Playing With Fire

The Resurrection Mural, is a 40 foot by 12 foot oil on canvas mural by acclaimed artist, Ron DiCianni. 

Remember back in school when you raised your hand to ask a question expecting your teacher to give you the answer you sought?  How did you feel when you got a question back instead of the answer you sought?

Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me."  They argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?"-they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. - Mark 11:29-32

When I read of Jesus' encounters with the Temple leaders, priests and scribes, the ruling authority of his time, I often get the impression that Jesus didn't care too much for them.

He challenged them with questions that would put them on the spot.  Why did he do that?

I doubt he had the same motive as my teachers who sought to get me to think on my own.

He had to know what he was saying put him in jeopardy, saying things that were dangerously close to sedition and blasphemy, making him a target of the Romans as well as the Jews.  So, he either wanted to avoid the question altogether, to protect himself, or he wanted to make them look like fools in front of the crowd.

Either way, he was playing with fire.  He was pushing the limits of power and in the process, his followers had to learn something valuable about the authority in their lives.

This Friday, we will mark the day the authority seemed to win.  Jesus is crucified and dies on the cross like a common thief.

On that day, all who followed him may have felt a loss of personal power.  The strength to stand up to authority he had demonstrated and taught seemed to have failed him miserably, and so they would fear for their lives and flee to hide, as the disciples did.

But come Sunday, all that would change.  First, the tomb would be empty and then there would be reports that he was alive, that he had conquered death.

Within one generation, many would rise up against oppression and challenge Roman authority.  Many would die.  But the fear of death was not as strong as the determination to fight.

When we talk about Jesus, we often use the label, Prince of Peace and we see him as a pacifist, but he is also a symbol of personal strength, of justice for the oppressed, a rebel.

This week, Jews celebrate freedom from slavery, recalling the escape into the desert from Egypt.  We Christians also celebrate freedom from slavery, slavery to sin and death.  Our escape is from the threat of dominance and persecution.

Yes, when we stand up to those who claim authority over us and threaten us with death, we are playing with fire, but Jesus showed us that there is life on the other side of that fire and that makes all the difference in the world.

So, as we come to the Way of the Cross this Friday, and we feel the sorrow and pain of that cruel death, we can remember that there is hope and strength there at the foot of the cross.

It doesn't end here.

More to come...


Image credit: http://www.resurrectionmural.com/