Two Very Raucous Crowds Headline Holy Week

Jesus prepares to make his entry into the capitol city of Jersualem from the Mount of Olives.
"Flevit super illam" (He wept over it); by Enrique Simonet, 1892

Newly coronated kings, distinguished rabbis and would be Messiahs were often welcomed into ancient Jerusalem with a rousing parade. 

Centuries before Jesus's heralded Palm Sunday entry into the city, his ancestor Solomon, a first "son of David" and Israel's second king, was escorted into the ancient capitol city astride his father David's mount, the royal mule. A cheering throng greeted him with trumpets. cymbals and shouts that were said to shake the earth.

At the time of the first "Palm Sunday" at the beginning of Passover nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus was at the peak of his popularity. As an acclaimed rabbi, prophet and miracle worker, he was hailed as "son of David" by an equally enthusiastic, flag waving (palm branch waving) crowd. It is likely that he entered Jerusalem through the Sheep Gate, in the shadow of the Antonia Fortress from which Roman troops watched for any signs of unrest or insurrection.

The procession was on the very day hundreds of lambs from the surrounding Bethlehem hills were being brought into the temple area through that same gate for Passover sacrifice, the very best, unblemished and specially cared for animals raised solely for that purpose.

As was always the case at Passover, Messianic hopes were at a fever pitch. Throngs of pilgrims from all over the Jewish world gathered for the annual celebration of God's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian oppression a millennium before. Their shouts of Hosanna ("God save us!") was a heartfelt expression of their longing to see another Moses appear to deliver them from the chokehold of Roman rule. Their laying down their cloaks in Jesus's path symbolized their willingness to subject themselves to his authority and rule.

But Jesus's popularity, along with his bold denunciation of the religious elite and the trashing of the tables of the money changers and hucksters in the outer courts of the temple (profiting from the sale of lambs and doves for sacrifice), also aroused extreme ire. Some members of both the political and the religious establishment saw him as a serious threat, which led directly to his arrest and execution just days later.

At his trial, Governor Pilate, offered another raucous crowd a choice between releasing Jesus, the non-violent Deliverer and Prince of Peace or Jesus Barabbas. Barabbas, often portrayed as a common criminal, was most likely a notorious Zealot member of the insurrectionist group intent on overthrowing the Roman army by force, just as their Maccabean heroes had overthrown the Syrians and ushered in a century of independence several generations earlier.

So in Holy Week, three competing world's meet and collide:

1) The world of the Roman empire and the temple establishment, representing the status quo, offering a measure of security and stability, but at the cost of oppression and subjugation for all but a privileged few.

2) The world of anti-government insurrectionists, represented by Jesus Barabbas, a revolutionary freedom fighter and violent seditionist.

3) The new non-violent reign of God ushered in through a Servant-King willing to sacrifice his life to bring shalom and healing to all the world's lost and oppressed, destined to be not only the Lamb of God, but King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Sadly, then as now, the majority of people choose the way of Barabbas.

When Is "Getting Back To Normal" A Bad Thing?

Jesus and the prophets repeatedly urge us to repent of our 
self-centered ways and to "do justice, love mercy, and walk
humbly with God," which means submitting our will to God's.

If our experience of going through the worst pandemic ever is teaching us anything, it may be that it is teaching us very little. 

To the extent that is the case, "getting back to normal" is anything but a good thing...

...At least not if normal means our lifestyle and eating habits as Americans revert to pre-pandemic levels. It remains wrong, and unsustainable, to continue to buy exotic foods from all over the planet that are harvested, processed and transported by underpaid workers. We need to overcome our addiction to recreational food-binging, radically reduce the waste of 30-40% of our food, and refocus our efforts at alleviating world hunger.

...Not if normal means failing to change life habits that contribute to an acceleration of global warming. Unless we radically curb our pursuit of the comfort and convenience associated with our vehicle and upscale-housing addictions, and become less dependent on an economy reliant on an excessive use of fossil fuels, we will fail to preserve the planet as a livable home for future generations.

...Not if normal means our hearts remaining as hardened as ever to the plight of the world's desperately needy. Unless our generosity toward victims of food, shelter and healthcare shortages grows from offering charity to actually creating equity and justice, the lessons of the pandemic will have been lost. We need to gain a sense of all being fellow passengers on one fragile and increasingly crowded lifeboat filled with refugees, the homeless, the sick, the incarcerated, and those suffering from the effects of racism and other kinds of injustices.

...Not if normal means our minds becoming even more contaminated with partisan propaganda and social-media-fed falsehoods. There are signs of masses becoming ever more susceptible to deception, of their trusting in wild conspiracy theories over news from professional journalists, of their having more faith in unfounded rumors than in medical science, and of their trusting the propaganda of extremist groups over once trusted faith leaders and public officials.

...Not if normal means the madness of outrageous military spending remaining unchecked. We appear to be as addicted to Pentagon spending as ever. We still maintain a trigger-ready nuclear force capable of destroying everything on the planet multiple times over, and keep adding to an already bloated military budget year after year, to the tune of wasting more on means of destruction than the next nine largest spending nations in the world. While billions of people live on the edge of starvation, the US spends far more every single hour than the entire budget of a world relief agency like Mennonite Central Committee does in an entire year. Even people of my peace-loving denomination will continue invest more in taxes for military purposes than in tithes and offerings for missionary purposes.

Were we to heed the kind of warning given by the prophet Jonah to the people Nineveh, we could still be spared further judgment. But if a COVID-19 pandemic and a half million deaths doesn't serve as a wake-up call, what will?

Coming Of Age: Two Sons And Three Choices

The older son in the story is the stereotypical adult pleaser, the
overachieving honor roll student who lacked one vital trait. 

In one of my occasional "Sunday School with Grandpa" zoom sessions with two of my grandsons, I began by asking each of them yesterday how long it would be before they reached their 18th birthday. 

For one it was just over six years and for the other less than four until they would reach that milestone and become fully responsible for their major life decisions. 

While making it clear that I would not recommend their taking advantage of all of their new adult rights, that they could then legally leave home and find their own place to live if they wished, could enter into binding legal contracts, could get married without their parents' consent, could access "adult content" material of all kinds and make all their own medical decisions.  

We then read the Luke 15 "Prodigal Son" story, with the younger grandson reading the part of the prodigal in the story and the older one reading the part of the elder son (no similarities intended). It was an opportunity to talk about how the father in the story represents a compassionate God but who is quite unlike any real patriarchal father in Jesus's time, along with our reflecting on how two sons from the same family chose completely different paths as they became of age.

The younger one, who may have felt he could never compete with his older brother, chose to reject all of the values he had been taught. He not only demanded his share of the family estate, but turned his back on his Jewish family and his family's faith, and wasted all of his father's inheritance in alien Gentile territory. 

The elder son, representing good self righteous people like ourselves, refused to join the festivity and complained of unfair treatment in light of his father's extravagant celebration of his rebellious son's return.

A third choice I recommended would have been for each of the sons to choose to embrace the faith and values of their "Abba" and live a life of joyful, regret-free integrity, but also to demonstrate their father's unconditional (agape) love and amazing grace.

My prayer is that all of our children and grandchildren will choose that third way.

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Here's a link to another recent post on this favorite parable 

http://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-most-outrageous-story-jesus-ever.html

Our Parole Board Must Not Only Do Justice, But Also Love Mercy

In the wake of Vincent Martin's release from prison last year, the Virginia Parole Board has been roundly criticized for being too lenient and for not properly notifying the victim's family. Martin was granted his freedom after having served 40 years of his sentence for the tragic slaying of a police officer

The Board has stood by its decision, based on its claim of having done repeated and through reviews of his case and based on his stellar record of behavior as a prisoner. He had an exceptionally positive influence on his fellow prisoners and was even called on to help bring about a successful resolution in a volatile prison uprising while incarcerated.

Others have criticized the Parole Board for denying releases of too many prisoners among those still eligible for consideration due to their having been incarcerated before parole was abolished in 1995. 

But a significant number of these men and women have proven themselves thoroughly corrected and rehabilitated after decades behind bars. They have gained the trust and respect of prison officials and fellow prisoners, have taken every remedial class available, and have proven to be a model citizens in the most challenging circumstances imaginable. Yet they have been denied parole release year after year based solely on the seriousness of their past offenses.

Many of these men and women are now also eligible for geriatric release, but are routinely denied on those grounds as well, in spite of many of them being infirm, in need of intensive (and expensive) healthcare, and even being blind or in wheel chairs.

I understand the deep feelings of people on both sides. For family members of victims, no amount of punishment could ever come close to compensating for the trauma and grief they have endured. On the other hand, many family members simply long to have their repentant loved ones offered what they see as a hard earned second chance. 

People of faith, private citizens and public officials alike, are mandated to both 'do justice' and to 'love mercy', along with 'walking humbly with God', which means subjecting themselves to God's will and word. 

In one of Jesus's familiar parables, an elder son is outraged by his father's celebration of a younger son's repentance and his return home after having wasted his father's inheritance and living a life of wanton lawlessness. Though worthy of being stoned to death for his disrespect and disobedience, the father, representing God, runs toward him, embraces him as one who has "come to himself," and warmly welcomes him home.

What are we to take from this story? Dare we show only disdain for wrongdoers, even thoroughly repentant ones, unmindful of our own need for grace? Or will we become ever more like the compassionate father, who not only forgives his repentant son, but puts the family ring on his finger, restores him to his place in the family, and celebrates his transformation?

This doesn't rule out tough love in cases of wrongdoing. It doesn't mean being soft on crime. It doesn't mean not expecting restitution and reparation to be made to whatever extent possible. But it surely means showing mercy to all who demonstrate contrition and a genuine change of life. 

That's not just a suggestion. It's a divine requirement. 

We May Never Be A Supernova, But We're "Somewhere In The Constellation"

The familiar constellation Orion in the night sky.

In this closing chapter of my life, I realize I'll never achieve the level of greatness I sometimes fantasized about in my youth. 

But that's OK. I'm finding it more important to see myself as a part of a constellation of believers who help the world see visible signs of heaven here on earth. Each of us has only a bit part, but it takes the prayers and efforts of all to make God's will and God's way shine bright on earth as it does in heaven.

Our Pittsburgh-based singer songwriter son wrote the following thoughtful piece a decade ago:

Andromeda shines bright, a moonless night, it’s hard to miss her,
she’s a galaxy, a new tattoo, she’s made of glowing ceiling stickers..
I heard you got a contact high hanging out with some famous guy,
who am I to criticize? we all take what we can get,
lately I’ve come to realize, and it’s a kind of liberation:
I’m not the brightest in the sky, but I’m somewhere in the constellation..

we’re all born with ancient brains from back when we hunted on the plains,
and though an awful lot has changed, we still chase the things we taste:
salt, sugar, sex, starch, fat and love—we crave all of the above,
and it feels right when we find them, but we can never get enough..

 Orion’s belt’s got loops that the hunter never uses,
 and the dippers, they’re just scoops for extra stars strewn all about,
 extra stars that hang around, hoping someday they might count,
 they’re not holding down the corners, they’re just filling in the background..

so you could love me, you may not.. anyway I’ll take my shot,
really what else could go wrong, you’re already in this song,
so if I sing it from afar, it’s to remind me of my station,
‘cause I’m not the brightest star, I’m just somewhere in the constellation.

 Orion’s belt’s got loops that the hunter never uses,
 and the dippers, they’re just scoops for extra stars strewn all about,
 we’re the stars that hang around, hoping someday we’ll be found,
 we’re not holding down the corners, we’re just filling in the background..

so you got a contact high hanging out with that famous guy,
I don’t need to wonder why, we all get what we can take,
though I may never be the star that points you to your destination,
look up anywhere you are, I’ll be somewhere in the constellation,
no, I may never be the star that points you to your destination,
but look up anywhere you are, I’ll be somewhere in the constellation...

- Brad Yoder, 2011 (all rights reserved)

The Most Outrageous Story Jesus Ever Told

The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Pompeo Batoni
1773

Most of us read Jesus's parable of the Prodigal Son as a feel-good "happily-ever-after" tale. But to his first century hearers it would have been considered shocking and outrageous. 

Here are the main parts of the Luke 15 story (in italics) and some likely incredulous reactions:

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them."

What? While the father was still living, and with no questions asked? Any son  with the gall to demand  such a thing should be stoned for being defiant and disrespectful, as commanded in the law of Moses,* and certainly not be granted his totally inappropriate request.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything."

The father should have known that would happen. What did he expect? What was he thinking? His son deserves to starve after having wasted his whole inheritance on infidels and foreigners.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father."

Yeah, right. He's going to act all repentant, as though he was completely changed, just to get his father to take him back. But he shouldn't fall for it. It's just an act, and someone like that can never be trusted again. Let him grovel. Let him find another disgusting job with a pig farmer. 

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."

No self-respecting patriarch would run for anything, for any reason, much less warmly embrace and kiss someone who had treated him this way. Has he no dignity, no self-respect?

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’"

What an understatement. Of course he's not worthy to be called the man's son. And he doesn't deserve to be accepted as one his servants either. He's made his bed, now let him lie in it. He had every chance and blew it. So let him pay the price. 

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."

What? This is unthinkable! What will the older son think, the one who has worked hard all his life and never gave his father any trouble? And what would the neighbors say? Throwing this kind of party sends entirely the wrong message--that crime pays. Where's the justice? No father on earth would ever do that.

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* From the Bible:

"...  (H)he shall acknowledge the firstborn... by giving him a double portion of all that he has... The right of the firstborn is his. If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear."

- Deuteronomy 21:17-21 (ESV)

"More and more notorious sinners, despised tax collectors and other folks with really bad reputations were hanging around Jesus, listening to his every word. Good people like the self-righteous members of the religious establishment were indignant and outraged, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like best friends.'” 

Luke 15:1-3 (paraphrase)

3/8/03: Ten Groups Opposing An Iraq Invasion

Like all wars, this one resulted in many unintended consequences. 

I made the following points in a letter published in the Daily News-Record 18 years ago today:

Editor, DNR:

Here is my list of the top ten U.S. groups opposed to the use of bombs and missiles to depose Saddam Hussein:

1. Followers of Jesus: There are many fellow-believers in Iraq who are our friends and who will find themselves in grave danger. As to our enemies, we are under orders to love them, not kill them. 

2. Pro-peace advocates: Let’s stop resorting to unspeakably barbaric ways of dealing with human conflicts.

3. Pro-life advocates: Countless numbers of unborn children will be murdered, and even more of those already born will suffer and die.

4. Pro-Israel advocates: Further turmoil in the region could further threaten Israel’s security.

5. Environmentalists: The planet can’t afford this kind of devastation and misuse of its resources.

6. Isolationists: We’ve got enough problems at home, and shouldn’t use our defense forces to stir up trouble half a world away.

7. Internationalists: Moving forward without stronger support from the UN and other allies will only weaken our much needed influence around the world.

8. Eternal optimists: Saddam, like our former archenemy Fidel, is advancing in years and won’t be around forever. And there are far less costly ways of containing him.

9. Die-hard pessimists: Nothing will go as planned, and we could be getting ourselves into another Vietnam.

10. Fiscal conservatives: It’s irresponsible to spend $100 billion we don’t have on this kind of blitzkrieg--and that is if all goes as planned. It may cost untold billions more to win this war and to keep the peace.

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As usual, all efforts of peace-minded people around the world to avoid war in Iraq were ignored, including the following note I sent to my senators and congressperson:

I am deeply troubled by the prospect of the U.S. using massive weapons of terror and destruction in an effort to prevent Iraq from developing nuclear and other weapons of terror and destruction. 

Some of the sad ironies involved are that the invading country in this case, the US 1) is the only nation in the world to have itself engaged in nuclear warfare, 2) presently owns the world’s largest and most deliverable stockpile of nuclear weapons, 3) is pursuing ever closer diplomatic and trade relationships with all of the other current nuclear powers, 4) spends (or misspends) a military budget of over ten times that of all of its enemy nations combined, in spite of growing famine and other world needs, 5) earlier supported Saddam Hussein as an ally at a time when he was committing acts of genocide against his own people, 6) has a history of actively supporting regimes with dismal human rights records (including others not complying with clear U.N. resolutions), 7) is relying on rumors and on sometimes outdated aerial photos to justify its current action and, saddest of all, 8) continues to give lip service to the Prince of Peace, one who refused to resort to force even to protect himself and his followers--or to liberate his own native land from foreign oppression.

Please vote No to a U.S. invasion of Iraq.

A Brave Cross Country Move That Radically Altered My Life

This week marked the 75th anniversary of my parents Ben and Mary Yoder's move from Garnett, Kansas, to Stuarts Draft, Virginia, with their family of eight children.

I was six years old, the youngest, and my oldest sister was 19. My father accompanied a freight car packed with our furniture and other belongings, including some farm machinery, two of our horses and a few cattle, half way across the country to the Shenandoah Valley. My mother herded the rest of us on the long trip east by passenger train.

The primary reason they chose to make this major move was not to better themselves financially, though with my uncle Ed Mast's help my parents were able to build a small dairy and poultry operation on the 120 acre farm that supported their family. We always struggled financially, and times were hard, but when he and my mother sold the farm and went into semi-retirement, they found themselves amply rewarded for their hard work and many sacrifices.

But their primary reason for moving was for the sake of their children and teens. Many of the youth in the Amish church we were a part of in Kansas were a negative influence, whereas the congregation we became a part of in Virginia proved to be a big improvement.

It paid off. All but one of my seven older siblings found good marriage partners in that congregation and established stable and healthy families. My one older sister who remained single became an admired nurse and midwife who served in numerous locations both in the states and abroad. 

Partly through the influence of a Mennonite public school teacher and other teachers and mentors I decided to enroll at Eastern Mennonite College, now EMU, at age 21, and after graduation married the wonderful woman I met there who became my wife.

The rest is history. 

I've often wondered how that history would have turned out had my parents not chosen to make that brave cross country move. I owe them so more than I could ever repay.

Some Signs Of Intelligent Life On Planet Earth

Extra-terrestrial visitors might have a hard time finding signs of intelligence among us.

Military Madness: We are spending insane amounts of money and resources on ever more efficient means of destroying our own species. Nations worldwide wasted $3 trillion a year on military spending in 2019, an increase of 3.6%, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The US alone spent over $372 billion of this, more than the next ten most heavily armed nations combined. China, with by far the largest population of any country in the world, is in a distant second place and impoverished and densely populated India is third. 

Intelligent Life: The biblical prophets have long advocated turning swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. Faithful followers of Jesus support loving, praying for, and doing good to enemies rather than threatening them with harm.

Toxic Poisoning: We are wantonly exploiting and plundering the earth and its resources as though there were no tomorrow. The mass production of more and more means of adding to our comfort, convenience and consumer wealth threatens to destroy the earth on which we depend for life, creating dangerous levels of waste and pollution and contributing to climate change that will make life as we know it unsustainable.

Intelligent Life: Seers of old have long railed against the exploitation of human and other resources for material gain, and Jesus lived and taught a life of radical simplicity and generosity.

Malignant Messaging: We are disregarding truthfulness and normalizing falsehoods as an accepted part of politics and as a part of everyday life as usual. Our entertainment, sports, and advertising industries bombard us with lies and deceptions about what leads to "happily ever after." We allow ourselves to be brainwashed with promises of immediate, short term gratification that fail to deliver, and find ourselves embracing untruths that divide us and threaten us with irreparable harm.

Intelligent Life: The Pentateuch forbids all false witness, and Jesus insists on our every word passing the truth test, so that our yes always means yes and our no, no. In line with the rule of the Trappist monks, we aim to "speak only when it improves the silence."

Insane Inequities: Billionaires with private jets and luxury yachts coexist on the same planet on which over a billion people live on less than $2.50 a day. Even middle class households in industrialized countries like ours feel entitled to a lifestyle that even members of the monarchy throughout most of history would envy, with little regard for millions of refugees and other destitute people living on the edge of starvation. 

Intelligent Life: If our scriptures do not always seem clear on some things, there is no lack of clarity on the part of Jesus and the prophets that God's heart is for the poor, and that those who are "rich in things and poor in soul" are of all people to be pitied. The goal of all who live under the reign of God is not to simply extend charity to the poor but pray and work for God's justice and equity to prevail, and for Abba's will to be done "on earth as it is in heaven." Basil, an early church father, wrote, "The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the one who is naked. The shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are so much injustices you commit." 

These are not only wise words, but calls for repentance we must all heed for the sake of our survival.