Sermon Library
“Two Processions”
Rev. Dr. Gregg R. Anderson
February 03, 2008
Service Theme: Lent III - 2008
Lent III-2008 February 24, 2008
Two Processions
The Imperial Procession
Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30. It was the beginning of the week of Passover, the most sacred week of the Jewish year. On the West side of the of the city, the main entrance so to speak, entered Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Idumea, Judea and Samaria. At the head of the column were the imperial cavalry and soldiers. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan envision the imperial processions arrival in the city. Imagine a “panoply of imperial power: cavalry on horses, foot soldiers, leather armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold. Imagine the sounds: the marching of feet, the creaking of leather, the clinking of bridles, the beating of drums. Then think of the swirling of dust from the entourage. The eyes of the silent onlookers, some curious, some awed, some resentful.”
“Pilate’s military procession was a demonstration of both Roman imperial power and Roman imperial theology. Though unfamiliar to most people today, the imperial procession was well known in the Jewish homeland in the first century. [The writer of the gospel of] Mark and the community for which he wrote would have known about it, for it was the standard practice of the Roman governors of Judea to be in Jerusalem for the major Jewish festivals. They did so not out of empathetic reverence for the religious devotion of their Jewish subjects, but to be in the city in case there was trouble. There often was, especially at Passover, a festival that celebrated the Jewish people’s liberation from an earlier empire.”
Imperial Theology
“Pilate’s procession displayed not only imperial power, but also Roman imperial theology. According to this theology, the emperor was not simply the ruler of Rome, but the Son of God. It was considered inherent with the greatest of the emperors, Augustus, who ruled Rome from 31 BCE to 14 CE. He was considered to be a descendant of the god Apollo, who conceived him in his mother, Atia. Inscriptions refer to him as “son of God, “lord” and “savior,” one who had brought “peace on earth.” After his death, he was seen ascending into heaven to take his permanent place among the gods. His successors continued to bear divine titles, including Tiberius, emperor from 14 to 37 CE and thus emperor during the time of Jesus’ public activity. For Rome’s Jewish subjects, Pilate’s procession embodied not only a rival social order, but also a rival theology.”
Jerusalem is an incredible city. It is one of the most complicated and convoluted places on our planet. It has historically changed hands often. It is one of the most intense places in the world. It is one of the most sacred places in the world. It has been and still is one of the most violent places in the world. Historically and socially, Jerusalem has been considered the center of the world, especially when the world was flat and only a small part of the world was known in historical literature.
Domination System
Just prior and during the time of Jesus, Jerusalem became, unfortunately, a center of a domination system, according to Borg and Crossan and many other biblical scholars. The phrase domination system is shorthand for the most common form of social system – a way of organizing a society – in ancient and premodern times, that is, in preindustrial agrarian societies. It names a social system marked by three major features. They are:
1. Political oppression. In such societies the many were ruled by the few, the powerful and wealthy elites: the monarchy, nobility, aristocracy, and their associates. Ordinary people had no voice in the shaping of the society.
2. Economic exploitation. A high percentage of the society’s wealth, which came primarily from agricultural production in preindustrial societies, went into the coffers of the wealthy and powerful – between one-half and two-thirds of it. How did they manage to do this? By the way they set the system up, through the structures and laws about land ownership, taxation, indenture of labor through debt, and so forth.
3. Religious legitimation. In ancient societies, these systems were legitimated, or justified, with religious language. The people were told the king ruled by divine right, the king was the Son of God, the social order reflected the will of God, and the powers that be were ordained by God. Of course, religion sometimes became the source of protest against these claims. But in most pre-modern societies known to us, religion has been used to legitimate the place of the wealthy and powerful in the social order over which they preside.
Monarchical and aristocratic rule by a wealthy few began about five thousand years ago and was the most common form of social system in the ancient world. With various permutations, it persisted through the medieval and early modern periods until the democratic revolutions of the last few hundred years. And one could make a good case that in somewhat different forms it remains with us today. In this sense “domination systems” are normal. Thus we will use both phrases to name the socio-economic-political order in which ancient Israel, Jesus, and early Christianity lived. “Domination system” calls attention to its central dynamic: the political and economic domination of the many by a few and the use of religious claims to justify it. As the home of the monarchy and aristocracy, of wealth and power, Jerusalem became the center of injustice and of betrayal of God’s covenant. God’s passion for justice had been replaced by human injustice.
Temple Complicity
Besides the over-arching domination in Jerusalem by the Roman authorities, Borg and Crossan also present the complicity of the Jewish temple authorities and high priest. “The high priest and the temple authorities were in effect the rulers of the Jewish people, though of course they owed allegiance and tribute to the imperial overlords. Rome ruled through the high priest, the temple, and a local aristocracy centered in the temple. This was Rome’s traditional practice throughout its territory: appointing local collaborators from the indigenous population to rule on Rome’s behalf. The primary qualification was wealth and wealth came from ownership and control of property. And the wealthy were the ones taxing the poor and the peasants which was over 90 percent of the population of 40,000 people living in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus.
Herod, King of the Jews
In the decades after Rome took control of the Jewish homeland, there were power struggles among the Jewish aristocratic families, and so Rome appointed as “king of the Jews” a man named Herod, an Idumean whose family had only recently converted to Judaism. He rebuilt the temple with spacious courts, elegant colonnades, with sumptuous use of marble and gold. He built a more lavish palace for himself, which was later to become the residence of the Roman governors, including Pilate, when they were in Jerusalem. There were glittering fountains, shaded pools, ceiling painted with gold and vermillion, chairs of silver and gold inlaid with jewels, mosaic floors with agated and lapis lazuli. It was also large. The dining room could seat 300 distinguished guests. He also built an extravagant vacation home in Caesarea which of course is named after Ceasar.
He called himself Herod the Great, but apparently there are inscriptions with Herod the Monstrous in existence. He was profligate in his spending, brutal in his oppression, and near the end of his reign psychopathically paranoid. Herod appointed the high priest. According to Jewish law, the high priest was to serve for life, but Herod appointed the deposed seven high priests during his thirty-three years as king.
The Other Procession
On the other side of town, the east side, there was another processional. There was a modestly clothed man named Jesus riding on a donkey coming down from the Mount of Olives. Jesus was from the peasant village of Nazareth. His followers were also peasants as were most of the people in the country and surrounding the city. It included people who were outcasts and lame, women and Samaritans. He was the son of a laborer, perhaps a carpenter. His message was about another kind of kingdom, the kingdom of God. Many people were just beginning to understand. They stood by him and along side the entrance. Many people simply spread their cloaks and shawls before him on his path while others quickly plucked branches from some trees to lay before him and still others waved palms. They cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!”
Jesus in the Country
In the early gospel of Mark, Jesus never goes to a city, except Jerusalem. The first half of Mark is set in Galilee. Jesus speaks in the countryside and in small towns like Capernaum. It is historically theorized that Jesus saw his message as to and for the common people and the peasants. His message and his life represented a direct confrontation to those seeking power, prestige, affluence, control, greed and superiority. Jesus clearly countered Roman abuse and exclusive Priestly abuse. “According to Mark, Jesus’ message and activity immediately involved him in conflict with authorities. Chapters 2 and 3 contain a series of conflict stories; his opponents are named as scribes, Pharisees, and Herodians (2:1 - 3:6).
Much of Jesus’ protest was against a domination system legitimated in the name of God, a domination system radically different from what the already present and coming kingdom of God, the dream of God, would be like. It was not Jesus against Judaism, or Judaism against Jesus. Rather, his was a Jewish voice, one of several first-century Jewish voices, about what loyalty to the God of Judaism meant. And for Christians, he is the decisive Jewish voice.
Historically, politically, sociologically, theologically, Jesus presented and lived out a life that was radically and revolutionarily different than the so called esteemed norm of Roman and Jewish aristocracy. And this is the point of the sermon this morning. Jesus entered into a city which, at the time, has been considered the center of the world and religion. He entered on the lesser known side, the East side. Pontius Pilate, however entered on the main side, the West side. Pontius came into the city just prior to Passover in great pomp and circumstance. Jesus entered the city on the quieter side without any self-centered attention and a modest, but sincere sign of allegiance and faith by those who have been touched by this teacher of a new way of being and living and honoring God.
In the Gospel of Matthew, in chapter 23, there are several paragraphs each
beginning with “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites.” Jesus compares two different styles of, shall we say, leadership. In one paragraph he states, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.” “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Pilate entered with soldiers and a chariot and led by force. Jesus entered on a donkey and led by service. One was the executioner and one was executed. One is forgotten in history. One is worshiped and loved and changed the world.
Which Procession Are We In?
Two processions entered Jerusalem on that day. The same question, the same alternative, faces those who would be faithful to Jesus today. Which procession are we in? Which procession do we want to be in? This is the question of Lent and Palm Sunday and of the holy week that is about to unfold.
Many people seek power and prestige? Are we seekers of care and compassion? Many people seek wealth and control? Are we seekers of God’s kingdom of love and peace? For whatever people want to say about Jesus, the historical reality about Jesus is that he represented not only a new way of believing, but a new way of being. He deliberately countered the aristocratic and pharisaic domination system. Jesus spoke and lived for the oppressed and became the greatest leader by being the greatest servant. This is a most significant reality which we need to fully acknowledge and practice today.
I think of some recent followers of Jesus who have also recently changed the world. Mohatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Desmund Tutu, Nelson Mandela and the Dali Lama, just to name a few. Jesus’ task was for equality, which at the time was not heard of or experienced. Jesus said that all are included in the family of God. Jesus incorporated all into the family of God through a new sacrament called baptism. A Gentile, a non-Jew, became accepted into the family of God through the life of Jesus.
Five hundred years ago Martin Luther protested what had grown into a “Domination System.” The Reformation changed the Western World in many ways. One of the evolutions of the Reformation, which we do not think too much about these days is the dawning of democracy. People were able to read the Bible on their own and think for themselves, not just theologically, but socially, politically, culturally. Democracy was not a new thought at all, but it began to be implemented in ways unprecedented before. May we not forget many of the motivations for the founding of the new colonies by the puritans and many other religious people seeking freedom and new expression. I would go so far to say that we are witnessing a significant evolution of equality today when we have a woman and an African-American running for President of these United States. I would even go further by saying that I believe Jesus had a lot to do with all of this. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Gregg R. Anderson
Aspen Chapel
0077 Meadowood Drive
Aspen, Colorado 81611
http://www.aspenchapel.org