Introduction
Today’s Palm Sunday Gospel reading has some of the Pharisees seeking to silence the crowds as they shout blessings on the arriving king. In the longer Passion Gospel, also set for today, another crowd (or were some people in both crowds?) shouts for him to be crucified. Does the behaviour of these crowds have lessons for us in our public life?
Context
Current news items include the centenary of the Easter Rising in Dublin – when Irish nationalists sought to take advantage of UK preoccupation with a European war to set up an independent republic. Methodists have chosen 20 March to mark the introduction of conscription 100 years ago and the fate of those who objected conscientiously to that war.
Meanwhile, refugees and migrants continue to arrive (mainly) in southern Europe from, amongst other places, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Syria. Across the Atlantic, we see sharp words and violent crowds in the Presidential election campaign. And, although there are still three months before the Referendum in which the UK will decide whether to leave the European Union or remain within it, and despite widespread expectations of a low turnout, the British media are already dominated by shrill referendum-related claims and counterclaims, which led the actor, Jeremy Irons, to describe the debate (on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, on Wednesday 16 March) as more like a game show.
Reflection
To the contemporary authorities Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was a challenge to their authority, perhaps not unlike the Easter Rising, or the outbreak of civil war in Syria. It certainly seems as if the authorities, Jewish and Roman, saw it as necessary to snuff out this incipient rebellion. Like many rulers, perhaps even most, they sought to neutralise opposition. Fans of the popular Hunger Games films might reflect that at their heart is the management of unruly crowds by a dictatorial government using all the tools of modern media.
ROOTS resources for today focuses on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. But today also marks the beginning of Holy Week, and much more of the story of that week is found in the long Passion Gospel which many will wish to use today. Without that Passion story, the events of Palm Sunday might seem of little importance. We do not know how big the crowds were at the city gate, nor how big a crowd shouted ‘Crucify’ five days later; one crowd came with Jesus, one was from the city – but we might wonder if some people in both crowds.
Mass demonstrations do not always have the desired effect. And the crowd who shouted ‘Hosanna’ certainly did not achieve what they seem to have wanted. On Good Friday many Christians will walk through towns and cities, passing bemused shoppers many of whom have little or no understanding of the event that is being marked. Might they have come out to wave palm branches and follow the donkey on the first Palm Sunday? Or might they have joined with those who shouted ‘Crucify’ five days later? Or might some have done both? In first century Palestine ordinary people had no vote and shouting in a crowd was their only voice. What about those in our democracy who are telling pollsters that they are unlikely to vote in the EU Referendum - is it better to take sides or to withdraw from the fray?
How do we think that the faith of those who formed the crowds on Palm Sunday influenced their actions? The Jewish authorities’ unease about the political implications of the shouts of ‘Hosanna’ was motivated, in part, by a wish to protect religious practices in an occupied country. And maybe that also influenced them as they encouraged the crowds to shout ‘Crucify’ later in the week. When should we put our heads above the parapet, and when should we keep them down and go along with the crowd? And how does our faith affect our decisions in our everyday lives? And in big choices like the EU Referendum?
Prayer
In your intercessions, remember all who have hard decisions to make whether in their personal lives or in public office.
Creator God,
help us when we are facing hard choices,
whether we are tempted to follow the crowd,
or sure we are right.
Give us the strength of will to resist temptation,
and the wisdom to discern what is right.
Amen.
Questions
- Have you ever been in the crowd, whether at a demonstration or in some other context? If so, how does it feel to be part of a crowd? Are you more likely to be swayed by the crowd? Or are you confident that you can stick to your principles? Or do you avoid crowds like the plague?
- Do you think that the Sunday crowd and the Friday crowd in the gospel stories of Holy Week included some of the same people? And if they were, how might they have explained their actions later?
Action
Consider how to engage in the Holy Week story. If this is a week when you will go to church several times, think about how the story is told through the different services of the week. The long Passion Gospel takes the story through from the Last Supper to the death of Jesus – whether or not you will be in church several times, try to find time this week to read the Passion story right through in at least one of the four Gospels.
Young people
Enter into the spirit of Holy Week using a dramatic version of the Passion story, sharing out the roles around the group. If you are a ROOTS subscriber, there is a script available on this website.
Dudley Coates is a Methodist local preacher in the Yeovil and Blackmore Vale Circuit and a former Vice President of the Methodist Conference.
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