LIMINAL SPACE

HE IS RISEN! – AND AMONG US…..

I would not have noticed her as I passed by had I not heard a faint “can you help?” I turned and saw a short, thin women of 70+ years. When I turned, she said again in what appeared to be embarrassment “can you help?” Strands of her thin, gray hair were almost floating and softly moving in the light breeze along the street. Her left eye was so faded in color that it was almost hard to distinguish from the white of her eye. And she had little control over its direction. I was in downtown Portland, it was Holy Saturday afternoon, and there was a lot of foot traffic around the shopping district. Her frail, well-worn hands extended out toward me and offered a small knit cap for my offering.

He is risen and among us…….

She struggled to look me in the eye. I wanted to engage her in conversation as one human being to another, not just drop an offering and move on without acknowledging her. I asked her how it happened that she’s on the street here.
“I can’t make it month to month.”
“Do you have a place to live?”
“I have a little studio apartment over there.” (She pointed down several blocks to a tougher neighborhood.)
“What about Social Security?”
“It’s not enough to live on. I have no other money.”

He is risen and among us…….

There was so much more I wanted to know. What about her family? Did she have children? Why was she alone and on the verge of homelessness? But I could see she was already embarrassed by my initial questions, so I shared some of what I had in my pocket - not enough, I’m ashamed to say - and I tried to wish her well, although it was hard to do without sounding trite.

He is risen and among us…….

I doubt if she was concerned that the day before was Good Friday, or that the following day was Easter. I sensed she was probably more concerned about how long before she would be on the street permanently. I wondered what it must be like to be at the end of your days, living in a meager studio apartment, deciding whether to eat or pay the rent. Yet, even in her sad condition, she is better off than millions all over the world who are displaced, dying in wars, suffering from the cruelty and hubrus of dictators, from starvation and disease.

He is risen and among us…….

It’s been a week since my encounter with her. I’ve thought about her often. She was very frail and vulnerable, not aggressive and insistent as are many of those asking for a handout. I barely heard her as I passed. Her voice was faint - much like the voice of God buried in the chaotic and soul-numbing din of our daily commerce. Perhaps she remains in my mind because she reminds me of my own frailty and vulnerability. I can choose to walk past such frailty, pretend not to notice, pretend I’m somehow immune to it. Or, I can embrace it, share in it, even for a moment, and in that moment, meet the One who bore our frailty and vulnerability, the one who is risen and among us.

HOLY WEEK REFLECTIONS

I wonder if Jesus had allergies. You know, all those olive trees and blowing dust. I know when my allergies act up I get irritable. Maybe cursing the fig tree and turning over the money changers’ tables was just bad allergies. Maybe the apostles stood back and said to one another, “boy, he’s really upset today!” “Yeah, I think his allergies are bothering him.” “We better find something for that before he gets us all in trouble.”

I enjoy imagining Jesus experiencing some of the same things that I do. It makes him more real and compelling for me. That’s why I enjoy reading books by scholars who weave the social and political aspects of Jesus’ world and ministry into their discussions. I am especially impressed to see how Jesus was so integrated into his culture and world rather than aloof or removed from “worldly things.” And I am much more compelled to follow him as a result.

Such was my reaction to reading “The Last Week” by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. If you think you know well the significance of all the events of Holy Week, this book will rock your spiritual and intellectual security. Using primarily the gospel of Mark, the first Gospel written, “The Last Week” is a chronicle of the activities and experiences of Jesus from Palm Sunday to Easter. As I read the descriptions of these events by these two world-renowned scripture scholars, I found Jesus to be even more real and compelling to me. Given the current situation of our world and our nation, it is also very clear how Jesus is relevant for this time in history as well. It is also very clear to me how the “cooperation” of church and state that has existed since Constantine in the 4th Century has domesticated Jesus and diluted the full meaning of both his words and actions. And how convenient. That domestication seems to support the military, economic, and social activities of many cultures and governments.
Hmmmmm.

In the concluding sections of the book, the authors stress how Jesus was about personal and political transformation driven by his passion for God and God’s kingdom. They also stress that the two go hand in hand. In other words, it is not enough to seek personal transformation and union with God without seeking political transformation in this world as God would have it. In the same way, it is dangerous to seek political transformation without been transformed personally.

In the domesticated version of Holy Week, Jesus comes to Jerusalem because he knows he has to in order to be crucified and die for our sins so that God will forgive us and let us in to heaven and show us how much God loves us. Each event of Holy Week is seen in that light. If, however, we take a broader, more expansive and educated view of these events with a full understanding of the political and social climate in which they unfold, we see, Borg and Crossan tell us, a much deeper and more powerful message in these events. According to the authors, Jesus activities were well thought out and each had a specific message and meaning to convey. He wasn’t swept along by events in a sort of predestined sequence, but rather skillfully chose these activities and words, knowing full well the risk involved. He knew the risk, but his passion for God and God’s kingdom gave him the courage to face that risk. He chose to use a time when Jerusalem would be packed with pilgrims and his message would receive a wide audience as well as a lot of attention from the authorities. I cannot due the book justice by trying to summarize each of the events. But I would strongly suggest you read it. It is out in paperback and available at most bookstores or online. And it doesn’t have to be read just during Holy Week. I guarantee it will have a deep impact on your understanding of Jesus and his message no matter when you read it.

I am grateful to Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan for helping to make Jesus more real and compelling. They portray a Jesus passionate about God and about God’s kingdom, a Jesus who careful planned his words and actions to make powerful social and political statements based on that passion because, I believe, he was teaching that we cannot separate the spiritual from the political. As the authors point out, Jesus was teaching personal and political transformation. I don’t think we are going to hear that very often from our spiritual or political leaders. What Thomas Merton said over 40 years ago rings true today: “Centuries of identification between Christian and civil life have done more to secularize Christianity than to sanctify civil life.”