We Killed Jesus

Despite this post's title, I won't be indulging in a guilt trip, or bewailing the decline and fall of practically everybody.¹

An incident earlier this month could have been much worse: like the Judenschlacht of 1241 or Hep-Hep riots in 1819.

What happened was bad enough, though:

"The chanting started with a rude taunt: Newton North High School students cheering for their basketball team Friday night shouted, 'Where are your girls?' to the fans of Catholic Memorial School, an all-boys school.

"But the response from the Catholic Memorial fans to their opponents, many of whom are Jewish, left the Newton North crowd horrified and upset: 'You killed Jesus!' shouted about 50 to 75 Catholic Memorial students. 'You killed Jesus!'..."
(Evan Allen, Boston Globe (March 12, 2016))

The Boston Globe article doesn't say how many Catholic Memorial fans were at the game, so I don't know if "the Catholic Memorial fans" refers to all the fans, or some of them. Either way, that was unacceptable behavior.

Catholic Memorial's administration thinks so, too. School brass took "corrective action"² during and after the game, and my guess is that the lesson isn't over yet:

"Archdiocese of Boston Statement Incident involving Catholic Memorial High School"

"...The Archdiocese wishes to make clear that the behavior of a number of students from Catholic Memorial at the game is unacceptable....

"...Cardinal Sean O'Malley stood in solidarity with hundreds of members of the Jewish community and in affirming the Jewish and Catholic communities' shared heritage of faith...

"...We stand ready to assist Catholic Memorial in providing the student body with the awareness education that is needed to ensure that there is no recurrence of these actions or attitudes."

I put the statement's full text², and links to more resources³, at the end of this post.

Before talking about being a gentile Catholic, and why our Lord died on the Cross: a tip of the hat to Fr. Robert Carr, on Google Plus, for drawing my attention to this short recording of a Palm Sunday homily.

• "Who Killed Jesus?"
  Words From Holy Trinity Quincy, MA; PodOmatic, 5:25 (March 20, 2016)

Anti-Whatever Soreheads and Me

(From Watson Heston, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("History Repeats Itself" — "This is the U.S. in the Hands of the Jews:" editorial cartoon from the April 15, 1896 issue of Sound Money magazine.)

I've mentioned the rabid Christians who helped me learn to love rock 'n roll, and eventually become a Catholic, before. (May 3, 2015; January 11, 2015; September 11, 2014)

The lot I ran into seldom mentioned Jews, or Israel: except in the context of their latest 'End Times' prophecy, where Israel occasionally popped up in the ultimate battle between America and Satan. And that's another topic. Topics. (February 21, 2016; April 19, 2015)

America has had its share of anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic, anti-Irish, and anti-whatever soreheads — yet more topics. (September 6, 2015; June 21, 2015)

I can't reasonably hate Jews, or anybody else. Mainly because —

I Worship a Jew

Jesus is a Jew. That's obvious, from both of our Lord's genealogies. (Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38)

They're not exactly the same, and I've explained why the Bible's non-American origin doesn't upset me. (February 21, 2016; October 24, 2014)

Our Lord isn't just ethnically Jewish. While Jesus was here, he lived as a Jew, obedient to God's law: understanding it better than the Pharisees and other control freaks. (Matthew 12:1-5; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 11:52; John 5:6-17; Catechism, 423, 531-531, 582-584, 2173)

I could, by cherry-picking verses like Luke 11:47 and Acts 5:30, claim that God blames the Jews for whatever annoys me.

I really don't need that sort of trouble. Sacred Scripture, Tradition (capital "T"), the Magisterium, and my upcoming particular judgment, are — yet again more topics. (April 12, 2015; March 15, 2015; September 28, 2014; July 13, 2014)

I certainly can't blame 'the Jews' or any other single group for our Lord's death. Not if I take what the Church says seriously.

For starters, some Jewish authorities wanted our Lord dead, others didn't. (Catechism, 595-596)

"¹ Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²

"He came to Jesus at night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.' "
(John 3:1-2)

"Joseph of Arimathea, ¹⁹ a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus."
(Mark 15:43)

Differences of opinion didn't stop after Jesus stopped being dead.

"⁶ But a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up, ordered the men to be put outside for a short time,

"and said to them, 'Fellow Israelites, be careful what you are about to do to these men.

"⁷ Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing.

"After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered.

"So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself.

"But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.' They were persuaded by him."
(Acts 5:34-39)

I think Gamaliel made sense. (September 14, 2014)

But being right, and making sense, is no guarantee of success. Not in the short run, anyway. I've talked about freedom, McCarthyism, and getting a grip, before, too. (July 19, 2015)

I know enough history to realize that truth wins — eventually. Sometimes we have to be very, very, patient, and that's still another topic. Topics. (January 10, 2016; July 5, 2015; January 18, 2015)

Getting back to our Lord's trial, Pilate was in a highly unenviable position. (November 22, 2015)

The political situation was complicated, the Sanhedrin threatened Pilate during the trial, and "...the personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone...." We must not blame folks who wouldn't be born for another two millennia. Particularly considering what Jesus and Peter said. (Catechism, 596-597)

"Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, 'If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. ³ Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.' "

"They cried out, 'Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!' Pilate said to them, 'Shall I crucify your king?' The chief priests answered, 'We have no king but Caesar.' "

"So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, 'Do not write "The King of the Jews," but that he said, "I am the King of the Jews." '

"Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.' "
(John 19:12, 15, 21-22)

Forgiveness and Gentiles

Ill-informed Christians and imaginative editors notwithstanding, forgiveness is not a new idea. At all. (March 13, 2016; December 13, 2015; September 6, 2015)

"[Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.'] ⁵ They divided his garments by casting lots. "
(Luke 23:34)

"Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, ⁷ just as your leaders did;

"but God has thus brought to fulfillment what he had announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, ⁸ that his Messiah would suffer."
(Acts 3:17-18)

I get the impression that one of the early questions wasn't whether Jews were 'saved:' it was whether the Messiah came for Gentiles, too. (January 3, 2016)

"¹ Because of this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ ² (Jesus) for you Gentiles -
...
"When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

"which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit,

"that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."
(Ephesians 3:1, 4-6)

Sin, Death, Redemption

Sin is what happens when I decide not to do something I should; or decide to do something I know is bad for myself or others, and do it anyway. (Catechism, 1849-1864)

It's not loving God, loving my neighbors, seeing everybody as my neighbor, and treating others as I want to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37)

Humanity is not divided into 'the righteous' who can do no wrong and 'sinners' who can do no right. Reality is a whole lot more complicated.

We're still made "in the image of God," as Genesis 1:26-27 says. We're rational creatures who can decide what we do: spiritual beings with a body made from the stuff of this world. (Catechism, 311, 325-348, 1704, 1730-1731)

Having a body isn't the problem, by the way. Satan and the other rebellious angels are pure spirit, and look what happened to them. (Catechism, 385-395)

Our trouble started when the first of us decided to put their preferences above God's — and we've been dealing with consequences of that decision ever since. (Catechism, 396-412)

I've been over this before, often. (March 13, 2016; February 7, 2016; September 27, 2015)

Seeing anything from God's viewpoint is arguably impossible for a finite creature. We can, however, learn and come to understand the Almighty: to some extent. (Catechism, 27-43, 202, 600)

God, predestination, and Psalms 115, are even more topics. (July 26, 2015; September 21, 2014; July 27, 2014)

I can't 'work my way into Heaven.' I rely on our Lord for salvation. (February 7, 2016)

By dying on the Cross, Jesus took on our sin: and made it possible for each of us to take on our Lord's divine, risen, nature. (Catechism, 599-618, 638-655)

Whodunit

That brings me back to the 'who killed Jesus' whodunit. The solution is sort of like Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express."

Everybody who was there⁴ was involved. Some Jews railroaded our Lord through that trial. Pilate, a gentile, tried to let Jesus off; but finally went along with the local authorities. Roman soldiers — more gentiles — escorted our Lord to Golgotha and nailed Jesus to the Cross.

I am there, too, in a sense: every time I fail to love God and my neighbor, every time I "delight in [my] vices and sins." (Hebrews 6:6; Catechism, 598)

Happily:

"...life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight...."

I have one life, one soul, and one chance at eternity. Hope is a virtue, despair is not an option, and hope lasts as long as we live. (Catechism, 366, 988-1014, 1021-1022, 1501, 1817-1821, 2091)

And that is — yes, it's another topic. Topics.

More about taking God seriously:

• "Jesus, the Magi, and Me"
  (January 3, 2016)
  Particularly
  • "For You Gentiles"
• "Life, Death, and Love"
  (November 1, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Life, Death, and Beyond
• "Angst, Hope, and Building a Better World"
  (July 5, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Doomsday Predictions and Fashionable Melancholia
  • Love and Responsibilities
  • Looking Ahead
• "Charleston Church Shooting: Emotions and Reason"
  (June 21, 2015)
  Particularly
  • "Our Country?" Difference, Acceptance, and Murder
  • Life and Reality
  • Looking Out For Each Other
• "(Not) 'Going Native' "
  (August 30, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Love and the Status Quo
  • Faith that's "Two Coats of Paint" Deep
  • Moving Forward

---

¹ If that phrase sounds familiar, your reading habits may be like mine. "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody" is the title of Will Cuppy's uncompleted historical satire. It didn't stay uncompleted, obviously, since Fred Feldkamp sorted through Cuppy's copious notes: finishing and publishing the book in 1950.

² Response to a "troubling incident:"

"Archdiocese of Boston Statement Incident involving Catholic Memorial High School"

"The Archdiocese of Boston has learned of a troubling incident that occurred on Friday evening at Newton South High School, during a basketball game between Newton North and Catholic Memorial High Schools. The Archdiocese wishes to make clear that the behavior of a number of students from Catholic Memorial at the game is unacceptable.

"On Thursday evening of this past week, in observance of the 50th anniversary of the Church's landmark document that overturned the Church's history of anti-Jewish attitudes and teaching, Cardinal Sean O'Malley stood in solidarity with hundreds of members of the Jewish community and in affirming the Jewish and Catholic communities' shared heritage of faith.

"We are pleased that the administration of Catholic Memorial took corrective action immediately during and after the basketball game. This incident, while not representative of the school community, presents an opportunity to promote an important learning experience for the students.

"We stand ready to assist Catholic Memorial in providing the student body with the awareness education that is needed to ensure that there is no recurrence of these actions or attitudes."

³ More:

• "Anti-semitism: A wound to be healed"
  Cardinal Walter Kasper (September 8, 2003)
• "Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-christian religions - Nostra aetate"
  Pope Paul VI (October 28, 1965)
• "Nostra Aetate: a milestone"
  Pier Francesco Fumagalli (1997)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 839

⁴ Our Lord's mother is a special case. As I've said before, Mary is as human as I am. Catholics don't, or should not, worship her. I've discussed Mary, mother of Jesus, before:

• "Good Advice from the Mother of God"
  (January 1, 2015)
• "Gideon, Gabriel, Mary, and Guts"
  (December 21, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Tacky Religious Art and Idolatry
  • Mary and 'Happy Days' America
  • Submissive? Maybe

The Messiah We Need

Tiberius was Rome's absentee emperor around the time the Han Dynasty was getting back to business-as-usual, after Wang Mang's brief takeover. I mentioned him before: Wang Mang, I mean. (December 27, 2015)

Meanwhile, Phaedrus was retelling Aesop's Fables in Latin, and Pontius Pīlātus was prefect of the Roman Province of Judea.

That part of the world had been under Roman control since the Battle of Philippi, Armenia wasn't a Roman province yet, but it wasn't the force it had been during Tigranes' reign, and that's another topic.

Tigranes, Tiberius, and Wang Mang, were well-known folks in their day;¹ at least in their homelands. Two millennia later, not so much.

Pontius Pīlātus is another matter. He's mentioned each year around this time, when something like 2,000,000,000 folks pay at least fleeting attention to a Nazarene's progress from top-of-the-polls celebrity to executed corpse.

"But who do you say that I am?"

That's because Jesus of Nazareth is one of three very important persons.

Abraham's descendants learned, eventually, that the Almighty was serious about this:

"¹ 'Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!"
(Deuteronomy 6:4)

I think God is one, too.

However, I'm a Catholic: so I acknowledge God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

That's one God, three persons; a divine Unity; "...the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds...." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 253-256, 456-478)

But I don't understand how the Trinity works. Not on an operational, nuts-and-bolts, level. All three were at our Lord's baptism — you can read about that in Matthew 3:13-17 — I talked about the Trinity, tefillin, and metaphor, last year. (March 8, 2015)

I also acknowledge that our Lord is the Son of God, human and divine, "true God and true man." (Catechism, 456-478)

Again, I don't understand how that works; but I agree with Peter.

"⁸ When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi ⁹ he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?'

"They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist, ¹⁰ others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'

"He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'

"¹¹ Simon Peter said in reply, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.' "
(Matthew 16:13-16)

Today is Palm Sunday, Holy Week's kickoff. We've been leading up to a really long Gospel reading with this sort of thing:

"⁵ Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' "
(John 8:12)

"So Jesus said (to them), 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.
"The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.' "
(John 8:28-29)

"So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?' ²³
"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:57-58)

"If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me;
"but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize (and understand) that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.'"
(John 10:37-38)

Last Supper, Messy Death

(Palm Sunday in Mexico, East Timor, South Sudan, and Poland.)

Today's long Gospel reading, Luke 22:14-56 starts with the Last Supper and ends with the women who had come from Galilee with our Lord resting on the Sabbath — after spotting the tomb his body was in.

The short version, Luke 23:1-49, isn't particularly short. It runs from the council of elders accusing Jesus before Pilate to our Lord's death.

Either way, it's a far-from-cheerful account.

So why did our Lord go through all this?² It's like God told Abraham: "...All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you." (Genesis 12:3)

Jesus may not have been the Messiah folks expected, but our Lord is the Messiah and Redeemer God promised after the first of us made that disastrous choice.³ (Genesis 3:19-15; Catechism, 397-410, 528)

Jesus is the Messiah we need. (Catechism, 430-435)

Our Lord's messy death, and what happened after that, opened Heaven's gates for you, me, and everyone. Whether we walk in is up to each of us, and that's yet another topic. (Catechism, 597-618, 631-635, 637, 1026, 1739-1742)

Still Celebrating

Our Lord wouldn't stay dead: which is why, two millennia later, we're still celebrating — and passing along wonderful news.

God loves us, and wants to adopt us. All of us. (John 3:17; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:3-5; Catechism, 1-3, 52, 1825)

And that's yet again another topic:

• "Training, Lent, and Me"
  (February 14, 2016)
  Particularly
  • The Desert and Deuteronomy
  • Still Shining
• " 'Have No Anxiety At All' "
  (October 18, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Why Take Jesus Seriously?
  • Rejoice!
• "Joy to the World!"
  (December 27, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Human on His Mother's Side
  • "Goodness, Life and Truth"
• "Truth and the Big Picture"
  (November 22, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Kings and Questions
  • The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead
  • Truth and the Long Run
• "Firebase Earth"
  (April 5, 2009)

---

¹ As a writer, Phaedrus wasn't important the way civic leaders are, but the poet Martial and writer Avianus mentioned him: and his stories lasted considerably longer than he did.

Phaedrus made an important contribution to the current iteration of Western civilization, although it wasn't until fairly recently that we worked out where at least some source material for "Anonymus Nilanti," a collection of Latin beast fables, came from.

² More about Palm Sunday:

• Palm Sunday - 30th World Youth Day
  Pope Francis (March 29, 2015)
• Palm Sunday - 28th World Youth Day
  Pope Francis (March 24, 2013)
• Palm Sunday - 27th World Youth Day
  Pope Benedict XVI (April 1, 2012)
• Palm Sunday - 19th World Youth Day
  Pope John Paul II (April 4, 2004)

³ As I've said before, often, Adam and Eve aren't German. It's become increasingly obvious that we've passed down accounts of how we lost harmony within ourselves and with the universe for a very long time:

• "Pope Francis and Nietzsche"
  (September 27, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Original Sin: Not a Design Flaw
• "Organics on a Comet, and Earth's Early Magnetism"
  (August 7, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Adam and Eve Aren't German
• "Human Nature, Change, and Dinosaur Names"
  (June 5, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Acknowledging Change
  • CSI, Sima de los Huesos
    • "We Have Not Changed Much"
• "Advent: Another Year of the Long Watch"
  (November 30, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Consequences and Hope

Death? Been There, Done That

(From Piero della Francesca, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
('Dead? I was, but now I'm better.' No, our Lord didn't say that: not in so many words. (John 20:26-27))

I haven't died, not yet: and I'm still working on the 'dying to myself' that doesn't mean pretending that I'm garbage — and that's another topic. Topics. (November 27, 2011; March 3, 2009)

Our Lord: That's another matter. About two millennia back, Jesus was tortured, executed, and buried: but I'm getting ahead of the story.

Someone named Abram moved out of Ur, changed his name to Abraham, and settled near the east end of the Mediterranean Sea. That was about one and a half or two millennia before the Golgotha incident.

Folks didn't have standardized calendars 35 to 40 centuries back, Western civilization went through two or three resets¹ since then — and that's yet another topic. (March 11, 2012)

Abraham made some good decisions — and a really bad one, leading to a domestic dispute we're still dealing with. Still more topics. (August 16, 2011; Another War-on-Terror Blog (October 8, 2007))

A descendant of Abraham, sold as a slave, wound up running Egypt: and saved many lives during a famine. (Genesis 41:40 and following)

A few centuries later, a refugee named Moses had a face-to-burning bush talk with God:

" 'But,' said Moses to God, 'when I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," if they ask me, "What is his name?" what am I to tell them?'

"⁶ God replied, 'I am who am.' Then he added, 'This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.'"
(Exodus 3:13-14)

Egypt's ruler learned — the hard way — that it's not prudent to ignore what God says, and descendants of Abraham moved back to the east end of the Mediterranean.

"Before Abraham ..."

(From John Martin, via WikiMedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
('Now that I have your attention ....')

More centuries passed, and descendants of Abraham finally got it through their heads that God, the great I AM, is ONE.

Then some Nazarene miracle-worker said, as plainly as possible, "I am God:"

"So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?' ²³

"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:57-58)

In a way, it's a bit surprising that folks didn't kill him on the spot. They knew what happened when they worshiped anyone or anything besides the God of Abraham, and didn't realize that Jesus really is I AM.

Our Lord's own disciples weren't all that much quicker on the uptake:

"Philip said to him, 'Master, show us the Father, ⁷ and that will be enough for us.'

"Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"?"
(John 14:8-9)

Jesus Died - - -

Okay. Now I'm back to events we review every Good Friday. Our Lord was railroaded through a trial — two, if you count the interview with Herod — tortured, executed, and buried.

I sympathize, a little, with movie critics who said "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) was 'too violent:' and that all the blood obscured the film's message. Americans have gotten used to nice, clean, 'decently' sanitized versions of our Lord's crucifixion.

But I'm an adult convert to Catholicism, wear a little sculpture of a dead body around my neck, and understand why we have those ghastly, bloody crucifixes. (April 27, 2010; January 19, 2010)

Jesus was dead. Roman soldiers had been running the execution, and knew the difference between a dead body and someone who had fainted, or was pretending to be dead.

About three decades back, JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association, a peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of the biomedical sciences) published an analysis of what our Lord went through. It isn't an easy read, but worth the effort. My opinion:

• "On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ"
  William D. Edwards, MD; Wesley J. Gabel, MDiv; Floyd E. Hosmer, MS, AMI — JAMA, Vol 255, No. 11 (March 21, 1986)
  (From hisunendinglov.blogspot.com/2015/04/good-friday-physical-death-of-jesus.html
  via associationofcatholicwomenbloggers.blogspot.com/2015/04/good-friday-physical-death-of-jesus.html (April 4, 2015))

- - - and Stopped Being Dead

For anyone else, that would have been the end. The disciples might have tried to return to normal lives, forgetting as much of what happened as they could — hoping that the authorities would do the same.

But Jesus isn't anyone else. Two millennia later, we celebrate Good Friday and Easter — because our Lord didn't stay dead.

If that seems unbelievable, it should.

It took a series of meetings and working lunches to convince the surviving 11 that our Lord was really, no kidding, break-bread, eat-a-fish, put-your-hand-in-my-side, ALIVE.

"And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them."

"With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight."
(Luke 24:30-31)

---

"While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, 'Have you anything here to eat?'

"They gave him a piece of baked fish;

"he took it and ate it in front of them."
(Luke 24:41-43)

---

"Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, 'Peace be with you.'

"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.' "
(John 20:26-27)

Once they'd been convinced that Jesus had stopped being dead, small wonder that all but John decided that a painful death was preferable to denying that our Lord lives. They'd gotten a glimpse of the big picture, the reality that our Lord has opened a way into God's presence.

"Who will condemn? It is Christ (Jesus) who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

"What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?...

"...For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, ⁹ nor future things, nor powers,

"nor height, nor depth, ¹⁰ nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
(Romans 8:34-35, 38-39)

John might have made the same decision, but didn't have the opportunity. Instead, he lived to a ripe old age, in exile on Patmos, and that's yet again another topic.

The Last Hour — Two Millennia and Counting

Before leaving, our Lord gave standing orders:

"Go, therefore, ¹² and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ¹³ And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." "
(Matthew 28:19-20)

Two millennia later, those orders haven't changed.

"Making disciples" isn't the sort of 'convert or die' thing Charlemagne did at Verdun, by the way. We're still cleaning up the mess from that atrocity. (May 18, 2014)

There's more to following our Lord than 'really believing,' reciting Bible verses, or putting loose change in the collection plate.

We're expected to act as if 'Love God, love you neighbor, everybody's your neighbor' is true — and matters. (Matthew 5:43-44, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-30; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1825)

Among other things, that means providing for those in need or in prison, and welcoming the stranger. (Matthew 25:34-35, 1 John 3:15-18)

Truly respecting the "transcendent dignity" of humanity, and each person, isn't easy: but it's something we must do. Also building a better world for future generations. The job starts within each of us, with an ongoing "inner conversion." (Catechism, 1888, 1928-1942)

It's been a long haul, we've made some progress: and we have a very great deal left to do.

My guess is that we'll still be waiting and working when the 8.2 kiloyear event, Y2K, and Y10K are seen as roughly contemporary. (December 28, 2014; November 23, 2014; October 26, 2014)


(From Jaime Jasso, via DeviantArt.com, used w/o permission.)

But — the war is over. We won. We're already in "the last hour," and have been for two thousand years. This world's renewal is in progress, and nothing can stop it. (Matthew 16:18; Mark 16:6; Catechism, 638, 670)

More of the same, pretty much:

• The big picture
  • "The Eighth Day: Two Millennia and Counting"
    (April 20, 2014)
  • "Jesus: Tortured; Executed; Buried - - -"
    (April 18, 2014)
  • "An Empty Tomb"
    (March 31, 2013)
  • "Death, Decisions, and a Working Lunch"
    (April 8, 2012)
  • "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
    (March 11, 2012)
• The long haul
  
  • "Holy Family, Not '50s Family"
    (December 28, 2014)
  • "Neighbors, Love, and Upping the Ante"
    (October 26, 2014)
  • "Reforming the World — We Must Try"
    (September 28, 2014)
  • "Caesar, Civilization, Dealing With Change — and Building a Better World"
    (August 31, 2014)
  • "Made in the Image of God: Great Power, Great Responsibilities"
    (May 18, 2014)

---

¹ The Late Bronze Age collapse, about 32 centuries ago, happened right around the time of the Trojan War — which may help explain why we're still not sure how much of our information about that conflict is fiction, and how much is fact.

Western civilization recovered, then about 15 centuries back we had another reset. The watershed event for that is the reign of Odoacer, first king of Italy: after which the Roman Empire didn't, in practical terms, exist.

The European Renaissance, about five centuries ago, wasn't — my opinion — quite as catastrophic a change.

Jesus: Tortured; Executed; Buried - - -

(From Tintoretto, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(Detail from Tintorett's "Crucifixion.")

Nailed to a cross after a night and day of torture and humiliation, Jesus was "raised high and greatly and greatly exalted ... so marred was his look beyond that of man."

"³ See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.

"Even as many were amazed at him - so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals -

"So shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; For those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it."
(Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

Today's readings start with the prophet Isaiah's words, and end on a gloomy note:

"Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried.

"So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by."
(John 19:41-19:42)

We call today "Good Friday," which isn't as crazy as it might seem. That's because of what happened a few days later.

Today's readings:

• Isaiah 52:13-53:12
• Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9
• John 18:1-19:42

Related posts:

• "Jesus: Love, Death, and All That"
  (March 16, 2014)
• " 'In the Beginning:' a Continuing Story"
  (December 22, 2013)
• "Golgotha, Rome, and Words that Mean Something"
  (April 28, 2013)
• " 'But who do you say that I am?' "
  (October 10, 2012)
• "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
  (March 11, 2012)

An Empty Tomb

About two millennia back, Peter checked out a crazy-sounding report. Accounts of the incident, recorded long after the event, don't quite match up in their details.

I'm not surprised that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell about discovering an empty tomb differently.

We're looking at events witnessed by several people, and told from four different viewpoints.

Those witnesses had endured several very stressful days. What happened was literally incredible. And they weren't Americans writing a police report.

Under the circumstances, I'd be astonished if the Gospel accounts were as tidy as an episode from the old Dragnet series.

Dead - - -

Jesus was publicly executed in a place so cosmopolitan that the notice was in three languages: Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.¹

Eyewitnesses included professional soldiers, who had been ordered to speed up the executions.²

"So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.

"But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs,

"but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out."
(John 19:32-34)

I'm confident that the soldiers knew death when they saw it.

Blood and water flowing out of my Lord's body may be another indication that Jesus was sincerely dead. I've heard that piercing a dead body can release fluids from cavities surrounding the heart and lungs, as well as blood. That may be why the Gospel of John emphasizes it.

- - - And Buried

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus "...took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom." (John 19:38-40)

They had every reason to believe that Jesus was dead. They may have witnessed the execution themselves, had official confirmation of the death, and were in possession of a tortured, crucified, and pierced, corpse.

When they were done, they put the body in a new tomb, chosen because it was nearby. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses stayed there, at least for a while.³

Jesus was dead, buried in a tomb prepared for someone else. The sun set, time passed, and Jesus stopped being dead.

Resurrection and Standing Orders

It took several meetings and demonstrations, but Jesus eventually convinced the surviving apostles that they weren't seeing a ghost.

They realized that they'd walked, talked, and shared meals with God, the Word made flesh, Judge and Savior: Jesus, who had been killed but didn't stay dead.

Quite a lot has happened since that first Easter. Kingdoms, dynasties, and empires rose and fell. Astrolabes gave way to the GPS. But our standing orders haven't changed:

"¹¹ Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

"Go, therefore, ¹² and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ¹³ And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.' "
(Matthew 28:18-20)

And that's another topic.

Background:

• Matthew
  • 27:59-61
  • 28:1-9
  • 28:16-20
• Mark
  • 15:46-47
  • 16:1-13
  • 16:14-20
• Luke
  • 23:53-56
  • 24:1-12
  • 24:13-53
• John
  • 19:38-42
  • 20:1-8
  • 20:11-29; 21:1-23
• "From the Empty Tomb to the Meeting with the Risen Christ"
  John Paul II (February 1, 1989)

Related posts:

• "Death, Decisions, and a Working Lunch"
  (April 8, 2012)
• " 'When:' Not 'If;' 'WHEN' "
  (April 6, 2012)
• "Christ is Risen!"
  (April 24, 2011)
• "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
  (March 11, 2012)
• "Hope, Joy, and Working for a Better World"
  (September 13, 2011)
  Particularly
  • The Golgotha Incident
  • The Future Looks Pretty Good - - -
  • - - - And We Have Work to Do

---

¹ (John 19:20)²
The Crucifixion happened after the Passover feast, the next Sabbath was a particularly solemn one, and local authorities didn't want bodies hanging around.

³ (Matthew 27:59-61; Mark 15:46-47; Luke 23:53-56; John 19:38-42)

Sons of God, and the Son of God

I've run into folks who seemed to believe that Jesus was too 'spiritual' to be really human. Then there's the more fashionable attitude that Jesus was a very wise man - - - who thought he was God?!

There's nothing new about either assumption, and I am not going to get distracted by Gnosticism and why I'm okay with having to breathe. (August 31, 2011)

Two paragraphs, and I'm already off-topic. I'm still picking my way through part of the Catechism's discussion of Jesus.¹

Jesus, Assumptions, and Golgotha

Believing that Jesus is purely spiritual might seem attractive, particularly for folks who aren't fond of the physical world. The problem is that if Jesus wasn't a man, with a real body, the Crucifixion was no more than a bit of divine play-acting.

Seeing Jesus as just a wise man appeals to the notion that the physical world is all that exists, but asks us to assume that someone could be a wise teacher and delusional. I've been over this before. (October 3, 2012, August 8, 2012)

Jesus really died on Golgotha, and knew it would happen. When my Lord told his disciples what to expect, Peter didn't like it: understandably. (Matthew 16:23)

After people are nailed to a cross and die, they're expected to stay dead. Since Jesus is also the Son of God (capital "S"), that's not what happened. (Mark 16:1-6, Luke 24:1-7, for starters)

The next part of the Catechism gets into why the Word becoming man is important. Basically, the Word became one of us to deal with our sins. (Catechism, 457)

Capital "S"

When the Old Testament says "son of God," lowercase "s" in my language, it's a title given to angels, the children of Israel, and their kings. (Exodus 4:22, Deuteronomy 14:1, Job 1:6; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 441)

I suppose I'm a son of God, too: since my Lord told us to pray to "our Father." (Matthew 6:9-13)

I pray the 'Our Father' regularly, of course: but it still feels odd, thinking of myself as a sort of adopted child of God. The word "presumptuous" comes to mind. I think that comes partly from remembering a few versions of the "prosperity gospel."

Jesus, the World of God is - special:

"^{1 2} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
(John 1:1)

There's more, John 1:1-5 and 14, explaining that Jesus is God, and the Son of God, and that the Word of God "became flesh." (John 1:14)

I believe that, which isn't the same as saying that I fully understand the Incarnation. Like St. Augustine said:

"If you understood him, it would not be God"
(Catechism, 230)

Somewhat-related posts:

• Jesus, the Word made flesh
  • " 'But who do you say that I am?' "
    (October 10, 2012)
  • "Jesus: Not a Poached Egg"
    (August 8, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Jesus Says He's Who?!
  • "Jesus Christ, Tough as Nails"
    (April 7, 2010)
  • "Jesus, Men, and a Marketing Campaign Gone Wrong"
    (February 15, 2010)
    Particularly
    • Jesus: "With the Face of a Consumptive Girl"
  • "Just Who is This Jesus Person, and Who Does He Think He is?"
    (January 17, 2010)
• Jesus, after Golgotha
  • "Reason and Religion: 'Now Let's Get This Straight' "
    (September 30, 2012)
  • "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
    (March 11, 2012)
  • "Hope, Joy, and Working for a Better World"
    (September 13, 2011)
    Particularly
    • The Golgotha Incident"
  • "Corpus Christi, and Running into Walls"
    (June 26, 2011)
    Particularly
    • The Eucharist: Something to Gnaw On
  • "The Road to Emmaus, and Rome, and Sauk Centre, and - - -"
    (May 8, 2011)

---

¹ Here's what got me started today:

"In the Old Testament, 'son of God' is a title given to the angels, the Chosen People, the children of Israel, and their kings.⁴⁴ It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah-King is called 'son of God,' it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus 'son of God,' as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this.⁴⁵"

"Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as 'the Christ, the Son of the living God,' for Jesus responds solemnly: 'Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.'⁴⁶ Similarly Paul will write, regarding his conversion on the road to Damascus, 'When he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles. . . .'⁴⁷ 'And in the synagogues immediately [Paul] proclaimed Jesus, saying, "He is the Son of God." '⁴⁸ From the beginning this acknowledgment of Christ's divine sonship will be the center of the apostolic faith, first professed by Peter as the Church's foundation.⁴⁹"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 441, 442)

The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead

There's a reason for Catholic churches having a statue of a corpse displayed prominently.

The death of Jesus is very important for the Catholic Church. So is what happened three days later - and I'll get back to that.

First, a little background.

"Tell the Israelites: I AM Sent Me to You' "

About three and a half or four millennia back,¹ someone named Abram moved out of Ur, changed his name to Abraham, and settled near the east end of the Mediterranean Sea.

Time passed. Descendants of Abraham moved to Egypt, ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom gave way to the Middle Kingdom, empires rose and fell, and eventually someone named Moses had a face-to-burning-bush talk with God:

" 'But,' said Moses to God, 'when I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," if they ask me, "What is his name?" what am I to tell them?'

"⁶ God replied, 'I am who am.' Then he added, 'This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.'"
(Exodus 3:13-14)

Egypt's ruler learned - the hard way - that it's not prudent to ignore what God says, and descendants of Abraham moved back to the east end of the Mediterranean.

"...And You have Seen Abraham?"

About a dozen centuries later, Jesus compared some descendants of Abraham to their ancestor. Unfavorably:

"So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?' ²³

"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:57-58)

Jesus had said, without any possibility of misunderstanding, "I am God."

Disorderly Conduct

Jesus made another remarkable claim, after engaging in disorderly conduct:

"^{10 11} Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem....

"...At this the Jews answered and said to him, 'What sign can you show us for doing this?'

"Jesus answered and said to them, ¹⁵ 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.'

"The Jews said, 'This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?'

"But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

"Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken,"
(John 2:13-22)

Big Talk, Breach of the Peace, Death

Jesus made an extravagant claim:

"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:58)

My Lord also committed a breach of the peace in the temple, and followed that up by saying:

"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
(John 2:19)

Then he was tortured to death and buried.

That's where it gets interesting.

Lunatics Don't Stop Being Dead

Any crazy person might claim to be God. Or, these days, Napoleon. Or Steve Jobs.

Jesus had been about as blunt as a person could be, explaining how it was that He had seen Abraham:

"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:58)

Small wonder that Jesus was executed shortly after that.

Make no mistake: Jesus died. The crucifixion of Jesus was handled by Roman soldiers. They were good at their jobs, and knew how to make sure that someone was thoroughly, sincerely, and permanently dead.

After being pried off the Cross, Jesus was buried. In a borrowed tomb, and that's another topic.

Up to that point, Jesus might have been any other lunatic, acting crazy because He really thought He was God.

His torture and execution should have been an end to the claim that "...before Abraham came to be, I AM."

Then, three days later, Jesus stopped being dead.

Jesus Stopped Being Dead

Jesus was raised from the dead, and is alive.

Really, physically, eat-a-baked-fish, put-your-hand-in-my-side, alive.² The Catholic Church thinks this is very important. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 638-655, for starters) So do I.

Anybody dying to save me would make an impression. When the Second Person of the Trinity volunteers: That's not something I'll forget.

Jesus the Crucified

Toward the end of Matthew, we're told that Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" went to the tomb where a sincerely dead Jesus had been buried. There was an incident involving an angel, and that's where I'll pick up Matthew's account:

"Then the angel said to the women in reply, 'Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.

"⁴ He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

"Then go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him." Behold, I have told you.'

"Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce ⁵ this to his disciples.

"⁶ And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.

"Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.' "
(Matthew 28:5-10)

The two Marys passed my Lord's message along. Here's how that meeting went:

"⁸ The eleven⁹ disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.

"¹⁰ When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.

"¹¹ Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

"Go, therefore,¹² and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.¹³ And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.' "
(Matthew 28:16-20)

That was two millennia back, the orders haven't changed, and I've posted about that before. (August 25, 2011)

Related posts:

• "First Sunday in Lent; God is Reclaiming His Broken Creation"
  (February 26, 2012)
  • A guest post
• "Respect, Formality, and Titles of Christ"
  (July 6, 2011)
• "Christ is Risen!"
  (April 24, 2011)
• "I Worship a Jew"
  (April 3, 2011)
• "Just Who is This Jesus Person, and Who Does He Think He is?"
  (January 17, 2010)

Background:

• "A Little Look at the Big Picture"
  (February 13, 2012)
  Particularly
  • Living With Immensity
  • "Recent" Events

---

¹ Abram/Abraham may have moved out of Ur about 4,000 years ago. Or as recently as 3,500 years back. Considering how often languages and calendar systems have changed over the last 35 centuries, I don't regard "early part of the second millennium B.C." as an unreasonable sort of estimate. Not considering the condition that detailed records of, say, the Sumerians are in today.

"...With the story of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (⇒ Genesis 11:27-⇒ 50:26), the character of the narrative changes. While we do not view the account of the patriarchs as history in the strict sense, nevertheless certain of the matters recounted from the time of Abraham onward can be placed in the actual historical and social framework of the Near East in the early part of the second millennium B.C. (2000-1500), and documented by non-biblical sources...." (Preface to the New American Bible)

(from Footnote 9 (July 5, 2011))

² The "baked fish" thing is from Luke 24:41-43. Thomas, understandably, had trouble believing that Jesus was really alive. My Lord helped Thomas work that out:

"Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, 'Peace be with you.'

"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.' "
(John 20:26-27)