his death Jesus is reconciling enemies (Luke 23:12)
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Barabbas
- no historical evidence of a Passover pardon
- Possibly a word play showing how much the crowd either did not know who Jesus was or how much they actually wanted Jesus released and not Barabbas
- Bar’Abbas = “Son of the Father”
- Who should be released? Jesus, Son of the Father or Jesus King of the Jews?
- INRI - Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews
- Temple of the Curtain - revealing God to the people
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“All his acquaintances including the women… stood at a distance, watching these things”
- Possible to prove the viability of this account
- The sin of passivity
- Even the Centurion makes a faithful declaration when Jesus’ followers won’t
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John
- Very similar to Luke
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Differences:
- No visit to Herod
- No trial before Caiaphas/High Priest (but Annas instead)
- Dies on the passover - Jesus is the Paschal Lamb whose life is given so the people might be saved
- Interaction between Mary and Jesu from the cross for them to care for one another
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Focus on the law - the leaders want Jesus killed but want someone else to do it
- They use Rome to get what they want and Rome acquiesces
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Tenebrae Services
- Traditionally a pre-Vatican Catholic service of Lamentations and Psalm readings, Antiphons and the extinguishing of Candles
- Modern - readings of the Passion narrative and the extinguishing of candles to symbolize the encroaching darkness leading to Jesus’ death and the desertion of the disciples.
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Is it enough to tell the story?
- Not necessarily- can lead to anti-Semitism
- Passion plays like the Passion of the Christ (by Mel Gibson) often lead to vandalism and attacks against synagogues and Jews.
- Tension: invite people into the drama (into the story) but also provide a hermeneutic lens that gets at one of the central questions of faith: Why did Jesus die?
Tasty Wafer of the Week:
Sean Andreas First off I would like to say to say that the show is awesome and these interviews are a great addition to your regular show.
Now in regards to the Meredith Gould interview I would like to point out a couple of things. A good thing I took from the interview is that we should be reaching out to our 'homebound' congregants etc. Finding ways to include those who can't be physically present shouldn't be difficult in our day and age.
The thing that concerned me is about the 'tools' she promotes because social media is horrible at keeping people's personal data private.
If you're interested, here are some links to get more information on all of this:
- privacytools.io
- Snowden interview with John Oliver (explicit, but funny)
- Glenn Greenwald TED Talk
- Netflix should have the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply
- Also I have been reading the book Data and Goliath and it is a real eye opener.
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a great resource on secure messaging applications.
CLOSING
Thank you listeners
Shout-Outs:
Twitter:
- This week we tweeted out “Dream interviews for Pulpit Fiction Podcast include Jimmy Carter, Rob Bell, Jim Wallis and Otis Moss.” Otis Moss replied simply, “I’m down.”
- Rev. Hiller. 5 stars. “Great Sermon Prep: The commentary is refreshing. It is smart enough for those theologically trained and accessible to everyone.”
- Lynn4211. 5 stars. “This podcast brings the lectionary alive. Entertaining and fascinating. Also enjoy the Thursday Night Special interviews.”
QUESTION: How do you, personally, reflect or celebrate Holy Week? Do you have certain personal rituals?
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Thanks to our Psalms correspondent, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist). Thank you to Scott Fletcher for our voice bumpers, Dick Dale and the Del Tones for our Theme music (“Misirlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Sunday Morning”, "Real Ride" and “Summertime”) and The Steel Wheels for our transition music(“Nola’s First Dance” from their album Lay Down, Lay Low) and Paul and Storm for our closing music (“Oh No”).