In recent years we may have noticed the use of letters to reinforce identity of some kind. In America we had the use of Q to denote evidence that there was a powerful deep force which pervades this world. Many people joined this ’cause’ or understanding that the 45th President of the United States was waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media – totally unproven. In recent weeks we have seen the emergence of Z to denote the pro-Russian forces as they invade Ukraine. This is believed to mean that Russia seeks to liberate or denazify Ukraine, albeit that the letter Z isn’t in the Cyrillic alphabet. This understanding of the letter Z is also unproven. The sheer number of times we see these signs – are they silencing us?
Palm Sunday
As Russian tanks crossed the border they expected to march into Ukrainian cities unopposed, cheered from the pathways, from the houses – this theory has also not been proven correct.
As Pilate, the Roman Consul for Judea, would move from his residence in Caesarea Maritima to ensure that the Pax Romana, the Roman way of keeping peace, was maintained in Jerusalem during Passover. He would arrive on a white charger, surrounded by his protective entourage – for he could not guarantee that the locals would be so pleased to see him. Soldiers would ‘encourage’ the locals to cheer Pilate as he passed them by. Would they be silencing us if we were agitators?
Jesus arrives into the city on Palm Sunday in a multitude of different ways.
In Matthew he is astride a donkey and a colt – painful.
In Mark he arrives on a colt that no one has ridden, where the people cheer Hosanna and blessings, as he move onto the Temple. He is a bit late so returns to Bethany, Lazarus’ location, before going to the Temple the next day to clear it – well a bit of it.
In Luke, Jesus arrives on the colt unridden by another, but the Pharisees, always keen to keep peace with the Romans, tell the people to keep quiet. Jesus goes to the Temple and clears – a bit of – it. It was far too large to clear the whole Temple and Jesus would definitely have been arrested if he had done this.
Why an animal unridden by another? It is a way of denoting that the animal is sacred.
Pharisees
We often read or hear of Pharisees being disparaged as nasty people. They were Jews just like Jesus. They seem to want Jesus to keep his head down, especially upon entry into such a busy Passover festival in Jerusalem. It’s interesting that the Gospel accounts don’t really speak of the vast crowds that many scholars today believe would have filled the city. Were they asking Jesus not to cause a spectacle for fear of retribution towards them and fellow Jews from the Romans? That would have precedent. Were they silencing us?
Silencing Us
Who wants to silence us today?
May be it’s us.
As I wrote recently we utilise social media ‘On Receive‘ where we take from what the platforms are providing, and with regard to our faith, we may not wish to stick our head above the parapet. Perhaps we would resonate with Luke’s account (Luke 19:28-40) in that there are no shouts of Hosanna, nor are there Palm leaves waving along the street. Perhaps that would suit us.
Where would we be if Jesus came into our city/town/village? Would we hide or keep our head down?
The disciples were confused but they had not been aware of what happens by the end of the week – we do.
I found the dialogue interesting and I enjoyed reading it
It’s difficult not to get silenced when inside we’re disagreeing