Palm/Passion 2023

 

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Matthew 26:14- 27:66; Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16)

 

And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.”

Confusion. Despair. This text brings us right there. To the base of the cross. To see Jesus, bloodied, suffering, dying. And even at the cross they hear him call to God and they think he is calling to the prophet Elijah. “Why have you forsaken me?” Left in a world that does not understand.

And this week we felt that pain in a different way. At the terrible news of the loss of life at a private Christian school in Nashville. The former student who committed the heinous act of taking life and had his own life taken identified as transgender. We don’t know if that was a factor, but Tennessee is one of the states cracking down on the LGBT community. Conservative Christians are supporting limitations that seem hateful and may feel like they threaten the very existence of those who identify as transgender or otherwise queer. And nothing ever excuses the taking of innocent life. But I wonder if, along with our need to take a good look at the access that disturbed individuals in our society have high-capacity weapons of war such as AR-15s, we also need to look not only at the problem of evil, which is real, but also at how it is expressed in our lack of compassion for each other.

Because the more that we promote legislation that limits what kids are allowed to learn in history class, or says who can read children’s stories, or controls the bodies of others, the more we move toward a society devoid of mutual understanding and compassion.
We remain lost in the morass of human misunderstanding.

Just this week I read on Facebook about a clergy person from another denomination turning in their religious leadership credentials, saying they were laying down the ministry because they couldn’t support an institution that wished ill towards a whole portion of the population.
But I think that instead, our church can support all members of our society. Because to me, our baptismal covenant says everyone deserves dignity. We are to seek and serve Christ in all persons. Be they of a different faith, gender or sexual orientation, or ethnic background. None of us are worthy in ourselves, but through Jesus, all persons are worthy of God’s love and our respect and compassion. Even this very lost shooter.
How can we heal as a society? Isaiah tells us that God has given him the tongue of teacher. So God, be with every teacher right now, struggling with whether it is safe to be in school. Be with every schoolchild and parent sending their kid into the school doors, hoping, hoping praying.

Praying because there is hope in the cracks of even this story. There is hope in the blood of Jesus. At the sealing of Jesus’ fate, “the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’” Yikes. This phrase has echoed differently down the centuries. For some it has meant that the Jews were alone to blame. But most likely it is the gospeller reminding each of us that we are always capable of betraying the Christ. An ancient phrase for taking responsibility- the blood be upon us- here takes on new meaning. Because whose blood is upon us? Why, Jesus’ blood. And what does Jesus’ blood do? It washes us from sin. We are redeemed.
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble” says the Psalm. We say, “Have mercy on us, for we are in trouble!” Our society appears to be fine, but many of us are crumbling inside. And those that crumble hurt others in unimaginable ways. Increase the peace, Lord, help us to understand each other. Increase compassion in our society, Lord, so that we don’t only legislate but also listen. So that we don’t take away rights but we are truly present to those who are lost and misunderstood. So that we learn to support each other as we should. So that we remember that we are all sinners in need of redeeming, and that each person we meet is a beloved child of God.
I bought a t-shirt this week. It says “when God created joy, they made drag queens.” And on the back, it says “Will you strive for Justice and Peace among all people, and respect the Dignity of Every Human Being” from our Baptismal Covenant. Let us begin by doing that. Let us mourn the lost, and walk with Jesus this week on this journey towards Easter, remembering that if we indeed have the blood of the lost and of Jesus on our hands, that it is through Jesus’ blood that we are saved!