Palms waving in the crowds to welcome one who was to come or at least that is what we celebrate today. There is a certain amount of passion within the crowds on this occasion as the Christ enters into the final week centred around Jerusalem. However, there is more to it than just the passion of an unruly and supportive crowd as we also have the reading of the 'Passion' in the garden just prior to the Christ's arrest and subsequent trial. The passion that is faced is different to that which comes with the crowds and is more personal to the journey to the cross. In this passion the individual suffers under the strain themselves with little to no support from the crowds. It is a storm of doubt and faith that rages within the heart and mind of the individual. So which passion should we develop within ourselves or is it both that we need to look at.
The Passion of the crowd can genuinely be taken as a demonstration of political intent to foster and formulate change within the heart of society. This passion can be clearly seen in the political demonstrations that we see almost on a daily basis. The reason for the protest changes each day or each season depending on the issue being faced. For some years now the mainline churches has stood behind the Palm Sunday march with some passion initially but one often wonders whether these become traditions with no meaning. The reason I suggest this, is not a result of not being in favour of such things but to question the passion inherent in a tradition that appears not to make much change to society. The original procession of passion was to welcome a prospective change that occurred at the end of the week. It was symbolically challenging the arrival at the other end of the city of secular authority and oppression which resulted in death and the risen-ness of life eternal. If the protest does not evoke passion but a stale sense of 'lets do it again for fun' then we must find some other form of procession and protest to invoke the passion of society.
For those who follow Christ perhaps it is not the passion of the crowds that we should be emulating but rather the passion that follows in the garden. This is a passion that is more difficult to understand and is thus a neglected path when we think about this day. The crowd is fickle as it is easily turned and this is not the passion that we should be harbouring in our hearts but rather the passion of Christ that enables our acceptance in the darkest of hours. There are a number of Christian mystics and those whom we admire who talk about the dark night of the soul. This is the struggle that we ourselves have with faith. Doubt and despair accompany us on this journey and often we see the church as being against us and not with us on this desperate journey. Christ in the garden is presented with choices that he knows will end in death or reduce everything to mundanity. He wishes for those who are with him to support him on tis journey but they are overwhelmed so do not see his anguish and suffering.
We ourselves are often in the same position with our own faith decisions and our own life decisions. We feel neglected and without the support that we so desperately desire. At times we alleviate this by turning our passion into fleeting outward expressions rather than attempting to cope with them or bring them before God in the anguish of the moment. For Christians as we approach this week we need to submerse ourselves in this inner turmoil so that in the end we come out in newness of life as the darkness falls away at the dawn of a new reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment