Where would we be without ‘good and righteous men’? And good and righteous women too, of course… they are the people that do the right thing, at the right time. Or, at least, try to.

All too often they are that voice crying out in the wilderness. Or those inviting people on different sides of an argument to, perhaps, shout a little less and respect each other a little more.

But I sometimes wonder about our Joe. Was he really that righteous? It could be that this was just a case of wanting things to get done – he was working to a deadline, after all. The sun was about to set, Sabbath was about to begin and the issue of what to do with Jesus’ body needed to be dealt with quickly.

Maybe Joe was just a stickler for the rules?

When it comes to making decisions, choosing a path…what guides you?

Are you a stickler for the rules? Or ‘good and righteous’?

Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate.  They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’  Then Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘You say so.’ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no basis for an accusation against this man.’  But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’

When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.  And when he learned that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.  When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign.  He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate.  That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people,  and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him.  Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.’

Then they all shouted out together, ‘Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!’  (This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)  Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting, ‘Crucify, crucify him!’ A third time he said to them, ‘Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.’  But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.  A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots to divide his clothing.  And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’  But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’  Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,  while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.  When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’ And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts.  But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

It’s such a playground argument.  Who is the greatest?

But of course there’s a bigger lesson to be learned for a group of people who seemed to have learned very little.  

You have no idea what greatness even is!

Everything you think greatness is made up of… it isn’t.  Everything you think is the opposite of greatness is actually what greatness really is.

And the lesson continues.

You’ve stood by me… but you won’t.

I sent you out with nothing and you had all that you needed, but you still crave more.

This upside down Kingdom stuff  is hard, even for those who spent all their time with Jesus.  But then they knew they were not Jesus, so how could the be like Jesus?  They were just people. Women and men who watched and wondered but never quite grasped, who listened but never quite understood, who imitated but never quite became.

Soon it will be your turn.

Yes… you.

With all your faults and failings, all our pettiness and jealousies, all your aspiration and ambition.

Even the swords are there to make the point (pardon the pun!) that the way you think power works isn’t how it actually works with God.

The be great you must be less.  To lead you must serve. To be trusted by others you must trust completely in God.

Of the four Gospels, Luke offers us the most serene account of the Last Supper. In contrast, the others place Jesus’ foresight of His betrayal before the meal, which gave rise to emotional upset between the Disciples and probably indigestion!  In Luke, the discord follows the meal.

As Christians, we have probably attended countless Communion services: for some, it is weekly; for others, less frequently. The ways in which this Sacrament is administered in our denomination, and across the Christian world, are many and varied.

As familiar and comfortable as we may be with how Communion is administered in our churches, let us remember that Jesus’ words and actions on that evening were momentous: He departed from the centuries-old Passover tradition.

A few years ago, I participated in an inter-faith radio project, during which I spent time with an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi. During one of our conversations, he described to me how Jesus’ words about the bread being His body, and the wine being His blood would have been received by Jewish believers with shock – putting it mildly!

By the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, some 20 years after the events – the very text recited at our Communion services –  had lost the raw emotion which those present at the Last Supper would have felt. Yet during Holy Week, we allow ourselves to revisit what we, euphemistically, call ‘The Passion’.

Although not to everyone’s taste, two films evoke ‘The Passion’ for me: the Rice/Lloyd-Webber musical “Jesus Christ, Superstar” and Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of The Christ”. The musical explores individuals’ profound and life-changing responses to Jesus; and the film exposes us to the sheer horror of His sacrifice.

As we journey together through Holy Week, may God grant us the grace to experience ‘The Passion’ afresh.