Isaiah 50:4-9a I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.
Philippians 2:5-11 He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death.
Mark 14:3-15:47

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark §1

³While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. ⁴But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? ⁵For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. ⁶But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. ⁷For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me. ⁸She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.⁹Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. ¹¹When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

¹²On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, ¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” ¹⁶So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.

¹⁷When it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” ¹⁹They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?” ²⁰He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. ²¹For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”

²²While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” ²³Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.²⁷And Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’

²⁸But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” ²⁹Peter said to him, “Even though all become deserters, I will not.” ³⁰Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” ³¹But he said vehemently, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of them said the same.

Meditation I

Our Passion narrative began today with the optional extension of the woman anointing Jesus’ head while at the house of Simon the leper in Bethany (which is literally, the “poor house”). If we don’t exercise the optional extension, this story never gets read on a Sunday in church. Mark, the earliest Gospel, and Matthew, written next, I believe, tell this story of the unnamed woman anointing Jesus’ head. The Gospels of Luke and John tell varying stories of a woman anointing Jesus’ feet, and that gets Sunday readings. Furthermore, artwork depicting a woman anointing Jesus’ feet is bountiful, while artwork depicting a woman anointing Jesus’ head is almost non-existent. We can’t remember the story of the woman anointing Jesus’ head if we never learn it in the first place. We don’t remember the story of the woman anointing Jesus’ head because it does not get told much in memory of her, in spite of Jesus’ Gospel promise.

It’s not that the other versions aren’t also worth telling, it’s just that I’m with Jesus in wanting you to remember the woman who anointed his head. In Jesus’ context, anointing on the head was used to call a person into God’s service, to consecrate and empower that person to do the work God was calling him or her to do. This woman was engaged in a prophetic ritual.” [1] I want you to learn about and remember this woman who has no speaking part, but whose actions speak loudly. I want you to remember her when you think of any woman you know who has been bold and extravagant in her love offered to bless and empower others, who has been prophetic in her good work. Most importantly, I want you to learn and remember this woman so you can connect with your own capacity to enact bold, extravagant, and prophetic love.

Passion Narrative §2

³²They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. ³⁴And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” ³⁵And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” ³⁷He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? ³⁸Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”³⁹And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. ⁴¹He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”

⁴³Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. ⁴⁴Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁴⁶Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. ⁴⁷But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. ⁴⁸Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? ⁴⁹Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰All of them deserted him and fled. ⁵¹A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, ⁵²but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.

Meditation II

I’m always struck by how close intimacy and kindness are to denial and betrayal in this passion narrative of the Gospel of Mark, which describes broken promises of every kind, at every level, all around Jesus. It seems unlikely that chief priests, scribes and elders of the Temple in Jerusalem would have had any authority to police a garden outside of the city. Mark describes this scene as an unofficial lynch mob working at night, doing the bidding of people in power who have been corrupted. The word arrest is more like seize or capture. Those searching for Jesus in the garden in darkness remind me of the Ku Klux Klan, who also worked in disguise and at night—mobs that frequently included elected officials calling themselves Christian—as they terrorized and murdered oppressed people.

This is a good place to focus our attention on the contrast between Jesus and his followers. Translator and commentator Mark Davis writes: “’Follow after me’ is met with ‘they all fled.’ ‘Stay here and watch’ is met with ‘they fell asleep.’ …. [Jesus] yields to God’s will after a massive struggle; the [disciples] fail in every way possible. The church that reads this text must be conflicted with awe for the one who can say ‘Nevertheless, not my will but yours’ and with abject humility at our own failures to do the same.” [2] Jesus is described as having a heavy heart while his closest friends are described as having heavy eyelids. And Judas’ kiss of betrayal is described as a tender, loving gesture of friendship.

Just as I want you to hear and identify with your own capacity to act boldly, extravagantly, and prophetically with compassion, let us all hear and identify with our own capacity to miss the mark (which is the literal definition of sin in the Bible). Here we see corruption, violence, apathy –sleeping while God weeps, abandonment, cowardice, fleeing in fear, and denial and betrayal of the Love that surrounds us on every side, no matter what our failures or embarrassments. The depth and breadth of failure exhibited by the characters in this brief scene can give people like us some cover, and perhaps assurance that there is room for all in the heart of God because their failure and Jesus’ death were not the end of the story because here we are almost 2000 years later.

Passion Narrative §3

⁵³They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. ⁵⁴Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. ⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. ⁵⁶For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. ⁵⁷Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, ⁵⁸“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹But even on this point their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” ⁶¹But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”⁶²Jesus said, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power,’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’”

⁶³Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? ⁶⁴You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death. ⁶⁵Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him over and beat him.

⁶⁶While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. ⁶⁷When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” ⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. ⁶⁹And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.” ⁷¹But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” ⁷²At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Meditation III

The Sanhedrin was the Jerusalem city council. For a long time leading up to and beyond Jesus’ life, the city council was ruled by a party of high priests (as opposed to rabbis of the Pharisaic tradition). This ruling party of high priests was xenophobic and intensely Temple-centric, but the Sanhedrin had not always been that way. Their narrative that the only proper ritual observance or ceremonial worship was in the Jerusalem temple has been so strong and long-lasting, that even contemporary archeologists have a hard time believing recent finds of well-developed early first century synagogues outside of Jerusalem.   According to the rabbis of the Pharisaic party, the Sanhedrin, in their lust for wealth and power, had neglected their Torah obligation to be concerned for the well-being of the whole people of God. The Sanhedrin had some authority over Jewish life, but only in service to the Roman government, which controlled all matters of importance, including capital punishment. “For this reason, and because this trial is placed on Passover when such activities would be strictly forbidden by Jewish law…the scene is of questionable historicity.” [3] Mark lays the blame for Jesus’ crucifixion on the high priests of the Sanhedrin, rather than on the Roman government. “Mark is bitterly ironic: The priests, who are supposed to mediate life, become advocates of death. Instead of showing compassion for the dying Jesus, the chief priests and scribes mock him.” [4]

Perhaps this is because by the time Mark was writing, Jerusalem had been sacked and the temple with its priesthood utterly destroyed. By the time Mark was writing, there was no more Sanhedrin, but there certainly still was a Roman government, more menacing than ever. In the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem, the city council was getting blamed for far more than the crucifixion of Jesus because it was too dangerous to blame the brutal occupying government.

In our time, our government leaders are failing to care for the well-being of the whole people of God, from the abrupt closure of the Long Island bridge to playing chicken with climate change. Think of who we blame for failure to care for the well-being of the whole people of God and remember that, here too, even those responsible for the depth and breadth of institutional and systemic failure will fall within the saving embrace of Jesus’ outstretched arms.

Passion Narrative §4

15As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ²Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” ³Then the chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.”⁵But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.

⁶Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. ⁷Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. ⁸So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom.⁹Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. ¹²Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³They shouted back, “Crucify him!” ¹⁴Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” ¹⁵So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

¹⁶Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort.¹⁷And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. ¹⁸And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. ²⁰After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

²¹They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. *²²Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). ²³And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. ²⁴And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.

Meditation IV

We have come to the reason that Emmanuel is not doing a traditional reading of the Passion narrative in parts, having the congregation play the role of the crowd. I cannot imagine how it is edifying – that is, how this kind of reading might provide moral or theological instruction that would build up the body or how this practice might glorify God. If any of you in the congregation are longing for a greater voice, more participation in liturgy, a deeper involvement in the narrative of salvation history, this turns out to be a most terrible way to engage. No good can come from imagining ourselves as members of an angry, murderous mob.

Biblical scholars have known for a long time that “the evidence explicitly and definitely points against any representative Jerusalem crowd shouting for Jesus’ death.” [5] As many as fifty years ago Biblical scholar, John Dominic Crossan wrote about Christian anti-Semitism, saying, “the often-repeated statement that the Jews rejected Jesus and had him crucified is historically untenable and must therefore be removed completely from our thinking and our writing, our teaching, preaching, and liturgy.” [6] Yet, here we are, five decades later – churches all over the place blithely carry on this libel in the name of tradition or custom or piety, with scant attention to the libelous and deadly consequences to Jewish people, who are preparing the annual feast of Passover, celebrating the notion of freedom from oppression, freedom from economic and political enslavement.

I understand that such a dramatic reading is intended to deepen our connection with the sin of going along with the crowd. But I think that this practice does not honor God’s Holy Name or God’s Holy People. We must stop using guilt as a motivation to love.

Passion Narrative §5

²⁵It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”²⁷And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left. ²⁹Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. ³²Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.

³³When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

⁴⁰There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.

⁴²When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, ⁴³Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.⁴⁴Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time.⁴⁵When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.

Meditation V

You know, this is the first time in the Gospel of Mark that Mary Magdalene is mentioned. It’s at the cross. She’s primary among the women who provided for Jesus – financially and emotionally. The Greek verb for provided is from the same word from which we derive the word deacon. When lists of women are mentioned in all four Gospels, Mary Magdalene is listed first in all but one instance. [7] Mary Magdalene was the leader of the women who were deacons for Jesus. She was the leader of the women who stayed and watched the crucifixion when the others had fled. These women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome were with many other women, Mark says. They were the ones who heard Jesus cry out his despair that God had forsaken him. These were the ones who saw him die. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses, were the witnesses who saw where Jesus was buried.

They stood by the cross; they sat by the tomb. Mark doesn’t give them speaking parts. Perhaps they were speechless with grief. But their actions speak, don’t they? And although the stories they told were not explicitly attributed to them, the account is clear that they were the key witnesses. They model for us fidelity and courage, and above all steadfast love. They connect us with the anointing woman. The ones without speaking parts in this Passion narrative are the ones who made sure that failure did not have the last word, that love was stronger than death.   If we keep our eyes on the women, their bold, extravagant, and prophetic love will show us how to navigate this coming Holy Week and beyond.

1. My professor Joanna Dewey’s sermon about that is published in “The Anointing at Bethany,” in Pulpit Digest, March/April 1991, p. 54-55.

2. D. Mark Davis, leftbehindandlovingit.blogspot.com, 3/23/15.

3. Jewish Annotated New Testament, “Mark” Lawrence Wills, (New York: Oxford Press, 2011), p. 91.

4. Ronald J. Allen & Clark M. Williamson, Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004) p. 118.

5. John Dominic Crossan, “Anti-Semitism and the Gospel,” in Theological Studies 26 no 2 Je 1965, p. 204.

6. Ibid, p. 189.

7. Seven out of eight times. The exception is John 19:25 where Mary, wife of Clopas is mentioned before Mary Magdalene.