A Different View of Holy Week

I had a conversation a couple of days ago with a man who told me he thought Jesus was a peaceful anarchist.  That's a pretty inflammatory word, whose definition I wasn't quite sure of, so I looked it up.  I know it's old-fashioned, but I still use the dictionary right next to me on the shelf in my office on occasion.  It read: "absence of any cohering principle, as a common standard or purpose: disorder and confusion."  Not sure I can go with calling him one.  But, the point is well made.  He was definitely a radical "disrupter."

I like the pomp and circumstance of  Palm Sunday, the drama of Holy Week, the hope and promise of the resurrection, the brass quartet on Easter Sunday and saying "He is Risen!" as much as anybody, but my friend did cause me to re-think the events that happened two thousand years ago that we "celebrate" this week. And since "re-thinking" is what my denominational leaders are asking us all to do, I submit this for your reflection. 

Think about it: A king would have rode in on a horse, with armor and a helmet, and with many others dressed the same way.  Jesus rode a donkey.  That's quite a slap in the face to the Roman authorities.  Then he went to the temple, not exactly respecting and receiving a blessing from the local clergy and denominational leaders, but instead overturned some tables.  Then he went on before the judges and didn't exactly follow due process.  When asked to state whether he was guilty or not, he skirted around the question by saying: "Well, YOU say I am." Then, while dying on the cross, he says to his executioners and enemies in general, "Father, forgive THEM."  (for THEY don't know what they are doing)  Then when they think they got him in a grave, he disappears and soon after starts APPEARING to a few select people, giving them hope, just when the authorities thought it was over and done with. 

This is not business as usual.  Which, I guess, is the whole point.  I can go with the "peaceful" part of my friend's statement.  But, to say there is an absence of principle or purpose would be wrong.  The principles (lessons learned) seem to be 1)  violence is not the end all, 2)  forgiveness will prevail over condemnation, 3)   God's ways (process) are not the same as ours.  

I'm think I'm ready to seriously look at a broadened view of Holy Week: Jesus, the rabble-rousing "disupter." As long as we keep the Hallelujah Chorus.