Holy Week 2008

A God in our image and likeness? “Jesus shatters our image of God and from its ruins invites us to live in a new wonder” (Ronald Rolheiser). Jesus had never been to the city of Jerusalem since he started his mission in the public arena. Until then he had brought the liberating message of God’s reign only to the peoples who were at the margins of the Jewish seat of power. The decision to enter the city was very crucial. No human space, not even that of those who hold power over people, is exempt from God’s saving love. He was not alone of course. Many of the people who mounted a triumphant entrance for him were from Galilee, the province of Jesus. Joined by some city residents, they spread their cloaks on the road, waved leafy branches, and shouted in triumph. Their enthusiasm shook the city but did not conquer it. Enthusiasm became betrayal; betrayal collaborated with the impulse of the authorities and together begot violence. How could such ignominy happen so fast and so brutal? To say that it was so because Jesus had to simply obey a script made-in-heaven would be to dilute the message of an event that has greatly altered the trajectory of human history. And to say that it had to be in order to pay for our sins would have as an icon a God who craves for suffering and blood in exchange for the insults and calumnies he has long endured. Both are poor images of the God Jesus had come to reveal. The explanation it would seem is divine pedagogy. Every step along the way from Galilee to Jerusalem Jesus shatters a limited if not wrong understanding of the Jews as to who they are, who God is, how are they to live, and what is their ultimate destiny. And out of the ruins Jesus invites them to live in a new wonder and opens up a future which even their prophets can only have a glimpse of. Today is a good day to reflect on Jesus shattering images of God that the Jews of Jesus’ times had fashioned for itself for our own images are not too far off from theirs. It would seem that in every culture and every civilization, the most common temptation is to refuse to “let

God be God” by making God fit into the images and likenesses we make. Jesus shattered their image of God by refusing to play along their expectations. Had he played along, the people would have him crowned hero who will save his people from all the heavy burdens of Roman oppression and wanton irresponsibility of their leaders. Rather than someone who would have established a new arrangement of power players for his people, Jesus entered Jerusalem unpacking a reign that would sit in judgment, for now and for all ages, every type of political rule, every form of social arrangement, and every instance of human leadership. Jesus shattered their image of God by not following the religious script of the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the Law. Instead he cleared the Temple area for it had become a “den of thieves” rather than a “house of prayer” (For instance, Caiaphas the High Priest, made money by allowing vendors to sell their goods in the very courtyards dedicated to prayer!). Had he not done that, they would have installed him a popular teacher who would have deodorized a religious hierarchy’s stinking reputation. Jesus entered Jerusalem bringing a way of worshipping a God who is not pleased with temple offerings and ritual sacrifices but with a life of total and daily self-giving for love of God and neighbor. Jesus shattered their image of God by challenging the authority behind the judicial procedure that sentenced him to die by crucifixion. When he answered “I am” to the question “Are you the Son of God?” he meant not God’s envoy but “Emmanuel”, God himself dwelling among his people, demanding accountability to every form and every exercise of human authority. Jesus entered Jerusalem obliging religious leaders of his times, and of all times as well, to examine if they deserve the respect and esteem of others on the authority they hold. Need not our images of God behind the following stances and postures be examined and shattered? A popular chief priest calling the highest political authority of the land a “duwende” (dwarf) in his homily! A corruption-tainted president

surrounded by white-robed priests prayed over and blessed inside the presidential palace! Some chief priests condemning the government as having lost moral authority to govern while not a few of their colleagues insist it had to finish the term mandated by the people! Invoking the “sense of the faithful” many Catholic organizations and Christian groups disagree and say it’s time to go while others prefer to be on their knees to pray the oratio imperata! And what can one make out of religious officials gladly accepting financial help dished out from the government office for religious affairs? Or government officials spinning the truth to protect the socalled “national interest”? Or religious leaders demanding the highest standards of governance upon all except themselves? The holy week is a good week to examine if the God we worship and praise as well as profess to love and serve is truly the God that he is.

Aloysius L. Cartagenas SMSC, 16 March 2008